Promise Me Forever

1 week, 4 days, and 12 hoursThat was how long Kourtney missed Joe.

That was how long Kourtney hadn’t seen or spoken to Joe.

Ever since their fight at speed dating night, Joe hadn’t showed his face at the speed dating meetings, or at the bar they met each other at every night, leaving Kourtney solo for almost two weeks.

She hadn’t call, text or write to him, secretly hoping that Joe would call her instead, but he never did. Too bad for her, she hated waiting.

It was a Thursday night when Kourtney slowly glided a damp cloth over the mahogany counter top. Her hair was tied behind her in a loose ponytail, and her eyes had small bags and dark circles forming around them, obviously from the lack of sleep.

“You can go home now,” her colleague, Bethany said. “You’ve worked over time.”

Kourtney looked up at her blond haired friend and shrugged. “I’m doing extra hours,” she simply stated.

“Pshht, you hate doing extra hours.”

Kourtney shrugged.

“Don’t you want to go home?” Bethany asked.

She shook her head. “No, not really,” she said. “I think I like it here better.”

“Because you miss Joe?”

“I don’t miss Joe,” Kourtney snapped quietly, as if she was saying it to herself. “I don’t miss him.”

[&&&]

“Oh my – Joe!” Lacey moaned, as the man in front of her threw her up against the wall, kissing her on her collarbone. “No, stop,” she said suddenly.

Joe moved back and looked down at the appealing girl in front of him. “What’s wrong?” he frowned.

“Let’s not take this too fast,” she answered.

“Okay,” Joe nodded and smiled. He admired the fact that Lacey wasn’t just like every other girl he went on a date with. She was serious about their relationship. “Well, in that case, what to you want to do now?”

Lacey shrugged and walked over to the couch, where Joe joined her.

“That girl you were with at speed-dating night,” she began.

Joe’s stomach did a flip, knowing she was referring to Kourtney. He knew Lacey wanted to know who Kourtney was, and Joe had been putting off that subject for about two weeks now, hoping Lacey would forget soon, but much to his luck, she didn’t.

“Which girl?” he pretended, not knowing who she was talking about.

“You know, light brown haired beauty,” Lacey described. “She has dark brown eyes, and around my height.”

“You mean Kourtney?”

“Yes,” Lacey clicked her fingers. “Yes, her! Who is she?”

Joe shrugged, hoping she’d just drop the subject, but he knew she wouldn’t so he didn’t say anything.

“Is she…” she urged. “Your girlfriend? Ex-girlfriend? Friend?”

“Nah,” Joe shook his head. “You can forget her, Lacey.”

The dark haired girl raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why?”

He looked down at her and smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Because she’s nobody.”