[ There is a part of him that is quietly wondering why this is so easy ( Is it supposed to be this easy? This is a good thing, right? ) because he'd been watching you in that meeting all morning and he was pretty sure he was stressing you out by simply being in the same space as you. ]

I'm sorry I messed up so badly.

[ That is so lame, Josh. You can do better. ]

It's just that... our last conversation went the way it did, and then I thought that maybe you needed time away from me-- [ and then he'd booked that flight, and he'd learned too late that you'd made plans for the both of you, and it had grown harder and harder to come home. ]

I didn't want to hurt you anymore than I already did. [ His fingers curl around yours again. ] But I missed you so much.

[ Hence, the gifts. The occassional hello. Even if timing was always bad. You were busy. He had things to sort out. Timezones were also a thing. ]