Gabe shrugged. “I’m sure they liked him, but you and I both know that it’s not enough to like someone in our world. Our parents have always expected more from us when it comes to who we date and who we’ll eventually settle down with.”
“But Cam’s not just some guy. He’s really successful. I thought my dad would appreciate the initiative he took to get into Westside and how hard he works. I know it might not seem like it, but he puts a ton of effort into the band and their music.”
“I know he does, but you know that’s also not enough. The fact that he’s in a band is a mark against him.”
“But he’s a multi-millionaire! Shouldn’t that count for something?”
Gabe gave me an empathetic smile. “Andi, even if he was a multi-billionaire, your parents wouldn’t be okay with the simple facts, and I can tell you that a musician who lives in L.A. and never went to college isn’t high on their list. They’re judgmental and set in their ways, and they’re not going to change. They’re just like my parents. They want to know that you’re going to find the right person to marry, buy a house nearby, and have babies who will be raised with the same ideals as you were.”
I sighed, knowing he was right. I’d been hopeful that my parents had evolved, but it seemed they hadn’t changed a bit.
“This sucks. Do you know how bad I’m going to feel if they said anything mean to him? I should have realized this would happen. It’s just been so long since I introduced them to anyone I was dating. I mean, the last guy they met was Reid, and you know they loved him. I should have realized they’d take issue with Cam because he’s not successful in the traditional sense. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve been living my idealistic life in New York for too long where I could only let them into certain parts of my life. I could sensor them from the things they wouldn’t understand.”
Gabe smirked. “Is that why you keep telling them you’ll eventually move back here when you know that’s never going to happen?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Maybe. Yes. It’s just easier than having the argument about why Atlanta is so much better and how I’m never going to meet a southern man in the city. They don’t get it, and I can’t explain it to them. I don’t care about marrying a southern guy. I just want to be with someone I love who gets me.”
“I know,” Gabe agreed. “It’s the same reason I’ve never told my parents who I really am. They’d hate me for killing their fantasy of me marrying a southern bell and giving them loads of grandchildren. Even though Dane is wonderful and he comes from a very respectable family and his dad is a politician with connections all over the state of Georgia, because he’s a man, my parents would never approve of me being with him. We’re facing the same oppression.”
I sighed, knowing he was right. “This is why I moved away,” I said as clarity swept over me. “I’m not sure I consciously realized it until now, but shit, this place is backward. Most of my friends in New York are focused on their careers and living life before they settle down and have a family. It’s about having fun and experiencing things so you don’t have any regrets. And it’s about finding someone you love because they’re the perfect complement to you, not because they look good on paper and come from good breeding.”
“Good, then go with that,” Gabe encouraged me. “Be with Cam if it makes you happy, if he’s the person who perfectly complements you. Forget what your parents think. At the end of the day, I want you to be happy, and I can clearly see that he makes you happy. I’d venture to say that he even loves you, so he might be exactly the guy you’re looking for.”
My head snapped up from where I was looking at my cell phone, willing it to beep with a text message from Cam. I just wanted to know he was okay, because that meant we were okay.
“What did you say?” I asked Gabe.
“I said I think he loves you,” he said offhandedly, like it was no big deal. It was a big freaking deal. “It’s just a guess, but I saw how he looks at you, how he would always move into your space. He’s got strong feelings for you, Andi.”
“But do you think it’s love? Isn’t it too soon for him to feel that way?”
“Do you love him?” Dane asked me.
I blinked a few times, not sure what to do with that question. I knew I’d been thinking about how I was falling in love with Cam, and I loved so many things about him. But I kept thinking it was too soon to actually be there. Was I really in love with him? I had a feeling I was.
But did it even matter if he was going to cut off communication and push me out of his life? I hated to think that, but I was fearful that was exactly what was happening.
I shook my head, hoping I was just being irrational. “I don’t know. I might, but does it even matter?”
“Yes!” Gabe and Dane said in unison.
“Okay.”
“If you love him, you need to tell him,” Gabe encouraged me.
I felt a twinge of fear in my stomach. “If he ever calls me again.”
“I’m sure he will,” Dane said softly. “I know he wasn’t in the best mindset when I met him, but I saw the way he looked at you. It was like he was afraid he was going to lose you.”
“He’s not,” I insisted.
“Andi, I’m sure everything is fine,” Gabe assured me. “You just need to tell him how you feel and make sure he knows that no matter what, he’s the only guy for you. If your parents said something, or if he thinks Reid is a threat, you need to set the record straight.”
“I know,” I said, figuring I’d tell him exactly that whenever we talked.
I was slowly realizing that more than anything I wanted Cam to be in love with me. I knew for sure I felt the same way, and at the realization of that, losing him felt like the worst pain I could imagine. I needed to fix things before they got any worse, and time and distance could definitely make them worse.
Gabe covered my hand with his. “If he doesn’t call you, just call him. And if that doesn’t work, go see him. Don’t let him get away.”
“He probably just needs some time,” Dane offered.
