All the tension in his neck and jaw eases with my response. “Oh, thank God,” he says, running a hand down his face. But then he tries to quickly recover. “Not that I don’t want to propose to you. Just…yeah. Someday.”
He sits down next to me on the bed, and I bump him with my shoulder as I grin at him. “Maybe someday.”
He smiles back. “Maybe someday.”
I look back down at the ring and run my finger over it. It looks like an antique. “It’s a beautiful ring.”
He picks up his phone and begins texting me. I pull out my phone to read it.
Ridge: It belonged to Maggie’s grandmother. Her grandfather gave it to me while she and I were dating, but I never got around to asking her. I’ve been meaning to give it back to her since our breakup, but the timing was always weird. She doesn’t know I have it.
Sydney: You keep it in your sock drawer. That’s the most obvious place for a ring to be hidden. She’s more than likely seen this.
Ridge: It’s been in my closet for three years. I just moved it to the sock drawer two weeks ago to remind myself to give it to her.
Sydney: You’ve had it for three years and never proposed? What was stopping you?
Ridge shrugs and then says, “It never felt right.”
I want to smile, but I don’t. It’s just that hearing him say it never felt right makes me feel good. Should it? Who knows? I’m honestly tired of second-guessing my reactions to every little thing I feel. From now on, I just want to feel. Unabashedly. Without guilt. And right now, I feel relieved. Relieved that the ring isn’t for me, but also relieved that he never gave it to Maggie.
“I’ll give it back to her tomorrow.” He reaches for it, but I pull it away from him.
“No,” I say. “I think you should wait.”
“Wait? Why?”
I text him my lengthy response because it’s too much to try to sign for me and too much for him to try to understand.
Me: I think this ring would mean a lot to Maggie. And I know it’s still new between them, but I think Jake means a lot to her, too. Maybe you should wait and see how things go with the two of them. If they fall in love, I think you should give the ring to Jake. Not Maggie.
Ridge smiles after he reads my text. Then he looks at me appreciatively. “Okay.”
I hand him the ring, and he walks it back to the drawer. He slides his hands into his pockets. “What do you want to do for the rest of the night?”
I shrug. “Seeing Warren’s ass got me out of the mood for a round two.”
Ridge laughs and drops down on the bed next to me. “We could go watch a movie.”
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head immediately. “Not sitting on that couch ever again.”
“No, I mean at a theater.”
“But…how would that be fun for you? There aren’t any captions.”
“Then take your earplugs and we’ll deaf-watch it together.”
I stand up, eager and ready. A date. I may not be in the mood for sex right now, thanks to Warren, but I am so in the mood for a date with my boyfriend of less than a month, whom I love with all my soul, but do not want an engagement ring from quite yet.
When I woke up this morning, I made her breakfast. Bacon, eggs, biscuits. The works. And just as I had hoped, the outcome was the complete opposite from when I made her breakfast at her place, after the first night we spent together. She walked over to me, wearing nothing but a bra and the shirt I came home from work in yesterday. Unbuttoned. I couldn’t stop staring at her; I almost burnt the eggs.
She kissed me on my cheek and then made herself something to drink. I was already running late, but I didn’t care. I wanted to eat breakfast with her, so I stayed another half hour. When I started to leave for work, she was getting dressed. The thought of not seeing her again for another week or two was not a thought I wanted to entertain.
“Stay,” I said, pulling her to me before I walked out the door.
She smiled up at me. “Why? So I can clean the kitchen you just destroyed while cooking for me?”
I’m still so embarrassed she cleaned my house yesterday.
Appreciative, yes. But it was in the worst condition it’s ever been in. I’ve worked so much over the last couple of weeks, all I can do is crash when I get home. And Justice was sick, so his chores weren’t getting done. I’m a messy person, but I’ve never been as messy as what she walked into yesterday.
“Stay and be lazy. Watch Netflix. I have chocolate in the pantry.”
She grinned. “What kind of chocolate?”
