Missy looked up. “What do you mean?”
“I keep waiting for him to get bored with me.”
She gave me a comforting smile. “If he does, it’s his loss.”
“Yeah…” I replied uncertainly.
“Nat?” Her tone was serious.
“Yes?”
“What exactly are your expectations for this relationship?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You like him?”
“So, so much,” I nodded. “Maybe even a little too much.”
“Manage your expectations, hon,” Missy said gently. “You don’t want to be too heartbroken when things end.”
Missy had said “when,” not “if,” and I noticed. I knew that I needed to get into that mindset, too. It was unrealistic to assume that Chance and I would last forever. I didn’t want to be one of those girls who expected too much before anything had even really happened. We were just dating at the moment, and I wasn’t even sure if we were dating exclusively. In any case, I was too scared to ask.
Just then, I heard a text message alert from my phone, and I rushed to check if it was Chance. The number was an unknown one, however, and I opened it curiously.
“Chance?” Missy asked.
“No…unknown number.”
“Oh?”
I looked down and read the text message. It read, “Hi, Natalie. It’s been some time since we’ve spoken, and I suppose I miss not talking to you. I have tickets to a concert this weekend, and I was hoping you would join me? Maybe we could even grab a late-night dinner afterward. Please say yes. Love, Jason.”
“Nat?” Missy asked, coming forward. “Something wrong?”
“The text,” I said, looking up at Missy. “It’s from Jason.”
“Oh, I wasn’t aware he had your number.”
“I wasn’t either,” I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “I have no idea how he got it.”
Missy frowned. “That’s weird.”
“He’s weird,” I said.
She read the message over my shoulder. “He misses not talking to you? I thought you never really spoke to him much?”
“I didn’t,” I said. “I mean, I don’t. We’ve spoken for like two minutes after class, and I’m always trying hard to get away from him. He seemed nice at first, but then…”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t know…there’s something creepy about him.”
“He sounds like the stalker type,” she said. “I’d steer clear if I were you.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing,” I said. “Apparently, he still hasn’t gotten the message, and it’s starting to bug me now.”
“Just text back and say you’re not interested,” she said.