Stuck With Me: A With Me in Seattle Universe Novel

by Melissa Brown

  “My brother… Dev. I’m Savita.”

  “Oh,” I said, unsure of what else to say. She extended her hand and I shook it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  That explains the twinlike resemblance.

  “I was afraid of that reaction. Now you’ll probably never want to help me again.” She rolled her eyes with a sigh.

  “No, it’s just… When you first walked up to the counter, you reminded me of him.”

  “Ugh, don’t remind me. Everyone thinks we look like twins, but the dude’s, like, eight years older than me, so that’s insulting. I mean, c’mon, I don’t look thirty. He does, of course, but not me.”

  “Think of it as a compliment to him.”

  “Still,” she shook her head, “still.”

  Her speech patterns mirrored his. She spoke quickly, just like Dev; she waved her arms in an animated way when she talked. Again, just like her brother. To borrow a favorite word of Vern’s, it was “uncanny.”

  “So he told you about me?”

  Savita opened her mouth, suddenly looking sheepish. “Yeah, I mean, about the ski trip and everything. That’s all, really. I don’t know anything else.”

  Total lie, but I appreciate you trying.

  She said before releasing her backpack from her shoulder and unzipping it. “Hey, want to try something I’ve been working on?”

  “Um…” I said, peering into her backpack. She pulled out a plastic container filled with some sort of baked good.

  “Peanut butter and jelly cookies,” she said with a wide grin. “I mean, everyone likes PB& J, right? Wait, are you allergic?”

  “Nope.”

  Savita looked relieved. “Phew, okay.” She lifted the top of the container, and the rich smell of peanut butter tickled my nostrils. My stomach growled and Savita smiled.

  “I heard that. Here.” She passed me a cookie.

  “Thanks.”

  “Go on. I want to see your face when you try it.”

  “Oh,” I said, a little surprised but amused. Biting into the thick cookie, I was impressed. The peanut butter flavor was perfect, and when I pulled the cookie away, I could see raspberry jam peeking out from the center of the cookie. “Wow.”

  “Really? Do you think it needs anything else?”

  I took another bite, savoring the sweetness of the jam. “No, they’re perfect.”

  Savita lit up, looking ecstatic. “Sweet!”

  As wonderful as the cookie was, I wasn’t quite done thinking about Dev.

  “Hey, how’s Dev’s ankle?” I asked.

  “Oh good, I think he’s off the crutches now, but I haven’t seen him in a week or so. I hear about him from my mom, mostly. I really can’t handle him right now.” Again, she made a face, like she’d said too much.

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Um, you know, just stupid sibling stuff.” She shrugged it off. “I should probably dig into these books, though. I have another class in a half hour.”

  “Of course. I should get back to the desk. Lots of books coming back in today. Good luck on your project, and it was nice meeting you.”

  “Yeah, you too.” Savita smiled weakly, her enthusiasm diminished.

  What the hell did he tell you, Savita?

  I’d managed to keep Dev mostly out of my mind since leaving the ski resort by busying myself with yoga, reading, and spending time with Maren, but he popped up every so often. I’d hear his voice, remember a joke from the weekend or, unfortunately, I’d remember one of our many fights and how angry he was at me after our disastrous elevator ride. It wasn’t my proudest moment. Not at all.

  I’d thought about texting him to apologize but figured he needed some time to cool down. And then, after a few days had passed, it seemed like I’d missed my moment and figured I should just let things go. And so I’d done that, fighting the urge to ask Maren and Peter how Dev was doing every single time I saw them. I was playing it cool and I was succeeding, suffering in silence.

  Meeting Savita, though, took it to another level. I missed him. Good God, did I miss that man. And I hated myself for it.

  Normally with men, it was very easy for me to turn off my feelings if I felt we weren’t right for each other. But this time…this time, I knew Dev and I were an absolute disaster and yet, I still ached for him. I still wanted to see where that night could have gone if not for our friends walking through that door.