“Reeses. Maybe some Twix.”
Her nose scrunched up. “Sounds tempting, but I need to watch my sugar.”
“There’s sugar-free chocolate, too.”
“Ugh,” she said, letting her head fall back in defeat. “I can’t say no to that. Or you. What time will you be back?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try to move around some afternoon appointments.”
“Okay. But I’m taking your advice and not cleaning.” She gave me a peck on the lips and then dropped down on the couch. “I’m staying right here. All day.”
“Good.” I leaned over her and gave her a kiss. A good kiss. No, a great kiss. One that stayed with me all day. One I can’t wait to get back home to repeat.
I was able to move around my last three appointments today. It’s the second time in two weeks I’ve done this. It’s out of the norm for me, so my nurse, Vicky, knew something was up. When I was on my way out the door, she said, “Have fun on your date.”
I paused and turned around to look at her. She shot me a knowing look and walked back down the hallway.
I didn’t think I was being transparent, but it’s hard to hide this kind of euphoria. I’m not sure I’ve ever known this side of a relationship. With Chrissy, we became parents so early on into our relationship. Before that, we were just kids. Between medical school and raising Justice, we never really took the time to just enjoy each other.
I like it.
I’m really enjoying Maggie’s company. I hate the idea that she’ll probably leave tonight or in the morning, but I’ve also vowed not to beg her to stay like I did this morning. Weak moment. I need to remember this is the same girl who freaked out on me twice already. I’m new at getting back into the dating game and don’t want to scare her away again.
•••
Yeah, that promise I made to myself earlier lasted three hours.
We just got back from dinner, and she’s shoving her things back into her backpack.
“Leave in the morning,” I say.
She laughs and shakes her head. “Jake, I can’t. There has to be some rule that says you can’t stay two nights in a row with someone you aren’t even officially dating.”
“Then let’s make it official. Be my girlfriend. Spend the night.”
She looks at me funny.
“Oh, was that not a hint that you wanted to make it official?”
“No, I only said that because it’s a concern. I don’t want to smother you.”
I brush her hair out of her face. “I wouldn’t mind that.”
She drops her forehead against my chest and groans, then takes a step away from me. “We have responsibilities. I have three weeks left of school. You have to work tomorrow. We can’t just pretend this is how it’s going to be. Some blissful, romantic, whirlwind of a relationship.”
“Who’s pretending?”
She raises an eyebrow like maybe I’m about to freak her out again. I can see her guard going up. I wrap my hand around her wrist and pull her back to me. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I am not your ex.”
“I’m very much aware of that,” she says.
“But just because I haven’t been around for most of your past doesn’t mean I’m not aware of our present. And all the things that might or might not happen in the future. Stop pretending we need to be more responsible than we are just because you’re scared of where this whirlwind ta
kes us.”
“That was deep.”
“I’m trying to be shallow. I don’t want you to think about responsibilities or illnesses or what the rules of relationships should be tonight. I want you to drop your bag, kiss me, and stop worrying so much.” I press my forehead to hers. “Live in the moment, Maggie.”
Her eyes are closed, but I can see the smile spread across her face as she drops her backpack to the floor. “You are so good for me, Jake Griffin. But also kind of bad.” She kisses my chin and then lifts up and kisses me on the mouth. Her arms find the hem of my shirt, and she slips her hands beneath it and slides them up my back.
I help her out of her shirt and then walk her to the bedroom. Counting our one-night stand, this is our fifth time to have sex. I wonder when I’ll stop counting.
We spend the next half hour living in the moment. Me on top, then her, then me again. When the moment is over, I roll onto my back to catch my breath. She lays her head on my chest and moves with my breaths.
God, I could get used to this. I run my fingers through her hair, wondering if we made it official. I don’t think she objected, but she also didn’t agree.
“Maggie?”
She lifts her head and rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me. “Yes?”
“Are we official?”
She nods. “After that round? Very official.”