I shook my head as I reached for my drink. It was empty, so I set the glass down on the table with a clunk.
“This would be easier if I knew what made him upset. I need to talk to my mom and see if she’ll tell me what happened when Reid stopped by the table. I need to know what she said. I have a feeling she wasn’t thinking, and she probably said something that made Cam upset. I hate to even think she’d do that.”
Gabe looked skeptical. “Well, your mother isn’t known for her discretion, and she might not have realized that what she said was hurtful – been there, experienced that before.”
“I know,” I said around a sigh. “That’s the bad part.”
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it today,” Gabe said. “So why don’t we get you another drink?”
“It’s three o’clock in the afternoon,” I reminded him.
He shrugged. “So what. You deserve it.”
I forced a smile. “Yeah, okay. Why not.”
“Good girl,” he said as he signaled for the waitress to bring us another round.
* * *
“Mom?” I called as soon I walked into the house.
I was a little tipsy from the three margaritas I had with Gabe and Dane. That hadn’t been the plan, but after I got a buzz going, the numbness of being drunk had followed, and it was more than welcome. Cam still hadn’t texted me, and my sadness was starting to turn into anger.
“Andi, is that you?” my mom called back to me from the recesses of what I thought was the kitchen.
Who else would it be?
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Oh, good. Come in here, dear.”
I took a deep breath, determined to get to the bottom of whatever had happened. If Cam wasn’t going to tell me, I was going to find out on my own. The question was poised on my lips, ready to come out when I rounded the corner and came face-to-face with not only my mom, but Reid, who was perched on a barstool, drinkin
g a glass of red wine.
“Oh,” I said, feeling the question slip away. I wasn’t going to ask it now, not in front of him.
“Hi Andi,” he said, his face lighting up when he saw me.
“Hey Reid. How are you?” I said, less than thrilled to see him after the day I’d had.
“I’m great. Thanks for asking,” he said as he took a sip of his wine.
“Is that a pinot?” I asked my mom.
“It is,” she said excitedly.” Reid brought it over. It’s from the Russian River Valley.”
“I was out there with friends over Thanksgiving,” he explained.
I nodded. “Yeah, I saw that on Facebook.”
He grinned at me, obviously happy that I’d noticed what he’d been up to.
“Can I get a glass of that wine?” I asked my mom.
I probably didn’t need to keep drinking, but a part of me wanted to keep the numb feeling intact, and there was only one surefire way to do that.
“Sure, dear,” she said as she got to work pouring me a glass.
“Mom, where’s Dad?” I asked her after she’d handed me my glass and I took a big sip.
She waved her hand. “Oh, he’s out getting some last minute stocking stuffers. He’ll be back soon. Speaking of which, I should get the appetizers ready. Why don’t you kids go into the living room and catch up. I’ll be in shortly.”
“Mom, I actually need to speak to you,” I said, sensing this might be my opportunity.
She’d already had a glass of wine, so she might be loose-lipped enough to tell me what I wanted to know.
“Darling, it would be rude to leave Reid alone,” she reminded me. “Now go on in the living room. We can talk when I join you.”
“I actually need to speak to you alone,” I said a little firmer.
“Then we can speak later, Andi. Go on now.”
I sighed. “Fine. Later.”
She beamed at me. “Of course, sweetheart.”
I followed Reid into the living room, not sure what we were supposed to talk about. We were still ‘friends’, but I hadn’t really spoken to him in several months. He was more of a friend via social media and in the few occurrences I ran into him at home when I was visiting. Our conversation the night before had consisted of light pleasantries and surface topics, which was typically what we talked about when we saw each other. We just didn’t have that much in common anymore.
He took a seat on the couch, so I settled at the opposite end. Then we stared at each other.
“So, what’s new with you?” I asked him after several seconds of silence.
“Nothing much. I love what I do, and the job is just so rewarding. There are some days when I barely sleep, but it’s worth it when one of my kids pulls through after months of fighting.”
“That’s great,” I said as I took another sip of my wine.
For as bad of a mood as I was in and for how much I didn’t want to make small talk with my ex, I couldn’t actually be a jerk about his job. Reid was a pediatric oncologist, and he was good at it. He was like a damn saint.
“So how are you?” he asked me. “Is life in New York still everything you expected?”
I knew Reid was still bitter about the fact that I’d decided to move to New York instead of back to Atlanta with him. Just like my parents, he didn’t understand my desire to live there and couldn’t see the allure.
I shrugged, my foul mood getting the best of me as I answered him. “It’s alright, I suppose.”
“Oh?” he said curiously as he draped his arm over the back of the couch. “Is your job not going well?”
“No, my job’s fine. My friends are good. I’m really happy,” I said flatly.
“You don’t seem all that happy.”
“Well, I am.”
Reid smiled, but it seemed in-genuine. “I’m glad, Andi. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, it’s not.”
“Excuse me?”
“Reid, you were pissed when I broke up with you and moved away. Don’t tell me you wanted me to be happy, because you didn’t. You wanted me to want to be your wife, and you’ve never let go of the fact that I didn’t want that.”
