Chandler Parsons looked at the iPhone in his hand. The number had been entered, ready to be dialed. It was just the matter of pressing the button. A button that would rip open old wounds.
He took a deep breath. It had to be done. Before he could reverse course, he jabbed his finger at the screen, and he could hear the phone ringing.
“Hey, this is Jeremy,”
Hearing that old voice again froze the words trying to leave Chandler’s mouth.
“Hey, who is this?” Jeremy Lin asked, sounding annoyed at his caller’s silence. “I’m about to hang up.”
“It’s me,” Chandler choked.
“Chandler?” breathed Jeremy.
Chander laughed shakily. “Yeah, man. How…how’s it going?”
“Good, good,” Jeremy responded from the other side of the country. “You?”
“Same.”
There was another pause. The unspoken feelings between them seemed to expand, to fill up the empty space. Finally, Chandler spoke. “I miss you.”
“Yeah.”
Chandler searched for the right words. “Next time you’re in Dallas, we should hang out, you know, like old times.”
“That would be great. You still have that old PS2?”
Chandler looked over to where his PS2 had sat, untouched, since it had gotten unpacked in his new Dallas apartment. “Yeah. All the old games, too.”
“Cool.”
Their conversation had run its course; Chandler couldn’t bear to hear Jeremy’s voice so close to him yet also so far away. “See you, man. I love you,” Chandler said. When he realized what had just come out of his mouth, he gasped. “Wait, I didn’t mean…”
“I know, man. I know,” Jeremy consoled. “I love you too.”
Then, the call ended. Chandler’s heart seemed swollen with emotions. What was the true nature of his and Jeremy’s relationship? He wanted to know so badly, but was also afraid of what answers he might find.