by Hazel Kelly
"By answering the damn question about brunch.” She craned her neck forward. “Do you want to invite her or-?"
"No. She's got some… stuff."
"Well, I'm starving, and Andi's not picking up so maybe we should just go-"
"Really? Maybe she’s just at the gym." I glanced at the clock on the wall. "Why don't you try her again?"
Izzy furrowed her brows. "Like the gym gym?"
"Yeah. She’s been rowing."
"Weird," she said, pulling out her phone and dragging her thumb across the screen. "Just when you think you know somebody."
Chapter 43: Andi
The red dress stank of stale beer in one hand while I gripped my heels in the other, making my way home barefoot in a mishmash of Shane’s gym clothes.
To say it wasn't how I imagined the morning going would be a ridiculous understatement.
After such a huge night of firsts, I thought I could at least count on some pillow talk or another round of wickedly good sex.
I certainly hadn't anticipated following that emotional roller coaster with a walk of shame.
My phone vibrated again, and I rearranged the items in my hands so I could answer it.
"Hi."
"Andi- I've been blowing you up for a half hour," Izzy said.
"Sorry. I was- my phone was on silent. I didn't realize until just now."
"Oh."
"I’m about to hop in the shower, though,” I said, crossing the street towards my building. “So maybe I can call you b-"
"I'm in town!"
"Oh really? That's great news!"
"Please tell me you don't have plans today," she said.
"Nope. I'm all yours."
"That's what Shane said."
I flinched. "Funny. Are you with him now?"
"Yeah, but he wasn't alone when I showed up."
"Busted."
"So busted," she said. "I'll give you the scoop at Mama's. We can pick you up in-"
"I'll meet you there," I said, starting up the stairs to my apartment. "I need to shower and drop something off at the dry cleaners."
"Oh. Okay. Well, is it cool if I put the order in since it's always crazy busy on the weekends and I’m starving?"
"Yeah, sure. That's fine. I won't be long."
"Cool. What do you want then?"
"Shane knows."
"Shane knows," she repeated.
"Yeah."
"Okay, great. Can't wait to see your face!"
"You, too," I said, hanging up the phone and taking the rest of the stairs two at a time.
What the hell was I doing? Lying to my best friend?! Sleeping with her brother?! What a mess!
I mean, last night was the best night of my life, and now I couldn't even enjoy the moment.
On the contrary, I had to pretend it never happened.
I was shaking my head as I pushed my apartment door open, marveling at how unprepared I felt to juggle this day and all its unanticipated moving parts.
When I looked up, I saw Steph sitting on the couch with her thick black glasses on and her hair piled on her head. Beside her, several stacks of notecards and a half a dozen empty mugs littered the table.
"No rest for the wicked, eh?" I asked.
She laughed. "Not by the looks of you."
I stared down my front, following the Final Four shirt to my knees and realizing for the first time how silly the oversized shorts looked with only my ankles and bare feet sticking out.
"I thought the dress looked better to be honest," she said, lowering her notecards to her lap.
"So did I, but Shane's ex threw a beer over me about five minutes after I arrived-"
She craned her neck forward. "You're joking."
"I wish."
"What did you do?"
"Stood there dripping like a wet blanket."
"Crap." She pulled her glasses off. "That is so not how it was supposed to go."
"No shit. But my dry cleaner can definitely sort your dress out so don't worry-"
"What about the rest of the night?"
I sighed and dropped my stuff on the table in the hall. "There are no words."
She laughed and put an arm up on the back of the couch. "That good, huh?"
"I can't even get into it with you cause your soul will go straight to Hell."
"Okay. First of all, don't even joke about that. Second of all, I can think of worse ways to go."
"It's not just that," I said. "I literally don't have time to tell you now."
"You're a horrible tease."
I smiled. "I can think of a guy who would disagree."
"Do you not even have time for a quick coffee?" she asked. "My dress can make it a few more hours."
"Izzy's in town."
She raised her eyebrows. "Izzy Izzy?"
I nodded. "The one and only."
"Is she coming here? Should I move my study party to my roo-"
"No, you can stay where you are. I'm the one that has to get out of here five minutes ago."
"To go…?"
"I'm meeting Shane and Izzy at Mama's."
"Whoa."
"Yeah."
"Does she know you guys are swapping spit yet?"