  Would it have lasted a night? A weekend? Would I have hated myself for hooking up with him knowing he would be going back home to Trupti? The questions swirled constantly in my mind, and now that I knew Dev had told Savita about me, the questions were starting to snowball in my already distracted brain.

  “Vern, I’m going on lunch a little early if that’s okay,” I said a couple of hours later when I still couldn’t get my head on straight to focus on my work.

  “Whatever,” he said, reading the newspaper with his reading glasses sitting awkwardly on the tip of his nose. “Still getting me some coffee?”

  “Of course.”

  After grabbing myself a grilled chicken salad and seltzer water, I found a small table in the corner of the school’s cafeteria. I had three missed text messages.

  First was from Maren: Still on for drinks tonight?

  I replied to her right away before moving on to the others. Yes, please!

  Second was from my mother: You didn’t call me yesterday. I expect a call today, Lyra.

  I rolled my eyes as I continued to the third message. This one was from Peter.

  “Interesting,” I muttered to myself. Peter and I had become friends, but it was on the rare occasion that he reached out himself and not through Maren. That was just how guys were.

  His text read: I really need to talk to you. Can you call me after work?

  My stomach flipped a bit as I read and reread that message, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to me about. I replied to Maren, then called my mom to get it over with.

  The thing about my mom was that we’d always had a relationship of the extremes. I would literally do anything for the woman. Like anything. I would lay my life on the line for hers, but when she harps on the fact that I was almost thirty and still single, I literally wanted to kill her. There was no in-between.

  Did she mean well? Yes. But it was hard to remember that when she was driving me crazy trying to marry me off to any single man her girlfriends told her about.

  By the way, that was not a joke. She once texted me from the house of her best friend, who was having a new refrigerator installed. She sent me picture after picture of the installer because she happened to notice he wasn’t wearing a wedding band. It didn’t matter that I reminded her I no longer lived near her in California, and that I was a plane ride away from the dude. She. Would. Not. Stop. Until she tried to sell him on her beautiful daughter who lived in Seattle. He politely informed her he didn’t wear his ring on jobs so as not to damage it.

  Smart man.

  “Finally,” she huffed into the phone. My mother didn’t say hello. Ever.

  “Nice to hear your voice too, Mama.”

  “Oh stop it, you know how I worry. You make me wait days to hear from you. Why? Why is that acceptable?”

  I liked to compare my mother to Marie Barone on that old sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. She means well, yes, but good lord in heaven she can wear you down with her “love.” And at least Ray had a brother to share the load with. I was an only child. And she was really bored. With Dad busy giving flamenco guitar lessons at the local music shop and golfing whenever he had a free day, she was left alone a lot. And she resented it. With that extra time, she focused on her unmarried daughter and never failed to remind me of the fact that I hadn’t yet settled down.

  “Mama, that’s not true. I texted you last night, remember?”

  “Whatever,” she huffed, knowing I was right. “What’s new?”

  “First day back at work. Nothing much else.”

  “Seeing anyone yet?”
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  It was the yet in that sentence that really bugged me. It always insinuated that I should have already found someone. I rolled my eyes. It was nothing new, but it still annoyed me to no end.

  “Nope.”

  “Same answer every time. Knowing you, you’re in love and hiding it from your mother. Chica obstinada.”

  “Mama, relax. You know if I was seeing someone, I’d tell you, if for no other reason than to get you off my back!” I said with a laugh, hoping to soften the blow of my blunt reality. I hadn’t told her about Dev, but I was still being honest… He and I weren’t dating. We weren’t anything really anymore. So it was the truth.

  “I met a really nice man at the supermarket the other day. Manager of my Whole Foods.”

  “Is that right?” I asked, popping a bite of salad into my mouth, half-listening and half-people watching the other people in the cafeteria.

  “Maybe you should come back to L.A.”

  “And do what? Live with you and Dad? Marry the Whole Foods guy?”

  “Don’t sass me. I just want what’s best for you.”

  “I know that. Please, you know I love Seattle. I know it’s hard having me live so far away, but you have to trust that I’m happy here. I hated L.A., and you know it.”