I smile, but my smile is smacked right off my face when I hear the front door open.
“Dad?”
“Shit!” I roll off the bed and grab my jeans.
Maggie stands up and grabs hers. “What do I do?” she whispers. “Do you want me to hide somewhere?”
I rush to my closet door. “Yeah, hide in here.”
She makes her way to my closet without question. I can’t help but laugh. I grab her wrist right as she reaches the door. “I was kidding, Maggie.” I try to stifle my laughter, but she was really about to hide in the closet. “He already knows about you. Get dressed and come meet him.”
She stares at me a moment, then slaps me in the chest. “Ass.”
I’m still laughing as I grab my shirt from the floor.
“Dad?” Justice calls out.
“Coming!” I say.
When I’m dressed, I give Maggie a quick kiss and then leave her to finish dressing in the bedroom. Justice is standing in the kitchen with his friend Cody.
“What’s up?” I say, as casually as possible.
Justice turns around. “Not much, Dad. What’s up with you?”
I pause. He knows something. He’s smirking.
His friend Cody holds up Maggie’s shirt. “Whose shirt is this?”
They both start laughing. I grab the shirt and walk it back to my bedroom. I open the door and toss Maggie her shirt, then wait for her to put it on. “Thanks,” she says. “I was worried they would see it.”
I fail to tell her they did. She pulls it on and follows me out of the bedroom. When we walk into the kitchen, Cody’s jaw drops when he sees Maggie. He nudges Justice with his elbow.
“Dude,” Cody says to Justice. “Your new stepmom is hot.”
Justice rolls his eyes. “Not awkward at all.”
Maggie just laughs, thank God.
I introduce them. “Maggie, this is my son, Justice.” Justice waves at her. “And his best friend, Cody.”
Maggie smiles at them. “Hi. I’m…not anyone’s stepmom.”
“Even better,” Cody says. I glare at him, and he wipes the smirk off his face.
The microwave dings, and Justice pulls a bag of popcorn out of it. “Mom got called in. She told me to call first and make sure it was okay that I came over.”
“And why didn’t you call first?”
Justice smiles and says, “Because then you’d know I was coming.” Justice looks at Maggie. “Do you know who M. Night Shyamalan is?”
“The director? Of course.”
Justice shoots me a look of approval, and then looks back at Maggie. “What’s your favorite movie of his?”
She makes her way over to the bar and takes a seat. She seems comfortable. I’m glad. I didn’t want this to be weird, but I also wasn’t planning on introducing them so soon. But hiding her would have been even weirder. “Hard to say,” she says. “Signs, obviously, but The Sixth Sense will always hold a special place in my heart.”
“What’s your stance on The Happening?” Justice asks.
“I’ve never seen it.”
Cody opens the bag of popcorn and says, “Well, Maggie who is not a stepmom, tonight is your lucky night.”
Justice pours the popcorn into two bowls and hands one to Maggie. She pops a piece in her mouth as Justice and Cody make their way to the living room.
I blow out a breath, although I’m not sure why. They’re eleven years old. Not sure why all of that just made me nervous.
“I like him,” she says.
“I told you he was great.”
She stands up and puts a piece of popcorn in my mouth. “I might even like him more than I like you.” She walks past me, spinning to face me as she goes. “Nobody puts Maggie in a closet.”
I laugh. “Clever.” She walks away, into the living room. I follow her, because that’s what boyfriends do, right?
Justice and Cody have taken the main sofa directly in front of the TV. Maggie and I sit on the loveseat. She leans against me, positioning herself long-ways so she can see the TV better. She props her feet up on the arm of the couch.
Justice starts the movie, and I’m not even disappointed that I’ve seen it four times. I’m just happy this is how the night has ended up.
Tomorrow, that thought might scare me, knowing what I’m getting my heart into with this girl.
But right now, I just want to live in the moment.
I’ve been trying to get Bridgette to warm up to Maggie since Maggie moved into their complex several months ago. As it stands, Bridgette is still pretty cold.