I felt my cheeks burn. "First of all, we're swapping more than spit."
She slapped a hand over her face, hiding one eye behind her palm.
"Second of all, no."
"You have to tell her."
"Shane said he'd do the honors."
She squinted at me. "And you're cool with that?"
I shrugged. "They're twins."
"And she's your best friend."
I scrunched my face. "It might be too much coming from both of us. I don't want to, like, come at her as a united front. It's too weird."
"What if she's not cool with it and you're not there to explain yourself?"
I turned my palms to the ceiling. "Explain what? The detailed play by play of how I've been falling for her brother the last few weeks? The way it feels when he looks at me? When he-" I shook my head like a dog. "I doubt she wants to hear any of that."
"She's going to want to hear it from you eventually," she said, putting her glasses back on.
"I know, but I trust him and-" I held my breath at the thought. "That has to be enough."
"So what are you going to do at brunch? Act like you aren't picturing him naked?"
I nodded. "Among other things."
"Wow." She shook her head. "What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall."
"It's going to be fine."
"Yeah, cause Izzy's really chill."
"Hey- that's not fair. She's not that uptight."
"I'm not saying she's uptight. I'm saying she has a flair for the dramatic, and the longer you put off telling her, the worse it's going to be."
"He'll tell her soon. As soon as the time is right."
"Does that mean you guys have a future?"
"I hope so," I said. "I mean, the guy is already the best thing about my past so, yeah, I guess it's hard to imagine a future without him."
"If Izzy flips, can I be your maid of honor?"
"Let's take things one day at a time."
"If you insist," she said. "Now go get a shower. You smell like a nightclub."
"Thanks for your understanding," I said, leaving with a nod.
I went straight to the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind me as I turned the shower on. Then, while I waited for the water to heat up, I looked in the mirror.
And despite my disheveled appearance, I had a sparkle in my eye that I'd never seen before.
And that sparkle was the knowledge that Shane Jennings was worth the wait.
Chapter 44: Shane
Izzy pretended she was done grilling me about the mystery woman in my room, but I knew she was merely preparing for another attack.
Sure, I might’ve behaved the same if I'd shown up and found someone in her bed, but that was different. It was my job to protect her.
Whereas she wa
s just being nosy.
"What can I get you folks?" the middle aged waitress said at a volume that was barely audible over the busy brunch crowd.
"Can I have the eggs Benedict?" Izzy asked. "And a black coffee, please?”
The waitress scribbled for a second and then looked at me. "Meat Lover’s Omelette, sir?"
"That's right."
She raised her eyebrows. "And a large order of cheesy hash?"
I smiled. "Please."
Izzy kicked me under the table. "Andi said you'd know what she wanted."
"Oh." I pretended to think for a second. "And one- what's the omelette that has all the vegetables in it?"
"The Supreme," the waitress said.
"That's it. And one of those, please."
"Coming right up," she said, turning towards the kitchen.
"She knew just what you wanted," Izzy said. "Is she the mystery woman?"
I laughed. "You got me."
"I didn't know you were into older women."
I shrugged. "What can I say? A retiree has more time to devote to my needs."
She shuddered and pulled her elbows off the table. "You're disgusting."
"A lot of people react that way at first," I said. "But when they see our sex tape, it's really easy to see how much chemistry we have."
She raised a hand between us. "Eww. Shane. Please refrain from spoiling my appetite. I really need to eat. I've done nothing but drink coffee all day and I-"
I stopped listening. In fact, I think all the noise got sucked out of the room when Andi walked in. She was in a thin teal sweater and dark skinny jeans, and her damp hair fell in loose waves around her face.
The first thing she did was lift her eyes towards her regular table. That’s when they met mine.
And if there had been any doubt left that this was the real thing, it was gone. I would never get sick of meeting her gaze across a crowded room, of the swelling in my chest I felt when she headed my way.
She was like all the best things about being home, but I could take her anywhere.
Izzy must've seen her catch my eye, too, because she looked over her shoulder and pushed her chair back in one swift motion.
At the same instant, Andi tore her smiling eyes off mine and focused on Izzy, waving as she weaved through the tables.
I redirected my attention to her swaying hips, my mouth watering at the memory of the previous night.
"Hello my love," Andi said, pulling Izzy into a big hug. "It's so good to see you."
