by D. Kelly
“Did you guys have a good day yesterday?” I ask Zack’s parents once we’re all settled.
“You know, we had the best day we’ve had in a long time. There’s something to be said for letting go of the past. It’s freeing not to have any more secrets.” Paul leans over and kisses Priscilla tenderly. It makes me so happy to see them rekindling their love.
“Cassidy knows exactly how that is, don’t you?” Rylee throws me under the bus all while smiling sweetly at me and popping a piece of pineapple in her mouth.
“Just as much as you do,” I reply, dragging her under the bus with me.
“Cassidy and I have some news, which is why we asked you two for brunch,” Zack tells his parents. “We’re getting married tomorrow at sunset and we’d like you to join us here for the ceremony.”
“That’s wonderful news!” Priscilla exclaims happily and my heart soars.
“Really?” Paul asks, directing his question to me and I nod my agreement.
“Do you still want to…” I’m so choked up I can’t finish the sentence, but he knows exactly what I’m getting at.
“I do, very much. I’d be honored to walk you down the aisle.”
While I dab at my eyes with my napkin, Priscilla turns her attention to Rylee “So, what secret are you hiding, Rylee?”
Ry just waves her off. “I’m not hiding anything. Pete and I have been on a few dates and we’re seeing where it goes.” Just then, Pete’s phone rings and he excuses himself to take the call. This is the kind of thing he was worried about—being called away at inopportune times. Rylee is a strong, confident woman. If anyone can handle it, she can.
“How would that work? He lives here.”
“So will I as soon as I can find a place,” Rylee states matter-of-factly.
“You’re moving here for him?” Nick practically yells.
Zack has finally decided to help his sister out. “No, she’s moving here for us.”
“You’ve decided.” Paul nods in understanding.
“We have. This is where we want to raise our family and start our lives.”
“Your family?” Priscilla questions hopefully.
“I’m pregnant.”
Everyone jumps up at once, congratulating us with hugs.
“I’m going to be a grandmother. When are you due, Cassidy?”
We take a few minutes to fill them in on our plans and the baby’s due date. Pete reappears and pulls Ry aside for a moment before hugging her and kissing her goodbye.
“I’m sorry, but one of my men has a job that’s gone a little haywire. Thank you, guys, for breakfast. I’ll be back tomorrow to get everything ready, Zack.”
Rylee walks him out—I’m sure she wants to give him a real kiss goodbye—and we all continue chatting. About ten minutes later, I’ve got to use the restroom again. I’m already learning how small your bladder can feel during pregnancy. I’m sure it will only get worse as I get bigger.
When I get to the restroom, I can hear Nick and Rylee in the room next door and their conversation is heated. I never even noticed Nick get up from the table.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Rylee! Zack finally says it’s okay to be together and you start dating someone else?”
“Don’t give me that, Nick. You had years to talk to my brother about us and you chickened out every single time.”
“So did you,” he accuses her.
“Maybe so, but he’s your best friend so it was your duty to do it. If you wanted me you wouldn’t have let Zack get between us. You would have fought for me.”
“Did you want me to fight for you, Rylee?” he asks in a much softer tone.
“Of course I did. How dense can you be? We’ve danced around each other since high school. Our chemistry has always been there. We have great sex, good conversation, and excellent makeout sessions.”
“None of that has changed but now we have Zack’s blessing to try. Don’t you want to try, Rylee?”
“I do want to try, with Pete. I’m sorry, Nick. I don’t want to hurt you but I need a man who wants me for more than just sex. Pete and I clicked immediately and he shows a genuine interest in me. He wants go get to know me, he wants to please me, and he makes me laugh.”
“You don’t think I’m interested in you?” he asks, distraught, and I know I should just hurry up and use the restroom but I can’t.
“When was the last time you asked me something about myself, Nick? Really tried to get to know me?”
‘You’re being ridiculous, Rylee. Of course he wants to get to know you. You. Just. Met. That’s what people do! I don’t need to get to know you because I already do. We grew up together. I know everything there is to know about you. I know about the time you fell off your bike and broke your arm, I know your favorite movie is The Land Before Time even though you tell everyone it’s The Notebook. I know how you sound when you call out my name and come around my dick so fucking hard I wouldn’t even know my own name if you weren’t screaming it out, reminding me who’s making you feel that good. I know you want three kids, two boys and a girl, in that order, and that you have been hoping Cassidy would get pregnant since you graduated college so you can be an aunt. Don’t tell me I don’t know you, Rylee. I’ve made it my mission to know you since the first night we had sex.”
Well, hell. Nick is head over heels in love with Ry.
“Why didn’t you fight then?” she cries out and I think she’s actually crying.
“We talked this in circles so many times, Rylee, and we both agreed again and again it would be too hard, too much of a risk. I wish I had tried because now that I have Zack’s blessing I don’t want to lose you. You’re the best thing in my life.”
“I need time to think about this, Nick. I need space.”
“You can have all the time and space you need but I’m not giving up on you. Take your time, get to know Pete, and see if he’s really the man for you. But for what it’s worth, I think you’re wasting your time. You belong with me, Rylee, and you always have.”
