"Jacob?" I ask and he laughs. Gosh, he sounds exactly the same. I don't think I could ever forget his laugh even if I tried, and believe me, I have.
"Jacob Lee?" Liz asks me as I walk closer to her. She is now pouring the wine into two wine glasses on the marble countertop.
Most of the wine that we have are really expensive and my bank account would not be able to survive the strain if I was the one buying them. But thankfully, neither does Liz, she gets them from the hotel that she works for when there is an event being hosted there.
"Yes," I say in a breathy way without saying the actual word.
"It has been ages since I have talked with you," He says and it's my turn to laugh.
Is this guy being serious? I should not even be talking to him, which is why I made sure to block him on all my social media accounts, so I shouldn't even be tempted to. I changed my number three times and he somehow kept getting it each time I did.
It has been three months and I thought I got rid of him. He did not have my current number, but I guess that he does now.
"And that is for a damn good reason," I reply to him.
"You cheated on me with the biology teacher!" I say loudly, earning a side look from Liz. I hear him sigh in frustration over the phone and the urge to cuss him out rises but I resist it.
"That was like a year ago, Iris, and I have apologized over and over for it," He says smoothly as if he has practiced this reply before even calling me.
"That does not change the fact that we broke up and you were totally okay with it," I remind him and it takes him a few seconds to reply.
He knows I am right, which is why he does not know how to respond right now. Jacob and I were together as a couple for four years while we were in high school, and he had to mess it up by doing that crap.
I really loved him and the truth that most people avoid is that you don't just fall out of love with someone. It is quite possible to fall out of love, but not as easy and painless as some people advertise. I can not say that I love Jacob, but I can not also say that I hate him.
There is a difference, I don't hate him, I hate what he did and who he has become since that defining moment.
"I was stupid back then, but I want you, boo bear," He calls me by the pet name he had for me when we were dating.
"Jacob, we have been through this a thousand times, you and I are never getting back together. It has been two years since we have graduated from high school and broken up, why don't you just find a biology teacher to settle down with?" I ask him, and Liz laughs as she hands my glass of wine to me.
We both cling our glasses together and I take a small sip while waiting to hear what he has to say.
"What I am going to do is give you more time to think about it," He replies to me and I take the phone from my ear so I can put it on speaker.
"Think about what, Jacob? I'm confused because there is nothing to think about, I am never getting back together with you. That is just not happening," I tell him truthfully and I hear him sigh.
A few months after we broke up, he just became obsessed with me and with the idea of us being together again. And the fact that I have been single since we broke up does not help, he thinks that I have not been dating anyone because I still want to be with him, which is a huge lie.
"And how did you even get my number? Again," I ask him and he scoffs lightly.
"You know it's funny, I know that you applied at 'Limited', we might get to work together," He says and I place the glass of wine down on the countertop.
'Limited' is the name of the famous and successful company that I applied to and got accepted to work at.
"How the hell does he know that?" Liz asks and then she releases a string of cusses, and this time I don't scold her.
"Oh, hi, Liz," Jacob says when he hears Liz's voice, for the phone is on speaker. She rolls her eyes and then she uses her famous manager's voice.
"Hello, Jacob." She replies and I can't help but smile.
Liz has a tone that she uses whenever she is at work at the hotel and I call her. She would be so formal and authoritative, in contrast to how she really is when she is at home. I call her formal and professional voice or tone at work her 'manager voice', and she always gives me the middle finger in return when I say it.
"How do you know that I applied at 'Limited'?" I ask him and he replies cheerily, "I work there, remember?"
"We might get to work together if you are lucky," He says smugly and I try to end the call by pressing the 'end call' icon on the phone but Liz stops me.
She shakes her head in disagreement.
"Work together? Jacob, you do not work at that company," Liz speaks and I can hear him laughing. He is enjoying this, this is the longest I have been on the phone with him since we called it quits.
"I got a response three days ago, I was accepted, and a little birdie tells me that you got your response this morning," He explains and we listen to him keenly.
"How the f*uck does he know that?" Liz asks me as if I am supposed to know.
"Keep stalking me and I would report you, Jacob," I say and I finally end the call.
"Why did you do that? We could have gotten him to tell us who the little birdie is," Liz complains and I try my best not to laugh at her use of the word "birdie".
"Why are you laughing?" She asks me and I try to defend myself but I just end up laughing even more.
"You saying the word 'birdie' sounds so hilarious to me for some reason," I tell her, and she giggles.
This morning has been very eventful, but I have to finish my breakfast and get my behind on campus in half an hour. I have finals that I can in no way miss.
"Your plate of eggs and bacon is over the stove," I inform Liz, and she thanks me as she holds her wine glass in her hand while she walks toward the stove to collect it.
My phone starts to ring again and it's Jacob. I am not going to answer and I know he is going to call a few more times so he can check it off his to-do list.
AN HOUR Later and I am rushing to get to class. It took me an extra thirty minutes to leave the house and be able to come on campus. Liz has no class today so she should be on her way to the hotel by now.
"Hey! Watch where you're going," A blonde girl says when I mistakenly hit her as I rush to the opened door of the classroom.
"I am so sorry," I stop so I can help to pick up the books that I knocked out of her hand when I was rushing.
"It's okay, just leave it," She replies to me as she bends down to pick up her books. I hand her the few that picked up and I apologize once more before I begin rushing again.
As soon as I enter the classroom, everyone looks at me as if I am a giant dinosaur. I don't blame them, I too would stare at someone who enters a classroom breathing heavily while everyone was taking finals.
"Ms. King, I am glad that you have come and finally joined us," My lecturer says as she walks toward me.
"I am so sorry that I am late," I apologize to her and she smiles understandably.
"It's alright, but you have to know, the chancellor wants to see you, I hope everything is fine," She informs and my heart skips a beat. I have never been to the chancellor's office since I enrolled here, which was two years ago as a freshman.
"Okay, thanks for telling me," I excuse myself and I exit the class. I guess going to the chancellor's office would be an epic excuse for missing the finals.
On my way to the office, I bump into someone dressed really nice and extremely good-looking, the freaking CEO of 'Limited'!