  “Fine, fine.”

  I could tell that her patience was wearing thin. I was getting to the point with my mother that I was considering making up a boyfriend. I could think of someone that fit all of her criteria…wealthy, handsome, and fit with ambition and drive. She would be positively thrilled. Until I had to end said fake relationship before she flew out to Seattle to surprise me and meet my too-perfect-to-be-real boyfriend.

  It could happen. No, it would happen. No boundaries. Not one.

  “Listen, Mama, lunch break is ending and I’ve barely touched my food.”

  “Are you eating enough? Should I send you something?”

  “Ahh, you know I can never turn anything down.”

  “I’ll surprise you, sweet girl. Something delicious.”

  “Thanks, Mama.” And again, I was back to wanting to do anything for the woman, loving her infinitely. When we didn’t talk about my marital status, we were usually on much better paper. And it never hurt that she was almost as good of a cook as my abuela. Almost.

  After hanging up the phone, I pondered the fake boyfriend route and realized that Dev fit all of my mother’s criteria. Every single box was checked. She would love him—not for the same reasons I would, but would love him all the same.

  Ugh. I couldn’t believe I’d just thought about myself potentially loving Dev. This madness had to stop. I needed closure. I had to find a way to leave New Year’s Eve in the past and really move on, knowing that weekend was just a blip, a quirk, a memory. It wasn’t real and neither was the potential for Dev and me to be anything more than frenemies.

  Glancing down at my phone, I realized I hadn’t responded to Peter. Quickly, I called him, using up the last few minutes of my lunch break. Who needed food, right?

  He answered immediately.

  “Hey, Lyra.”

  “Peter, is everything okay? Your text sounded urgent…and a little cryptic.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that, just didn’t want to text this. Phone is better.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “I need your help. I’m going to ask Maren to marry me, and I have no idea what kind of ring to get her. Like, none at all. Considering we live together, it’s really pathetic.”

  I laughed and squealed a bit. “Oh my God, you’re doing it!”

  “Yeah, I’m pumped. She’ll say yes, right?”

  “Do you really have to ask that? You live together; you bought a house in a good school district.”

  “That’s not why we bought it,” he scoffed.

  “Whatever. You’re endgame. She’ll say yes. She’ll probably ask you what took you so damn long!”

  “Okay, so any advice on rings?”

  “Platinum, for sure. Maren’s not big on gold.”

  “Okay, good, platinum. Thanks.”

  “And she loves solitaires. She’s kinda simple like that.”

  “Wait, have you two talked about this? I mean, do you have an exact ring in mind?”

  I grimaced. Maren was hoping that when Peter was ready, he would ask my advice. So I knew exactly what style she wanted. She didn’t wear a lot of jewelry, and with her candle-making, she always tried to keep things simple. A platinum solitaire diamond would be easy to manage, easy to keep clean, and just as beautiful as one with lots of little stones.

  “I’ll send you a link,” I said with a laugh, knowing he would catch my drift. He chuckled into the phone.

  “I should have known you’d have an immediate answer for me.”

  “I mean, your girl is organized. She knows what she likes; can’t fault her for that.”

  “You’re absolutely right. And it’s a relief. This way I know I’ll get her exactly what she wants.”

  “By the way, she’s not picky on the size of the diamond. She made that very clear to me. Whatever works best for you, she’ll be happy with.”

  He sighed into the phone. “God, I’m lucky, aren’t I?”

  “Yep, I want at least five carats.” The phone went silent. “Dude, I’m totally kidding!”

  “I was just surprised is all,” Peter said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, yeah. But yes, you are very lucky, and you shouldn’t waste any time.”

  “Maybe I could take her on a trip? Especially since we didn’t really get to enjoy the ski trip like we’d hoped.”

  “Sure, find some other beautiful resort and get away for the weekend. I can even help out at the shop if need be. This place only needs me on weekdays.”

  “Got it. Can’t thank you enough, Lyra. Don’t forget the link, okay? I want to get on this ASAP.”