I expected him to be appalled by the way I was talking to him, but I guess after dating me for four years he was used to my range of emotions. I wasn’t exactly the southern lady my parents wanted me to be. My personality suited me in New York, but at home it wasn’t always welcome.
“Of course I wanted that, Andi. I still want that, but I also respect that you needed to go out and see the world.”
I nodded knowingly. “Right, because you assume that I’m going to come back here when I’m done ‘seeing the world’, am I right?”
Reid shrugged. “Well, yes. I’ve always assumed that, and when you’re parents told me you’d decided to come home this summer, I was thrilled.”
“This summer? What are you talking about?” I asked, thoroughly confused.
“I’m not sure. I’m just repeating what I heard. Is it not accurate information? Maybe I heard your mother wrong.”
“No, it’s not accurate,” I said, firmly squelching that assumption.
I didn’t want to tell him that he probably hadn’t heard my mother wrong. I was fairly certain that she’d said exactly what Reid had repeated to me. I just wasn’t sure why that was. I had a feeling that since I’d been so vague with my plans, my parents had taken creative license with the truth – without asking me first. And then they’d told people something that was completely false. Great.
“Oh, okay. So you’re staying in New York?” Reid asked in confusion.
“Yes. Why would I leave?”
“I don’t – I don’t know. Your parents said you were moving home when your lease was up. I didn’t ask for more details.”
As soon as he said that a cold feeling spread throughout my body.
“When exactly did they tell you that?”
“Last night when I stopped by their table at the club,” Reid said like it was no big deal.
It was a huge deal, and clarity suddenly hit me as I realized what Cam was upset about. If my parents had told my ex-boyfriend, in front of Cam, that I was moving back to Atlanta, and I hadn’t mentioned it to him before, he probably assumed I was keeping things from him. Fantastic.
“Reid, what else did they mention?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
“Not much,” he said, way too vague for my taste. “It was just idle chit chat.”
I nodded. “Okay, so let me clarify my question. In addition to announcing that I was moving home this summer, did either of my parents allude to the fact that you and I should get back together when I move home?”
Reid shrugged. “That might have come up.”
I nodded again. “Right, so who else happened to be at the table when that was discussed?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
I sighed. “Cam was there, wasn’t he? My boyfriend?”
“Now that you mention it, yes, he was there.”
“Okay, so didn’t you think it was a bit odd that my parents were offering me up to you while I was clearly dating someone else?”
He laughed. Reid actually laughed. “Oh, come on, Andi. You can’t seriously like that guy.”
“And why is that?” I asked, getting more irritated by the second.
“Well, for starters, he was wearing sneakers last night.”
Seriously?!
“So what?” I responded, the brat in me coming out in full force, but as the puzzle pieces started to fit together I began to understand what had happened and why Cam had left. And it only increased my anger. “What does that have to do with anything? Who cares what he was wearing?”
I’d honestly thought Cam looked great the night before. He’d worn jeans, a blazer and a pair of high-tops. He looked like a cool rock star, and for the first time, I was transported back to what it was like to see him on-stage in his element for
the first time. Even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it back then, I’d noticed him, and frankly, I’d liked his style. He always looked great.
“He’s obviously not the right guy for you, Andi. Where did you meet him anyway?”
“At a concert,” I said smugly, wondering what Reid would say if he knew who Cam really was.
“A concert?” he questioned.
“Yes. It was a Westside show. You’ve heard of them, right?”
Reid looked unsure. “I guess so.”
“They’re pretty much the hottest boy band in the world right now.”
“So, your boyfriend is a fan of a boy band?” he asked skeptically. “That actually makes a little sense – and I’m even more convinced that he’s not the right guy for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, you idiot. He’s not a fan of the band. He’s in the band. He’s a member of Westside. We met at their after party.”
“Are you serious?”
I nodded as I watched Reid’s face, wondering if he was thinking how badly he’d misjudged Cam, or that he was thinking that maybe he had some real competition after all. I could see that he was impressed. Regardless of whether or not he liked Westside’s music, the fact that my boyfriend was a musician carried weight. He wasn’t just some guy. He was a celebrity, and that meant something to Reid. I was sure he was mentally calculating how big of a threat Cam was with this new information. Before I was sure Reid thought he won out on paper any day, but the celebrity factor changed things in Cam’s favor.
“Wow. Really?” Reid asked in disbelief.
“Yes, really. And things between us are serious.”
“But I thought you broke up with him.”
“No! Why would you think that?” I asked, my stomach dropping a few inches at the thought. I hated that idea, and I wished Cam would call so I could feel reassured about us.
“Because your mom told me you broke up. That’s why she invited me over here. She said you’d be upset and would need consoling, and I was just the guy to do that.”
Now I was pretty much fuming. “She actually said that?!”
“Yeah, she did. Are you not broken up with him?”
“No, I’m not. Things are great. We’ve never been happier.”
Westside Series Box Set Page 34