The sound of footsteps trailing down the hall reminds me what I’m doing. Quickly, I relieve my bladder and go check and see if Rylee is still in the room next door. She is.
“Oh, Cassidy,” she sobs, hiding her head in her hands. “What am I going to do?”
“I’m not sure but you’ll figure it out. Sorry I overheard your discussion. I had to pee and I didn’t realize you were in here.”
“Do you think he loves me?”
“I do.”
She sniffs and wipes her nose on a tissue she got from the box on the bedside.
“Nick has been a part of my life for so long, I feel like I owe it to him to try and make this work. But I feel something with Pete that I’ve never felt with Nick. Don’t I owe it to both of us to figure out what that is and if we have a shot?”
“Rylee, I hate to give you advice on something as important as love. All I can tell you is if you’re feeling something with Pete that makes you feel good, you probably owe it to yourself to see this through. There’s obviously something there since you’ve already mentioned the L word and I’ve never heard you use it before. You and Nick have danced around each other for years but he likes instant gratification, which is why you two have been doing this behind everyone’s back. If, after all this time, you haven’t used the L word in any context when it comes to Nick, I think that speaks volumes. Ultimately, you have to decide, but I think you already have or you would have fallen into Nick’s arms already.”
“Why don’t you stay today and we’ll have a girls’ night? Zack and Nick can stay in the guest rooms and we’ll take over my room. You were going to come over early to get your hair and stuff done, anyway. What do you say?”
She wipes her tears away and nods. “I think that’s a good idea, especially since Pete is working tonight. I don’t want Nick trying to get me alone.”
“If you’re both here, he can still try.”
“Not if I tell my big brother to keep him away.” She’s got a point
there.
“Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up and break the news to Zack. You’re going to have to play up the ‘losing my best friend’ card on this one or he’ll try and get you to sleep in the guest room.”
She laughs. “You know I always get my way. Zack is putty in my hands.”
He is, too, but only because he loves her so much.
Rylee and Cassidy have decided they needed a girls’ night tonight. At first, I was not too pleased but I know with Nick being here, things are difficult for Rylee so I caved in. We said goodnight to them a few hours ago and have been having our own bachelor party for two in the pool room.
I’ve had enough to drink and I feel confident I can talk to Nick about Ry without being completely pissed off or grossed out. The more he drinks, the more desolate he looks, so I guess now is as good of time as any to bring it up.
“Are you in love with my sister?” No point beating around the bush, right?
“You really want to know the answer to that question?”
“Not really, but answer it anyway.”
“Alright, but remember, you asked for it. I think I have been in love with Rylee for years.”
Yeah, right.
“Come on, Nick, be honest. If you had been in love with her, truly in love, you would have come to me. You’re one of the biggest players I’ve ever known.”
He takes his shot, sinks the eight ball, and tosses the pool stick on the table in anger. “Did you stop to think for just a minute that I was such a player because I couldn’t have the one girl I truly wanted?”
This is the second time he’s said this to me and I’m starting to think he means it.
“Fucking hell, man! You don’t know how badly I wish you’d come to me sooner about this.”
Fuck! I know Ry is falling fast for Pete and I’m pretty sure he’s falling just as fast for her.
“Me, too, Zack,” Nick responds dejectedly “What do I do? I finally have the chance to try and prove myself to her and she’s seeing someone else.”
“Do you want the truth or do you want the lie?” This has always been the question we ask each other when the truth is something we’d rather not know.
“The truth,” he answers after taking another shot.
“I’ll talk to Pete tomorrow to see where his head is, but the way she looks at him…” I pause for a second, taking a shot of my own, “I think she’s already fallen for him pretty hard.”
“I’ve known her for years. How can she just fall for him after, what, three fucking days? It doesn’t make any sense, Zack.” The sadness in his eyes is real; he’s devastated.
“Do you remember when I told you I was in love with Cassidy? The very first time?” I’m sure he won’t remember this.
“Absofuckinglutely. Only because I thought you’d lost your mind, though. We were, what, maybe eight years old? You had just come to my house to get your bike after I called you and told you I thought I heard her screaming again. I saw you stumble to the lawn and sit down, so I came out to talk to you.”
Holy shit, he remembers.
“You turned to me and said ‘Kids aren’t supposed to know anything until they grow up but I already know that I love Cassidy and I’m going to marry her one day.’ It’s funny you should ask me that because it’s part of my best man speech.”
“I’m impressed, Nick. I really didn’t think that was something you would have committed to memory. It’s true, though. That is the first time I knew I was in love with Cassidy.” With a sigh, I turn to my best friend, hoping against hope he’ll give me an answer to work with.
“When did you realize you were in love with Rylee, Nick? The very first time.”
While he’s thinking about his answer, I pour us two more shots. This has to be my last one because I’ve got to be up early to help Pete get the backyard ready. Once we both pound our shots, he finally answers me.