She’s sitting on Maggie’s bed while I help Maggie pick out an outfit for tonight, so we’re making progress. She hasn’t been over here since Maggie moved in, other than one time when Maggie had to stay a few nights in the hospital for an illness. Bridgette came to get some clothes for her, but only because Warren made her.
“I think the black shirt would look better with these,” Maggie says. “I’m gonna try it on.” She grabs the shirt I brought over and takes it to her bathroom, closing the door behind her. I look at Bridgette. She’s on her back, staring up at the ceiling, yawning. I pull out my phone and text her because I don’t want Maggie hearing our conversation.
Sydney: You’re making this uncomfortable.
Bridgette reads her text and then looks at me, holding up a frustrated hand.
Bridgette: What?! I’m just being me.
Sydney: Yeah, no offense, but that’s the issue. Sometimes people have to make an effort NOT to be themselves in order to make situations around them a little more tolerable. You haven’t said a word to her. Make an effort. Ask her questions.
Bridgette: I AM making an effort. I’m here. Besides, I don’t have any questions for her. What would I even say? I don’t know how to do fake.
Sydney: Ask her about her graduation. Ask her about when we went bungee jumping. Ask her how she and Jake are doing. Lots of potential conversation starters if you just try.
Maggie walks out of the bathroom just as Bridgette drops her phone onto the bed and rolls her eyes.
“I like that shirt on you,” I say to Maggie. She’s turning back and forth in the mirror.
I look at Bridgette and make a face. Bridgette sits up dramatically, slapping her palms against the bed. She clears her throat.
“So…Maggie. How are…you and Jake doing? Well? I hope?” She forces a smile, but sounds like a stiff robot.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I glance over at Maggie, and she’s just standing there, staring at Bridgette with her head tilted.
I glance back at Bridgette and shake my head. “Wow. You really don’t
know how to talk to people.”
Bridgette throws her hands up and says, “I told you!”
Maggie looks at me. “Did you make her ask me that?”
I shrug. “I’m just trying to teach her how to interact with humans in a normal way.”
Looking back at Bridgette, Maggie says, “It doesn’t suit you.”
“See?” Bridgette falls back on the bed. “I should just be me. I’m good at being me.”
“Fine. I’m sorry I tried.” I give my attention back to Maggie. “But how are you and Jake doing?”
Bridgette sits up on the bed again and throws a hand out toward me. “Why does it sound so normal when you say it?”
Maggie and I both laugh. She looks in the mirror and fingers her hair. “We’re good,” she says, smiling into the mirror. “It’s all been so easy with him. He’s just…simple. He likes to have fun, doesn’t take anything too seriously. Until he needs to.”
“But is he good in bed?” Bridgette asks.
I see a pattern here. The only conversations that come naturally to Bridgette always have to do with sex. Does Ridge moan during sex? Is Jake good in bed?
“He’s very good,” Maggie says without hesitation.
“Who is better?” Bridgette asks her. “Ridge or Jake? Or Warren? Wow, you’ve slept with all three of our boyfriends.”
I slap a hand to my forehead. She’s a lost cause.
Luckily, Maggie just laughs it off. “Yeah, Bridgette, let’s just not do the whole conversation thing, okay?”
Bridgette pouts. “But I actually want to know the answer to this question. I bet it was Warren.”
Maggie looks at me and scrunches up her nose while shaking her head. “It wasn’t,” she mouths.
Bridgette mutters something about wanting a snack, so she heads to the kitchen. I hand Maggie a purple button-up shirt. “Try this one on. I think you’ll like it better than the black one.”
“What’s it even matter? Jake is on call all weekend, so he won’t even be there.” Maggie goes back to the bathroom just as Bridgette walks back into the bedroom, crunching on chips. She looks at herself in the mirror, turning so she can see her ass. She holds up a Pringle and positions it so that it covers her but in the mirror.
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