"You too," Izzy said, twisting Andi from side to side. "Your timing is perfect." She let go and took a step back. "We just put the order in."
"Oh good," Andi said.
"Here-" Izzy pointed to her pulled out chair. "You sit here, and I'll scoot in next to Shane so I can look at your gorgeous face."
"What about my gorgeous face?" I asked.
Izzy shrugged. "Meh."
Andi took the seat across from me, her face looking slightly more flushed than usual as she smiled back and forth between me and Izzy.
The waitress came by a moment later and poured a round of coffees.
"The waitress knew what Shane wanted to eat," Izzy said after she was out of earshot.
"Weird," Andi said. "Maybe she has a little crush."
"Seems likely," Izzy said. "Speaking of which, do you have any idea who was hiding out in Shane's room this morning?"
"I know he was seeing a blonde sorority girl a while back."
I fixed my eyes on Andi. "She's dead to me."
Andi shrugged. “Sorry, Iz. That was my best guess."
I sighed. "It was just some girl. Let it go so we can enjoy our breakfast."
"Normally I would,” she said. “But after what you said-"
Andi raised her eyebrows. "Which was?"
Izzy leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "He doesn't want to tell me yet because he thinks he's falling in love with her."
Andi's eyes grew wide. "What?"
Izzy shook her head. "I know. Shane and true love, right? I'm pretty sure he's fucking with me."
"I'm not," I said, my eyes on Andi. "It's the truth."
Andi swallowed.
I stuck my leg out and leaned it against hers.
"Wow," Andi said, looking back at me. "She must be pretty special if you like her that much."
"She is," I said. "And if she likes me back even half as much as I like her-"
"I'm sure she likes you back," she said, breaking our eye contact.
"I hope so."
Izzy groaned. "It's so lame to say stuff like that and then not tell us anything, especially when we're both- wait- Andi- how is project rebound going?"
Andi’s lips fell apart.
I cocked my head. "Project rebound?"
"Yeah," Izzy said. "I told Andi the fastest way to get over Mike would be to get out there and sleep with someone else asap."
"Is that so?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Wasn't there some guy in one of your classes that you were going to chat up?” Izzy asked. “What ever happened with that?"
I clenched my jaw.
"Nothing," Andi said. "Nothing at all. But it's fine. I'm over Mike. In fact, he's transferring before the end of the semester, and soon I won't even remember his face."
Izzy shrugged. “I still think it would do you good to get laid."
"I'll keep that in mind," Andi said, lifting her coffee. "And what about you?"
"What about me?" Izzy asked.
"What do we owe this surprise visit to?"
"Oh, right." Izzy shifted in her chair, crossing her legs the other way. "One of my professors is doing a guest lecture thingy here, and I get extra credit for attending."
"Cool," Andi said. "When’s that happening?"
"This evening," she said. "I was hoping we could do happy hour, and I could slip away around six thirty and meet up with you guys later."
Andi nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"So what'll it be, Shane?" Izzy asked. "You think you guys can stay out of trouble while I go to this thing?"
My mouth curled into a smile. "I suppose we could try."
"Good," Izzy said. "It's settled then. I'll call you when I get out and see where you guys are-"
"We’ll worry about it later," I said. "We've got loads of time until then."
"You want to stay at mine tonight?" Andi asked.
"Of course," Izzy said. "Unless I meet some dashing young suitor who wants to make sweet love to me all night."
Andi smiled. "In which case you’ll have to go back to his cause Steph has been cramming like a maniac."
"Deal."
When the waitress arrived with our meals, I stole a glance at the clock and started counting down the minutes until I’d have Andi all to myself again.
There were only four hundred and fifty to go.
Chapter 45: Andi
Izzy checked her watch. "Okay, guys. I’m gonna head off." She slammed the rest of her Margarita and pushed it towards the edge of the table. "Think you can manage the rest of that without me?"
Shane and I eyed the half empty pitcher between us.
"I think we can handle it," I said. "But I might need to break for food after."
"Me too," Shane said.
Izzy scooted off her barstool. "Just text me wherever you end up, and I'll come find you."
We nodded.
"Have fun," I said. "See you later."
She sauntered towards the exit and disappeared under the flashing Corona sign.
I exhaled as soon as she was out of sight. When I turned to look at Shane, his eyes were already on me.