“I’d always thought I might be in love with her, ever since the first time we had sex. But it wasn’t until after college I realized I was in love with her.” My loud groan interrupts him but once it’s out, he continues, “I was at a club with some friends, scoping out girls, of course. I spotted this girl on the dance floor. She was grinding all over some guy and he was giving it back to her good. A little too good and it made me uncomfortable, especially since she looked like Rylee from behind.”
I don’t like the way this story is going. Not. One. Single. Bit.
“That night I hit an all-time low in pervert status as much as I watched those two dance. They were relentless and never came up for air. I think they had to have danced six or seven songs in a row before I finally got a good look at her face and realized she was, in fact, Rylee. My heartbeat kicked up about a thousand notches. It wasn’t because I didn’t like the fact she was there with someone else, although that was part of it, I’m sure.”
“What did he do to my sister, Nick?” My own heart is beating like a drum right now so I know how he must have felt.
“She said something to him. Of course, I didn’t know what it was at the time, and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. At first she laughed, but I could tell she was really uncomfortable. She tried pulling away again but this time, when he yanked her close, he wasn’t smiling anymore. His hands went straight to her ass and gripped it hard.”
Oh, fuck no.
“As soon as I saw that it was over. I laid the guy out with one punch. Then I picked up your sister and carried her to my car and took her home. You know how she gets so adorably cute when she’s pissed off and thankful at the same time?”
I do I know that look very well, although I’m sure it does something different to him than it does to me.
“Yes.”
“That’s how she was looking at me when I walked her to her door. In that moment, it all caught up to me. How if I hadn’t been there that night we could have lost her or something really bad could have happened to her. I was so freaked out, I knew I had to be in love with her. It was the first night we spent the night together and didn’t have sex.”
The first…
“How many nights have there been, Nick?” He has the decency to look ashamed.
“More than I can count, but we’ve really only had sex twice. Rylee and I enjoy each other’s company. We have fun together. We talk, we drink, we flirt, we make out, and on the two occasions we were both drunk and upset, we had sex.”
On the one hand, I was really hoping he would say he just realized he loved her when I gave him my blessing. Even though I knew that would piss me off, it would be easier for him to get over her.
This complicates things a lot, but it also makes me proud of him. He fell in love with my sister and to avoid hurting anyone, he suffered in silence. They both did.
“Did you ever tell Rylee how you felt?”
“It wasn’t like that. She was all about keeping things casual, so I played it off like I wanted casual, too. I figured one day I’d either finally talk to you about it or she would. It’s something we circled many times but neither of us wanted to be the one to go head to head with you over it.”
This is what confuses me. Why were they that scared?
“I don’t get why you two were so afraid to talk to me.” He laughs so hard his eyes are watering.
“Zack, you are the most protective son of a bitch I’ve ever seen. It’s great, until you’re on the other side of it. Remember Jimmy Beale? Timmy Ryan? Thomas Parks? They all dated Ry, and they all ended up with some part of their body mangled or bruised by you when they fucked up on her.”
“Are you going to fuck up on her?”
“No.” That’s what I thought.
“Then you would have had nothing to worry about. Have you ever met anyone more romantic than me, aside from my dad?”
He shakes his head no.
“So don’t you think if you two would have explained it was love I would have caved pretty quickly? She’s my sister and you’re my best friend, there’s no way I could h
ave been mad at you guys for long.”
“I fucked it all up.”
“You don’t know that for sure, you’re not down for the count yet. She’s hiding in the bedroom with Cassidy tonight for a reason. If she was completely over you, she’d tell you to fuck off. I think she’s trying to figure things out, too. Give her space but if you truly love her, don’t give up.”
“Thanks, Zack. So, how about you? Are you ready to finally do this tomorrow? To be a husband and a father? I still can’t believe you’re having a baby.”
“Me, either, but I’m excited as hell. You were right about bringing her here and starting over. I even got a new tat.”
“No shit? Let me see it.” He whistles low as I take my shirt off.
“That is one badass tattoo. Who did it?”
“Ben.”
“I think I remember him. The one with the shop out by us, right?”
“Yup. He’s here for a tattoo expo and squeezed me in.” One of the best decisions I ever made.
“Does Cassidy understand the significance of it?”
I put my shirt back on and sit down.
“Yeah, she really freaked out. Almost went catatonic for a few minutes but then it was like all her walls came crumbling down and she finally let me into her heart.”
“Congratulations. That was a long time coming. You’re one persistent bastard.”
“You need to be, too, if you love my sister. It’s the only way to get the girl, Nick.”
About an hour later, Nick is completely passed out in one of the guest rooms and I’m sitting in the kitchen, drinking some water and trying to sober up a bit.
“Hey,” Cassidy says softly as she grabs a bottle of water and a banana. She rarely eats in the middle of the night; those are my genes showing through already.
“Hey, babe, why are you up so late?” Waving the banana in the air at me is explanation enough.
“I’m going to get so huge. Maybe you’re right and it’s twins because it’s way too early for me be this hungry all the time, Zack.” I love the pouty tone in her voice and I don’t care how big she gets as long as they are both healthy.
“We’ll find out soon enough but in the meantime, don’t worry about it. You just feed my son when he’s hungry.” She’s shaking her head but smiling at me anyway.