You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(21)

Ben smiles. “I’m glad there’s a silver lining.”

“Yeah. Sadly, she’s studying abroad right now.”

“Copenhagen, right?”

I blink at him. “Did I mention Julie already?”

Ben thinks about it. “It might have been from one of your messages when you were still texting Sam…”

I keep forgetting about those messages. I must have sent hundreds of them. Ben has read some of my deepest thoughts; he knows things I’ve never told anyone else. But I’m only getting to know him now. I look at him and say the quiet part out loud. “I forgot how much you already know about me.”

“I suppose that’s true. Hopefully, that’s not weird.”

“I wouldn’t say weird,” I answer. “After all, I was the one messaging you. But it gives you an unfair advantage, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re right about that.” He leans back, crossing his arms. “Why don’t you ask me some questions, then. To even out the playing field. Anything you want to know.”

“Anything?”

Ben nods. “It’s only fair, right?”

“Okay, I like this idea.” I rub my chin, thinking of some questions. “Let me start with an easy one. What’s your favorite color?”

“Green.”

“Like light green, or dark green, or—”

“More like the color of your eyes,” he says, smirking.

I hold back a smile. “Do you have siblings?”

“It’s just me. Though I always wanted a twin.”

“Would you be the good twin or evil one?”

“Obviously the good one.”

“Hmm. That’s something an evil twin would say…”

The waitress arrives with our food. Ben takes a sip of coffee. Then he sets it down and says, “Next question. And feel free to get more personal.”

“Alright. Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

“My parents want me to be a software engineer,” he says, running a hand through his dark hair. “Which wouldn’t be the end of the world. But my goal is to work for an observatory. Or even become a professor, if I don’t get sick of school.”

“Are you close with your parents?”

He nods. “I’d say so. Maybe more with my dad.”

“Have you always lived in Bellevue?”

“I actually grew up in Sacramento. My family moved when I was fourteen.”

“What’s your deepest regret?”

His brows slightly raise. “That’s quite the jump.”

“Give me an honest answer, too. Not how you wish you got better grades or something like that.”

“What if it’s a little depressing?”

“Ben.” I give him a look. “I’ve been texting my dead best friend for a year. Doesn’t get more depressing than that.”

“Okay, you’re right.” Ben stares at the table, taking his time with this one. “Well, if you want an honest answer, I wasn’t always an only child. I had an older brother. His name was Peter. He was a few years older than me. We weren’t exactly the closest growing up. I didn’t speak to him much after he left for college.” He looks at me again. “That’s probably my biggest regret. Not making an effort to talk to him. Send a text here and there. I wish I had picked up the phone and called him sometimes. I never thought there’d be a day I couldn’t anymore.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s alright,” he says. “It’s been a few years.”

“Doesn’t mean it hurts less.”

“There are harder days for sure,” he admits.

“I know the feeling.”

He looks at me. “Can I ask you about Sam?”

“Sure.”

“How long were you two friends?”

“Since seventh grade.”

“That’s a long time,” he says.

“We were best friends. I’m sure you got that from my texts.”

“I did.”

Another question pops into my head. “How come you didn’t just block me?”

“Why would I block you?”

“Because of all my text messages,” I say. “It must have been annoying, right? You could have blocked me at any point. But you didn’t.”

“I might have considered it at first,” he admits. “Then I realized why you were sending them. I figured you needed the space to talk to him again. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

It definitely would have hurt if the messages couldn’t go through. “I appreciate that,” I say.

Ben smiles a little. “And if we’re being honest, it was nice to hear from someone. Even though I didn’t know who it was. Your messages came when I was feeling alone. I thought about texting you back a few times. Of course, I never did.”

“You must have been surprised when I called.”

“You could say that…”

“What was going through your mind, when you saw the number?”

“I figured it was an accident,” he says, shrugging. “But a small part of me thought you might have needed someone to talk to.”