  “I’m on it. So excited for you, seriously.”

  “Thank you, you’re the best.”

  “Nah, I just love Maren. And you’ve kinda grown on me too, McTavish.”

  “Feeling is mutual.”

  “By the way, why didn’t you tell me Dev had a sister? And that she goes to this school?”

  “Um, I’m sure we’ve mentioned Savita a few times. I think you just never paid attention. You never really cared about Dev, to be honest. When his name came up you usually tuned us out.”

  “True.” There was a pause as I realized just how indifferent I’d always been to Dev in the past. Yes, he annoyed me when we were forced together by Peter and Maren, but other than that, he was outta sight, outta mind most of the time. “I met her today.”

  “They look exactly alike, don’t they?”

  “It was unnerving,” I said with a nervous laugh, tucking my hair behind my ear.

  “She’s harmless.”

  “Are the they close?” I asked, curious about their dynamic.

  “Not really; big age difference there. I think they annoy each other more than they get along. Sound familiar?” He laughed.

  “You’re hilarious.” I rolled my eyes but knew he was right. “I’d better run.”

  “Right. Thanks again, you’re a lifesaver!”

  “Anytime, friend.”

  I hung up the phone and shoveled in the last of my salad. I hustled back to the library, stopping briefly at the campus Starbucks to get a cappuccino for Vern.

  I hoped Peter would propose sooner rather than later. Keeping a secret like this from Maren could be hard. Like, really hard. So hard, I was relieved we no longer worked together constantly. I would be toast if we did.

  But then I realized we were having drinks that night. I needed a poker face—a good one. And I really needed to figure out how to get closure with Dev.

  An idea popped into my head and with a satisfied smile on my face, I texted Peter asking him for a favor of my own.

  Get your game face on, Castillo.

  Chapter 13

  DEV

  I was in a funk.

  Not because
I ended things with Trupti, not because I was missing her or the sex… Well, maybe I missed the sex. Okay, I definitely missed the sex. But more than that, I missed Lyra. I surprised myself with how much, actually. I honestly thought that getting back to Seattle and dealing with Trupti would kinda cleanse my mind of Lyra and our weekend together at the resort.

  It didn’t.

  When Peter invited me to go for a short run this morning, I jumped at it. It was a surprisingly balmy morning with no ice on the ground, which made it easy me to get back into my favorite form of exercise. I’d been off my crutches for a couple of weeks, but hadn’t yet gone for a run even though my doctor said I could try. So, Peter suggested we do a couple of miles, instead of our normal five, just to get me back into it. I was really looking forward to it. Whenever I was hanging out with my boys or lost in intense exercise, I was able to have clarity, to have balance in my head. A run with Peter was exactly what I needed.

  “How’s your foot?” Peter asked when we were cooling down and walking down the quiet downtown streets. Our ritual was to run ourselves ragged and grab a coffee before heading to our homes to shower and go about our days.

  “A little stiff, but not too bad.”

  “Have you talked to her?”

  “Trup?”

  Peter nodded.

  “Nah, she told me to go to hell, which I expected. I mean, I was honest with her… about everything. So she was pissed.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Pete looked confused, raising one eyebrow.

  “Yeah, but I wanted to. To her, that was even worse.” I let out a sardonic laugh. “Women are fucked up.”

  “Sometimes, yeah,” Peter said, but his words didn’t match his expression. I had to cut the guy some slack. He was in love, and I remembered that feeling; I remembered it well.

  “By the way, don’t tell Lyra that I broke up with Trup.”

  “O-kay, but why?”

  “She’ll think it was for her, and I don’t want to give her the satisfaction.” I shook my head. “That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t want to waste another second talking about that woman. She’ll ruin my entire day if I do.”

  Peter looked away, appearing awkward. I knew he hated when I talked so negatively about Lyra since they’d gotten so tight, but if I couldn’t be real with him, then what kind of friendship did we even have? I decided to change the subject to something much better than the unending civil war between Lyra and me.