Just Say Yes (Just Say Yes #2)

by Jen Andrews

  He looked up at me when I walked in. “Hey,” he said quietly as he ran his hands up and down his jaw line. I sat next to him at the table and he slid his coffee cup in front of me. I took a long swallow of it then set it back in front of him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I have a headache,” he said with an unsteady voice.

  I went to the kitchen and returned with a couple of Ibuprofen. I offered the pills to him and watched as he popped them in his mouth without even looking to see what I gave him.

  “Thanks. Can I at least drive you to the airport?” he asked warily.

  “Andy…” I trailed off. My brother Noah was driving us to the airport so he could see his fiancée, Jess, off.

  “How about you pick me up at the airport when I come home? We already planned everything out and I don’t want to change anything at the last minute. Do you want to ride with us to the airport?” I asked, feeling bad that he was disappointed.

  “Yes,” he replied without hesitation.

  “I need to eat something before I go. Are you hungry?”

  He nodded then propped his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples to try to relieve his headache. I dropped two sliced bagels into the toaster and fixed a cup of coffee for myself while I waited. When they were ready, I spread cream cheese on them then put them on plates.

  When I turned around to take them to the dining room, Andy was leaning against the countertop with his hands shoved down in his front pockets. He was barefoot so I hadn’t heard him when he came in.

  “Sorry for being a dick,” he said. “I’m going to miss you. A month is a long time.”

  I set down the plates and went to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I laid my cheek on his bare, tattooed chest and breathed him in one last time. His skin was cool on my warm face and he smelled like heaven.

  “You’re forgiven,” I replied as I planted a kiss on his chest.

  We broke our embrace and sat down to eat our bagels. “So…what are you going to do on your trip, Zoey?” he asked.

  Okay, he’s trying. I thought about it before responding. “We planned on doing all the touristy things while the three of us are in Cabo for the week. Depending on the weather, we might go snorkeling one day. Definitely horseback riding, shopping, and lounging around on the beach,” I laughed. “You know, girl stuff—”

  He pushed his chair away from the table as he popped the last of his bagel in his mouth then went into the kitchen to wash his plate. A few minutes later, he came back in with James. He sat down, putting James on his lap, scratching down his back and behind his ears.

  Although I was surprised by what he had just done by getting up and leaving the room when I was mid-sentence, I chose to ignore it. I was leaving as soon as my ride arrived so I didn’t want to start a discussion about his abnormal behavior at that point.

  “What are you going to do while I’m gone?”

  This time, he gave a different answer than the last time I’d asked.

  “I have a few changes I want to make on my car before I start racing this year. I thought about going back to Sonoma for a weekend to visit my aunt and uncle.”

  “That’s a great idea. You haven’t seen them since you moved and I’m sure they’d love to see you.” I wanted him to keep busy so he wouldn’t be so moody while I was gone. We talked a while longer about the changes he wanted to make to his car.

  The buzzer rang on the intercom while we were talking. Shit, it’s time to leave. I hopped up and pushed the intercom button. “I’ll be right down,” I called. “Get dressed. You’re coming with me to the airport, remember?”

  Andy took James to the laundry room and came back to the living room fully dressed. Since the accident, he’d practically moved in with me, so I had given him his own drawers and space in my closet.

  Andy met me at the door. “Zoey,” he started, looking down at me with his somber blue eyes. “Have a great vacation. I’ll miss you, but we’ll talk every day. Call me anytime. I don’t care what time it is, even if it’s the middle of the night and you can’t sleep or don’t feel well, call.”

  I nodded and wrapped my arms around him as my lips found his. We kissed until the buzzer rang again.

  “Freaking persistent-ass people,” I muttered. I hugged him again and laid my head on his chest for another moment.

  Why did this feel like we were saying goodbye, as in, we weren’t going to see each other again? The mood was intense and I didn’t like it one bit. He picked up my suitcase for me while I grabbed my purse and laptop bag. Slowly, we made our way down the stairs to meet Jess, Sasha, and Noah, to drive to the airport.

  Andy and Noah couldn’t go with us once we checked in, so we were forced to say our farewells shortly after we arrived.

  I hugged my brother while Andy said bye to Jess and Sasha. I heard him say, “Take care of my girl for me. Make sure she eats, takes her pills, and rests, please.”

  They agreed then sandwiched him in a bear hug that had them all laughing. He returned their embrace, hoisting them both up. They were so short, their feet dangled in midair as he held them tightly.

  Noah and Jess said their goodbyes while Andy and I said ours. I made it brief because I felt like if I didn’t, I was going to change my mind about going. We’d said everything we needed to say to each other over the last two days we spent together, so I hoped it would be enough.

  He held my face in his hands and gave me one last kiss. “Remember, Zoey, call me anytime. Have fun and be safe. I love you.”

  I nodded. “I love you. You can call me anytime, too.”

  As we walked toward security, Andy and Noah stood watching us until we couldn’t see them anymore.

  Our trip would be my first time away from Andy and it would be Jess’s first trip away from Noah. Their goodbye was much easier on them. They were going to be married in June and spending the rest of their lives together. They didn’t have all the distance between them that Andy and I had.

  Sasha was the first to break the silence while we stood in the security line. I was glad she spoke up because I was getting more anxious the closer we came to our departure terminal. Darkness clouded my mind because my leaving was going to affect my relationship with Andy. It felt like a ‘make it or break it’ situation.

  “You lucky bitches. I need to find myself a man like the two of you have,” Sasha grumbled. Her comment instantly brought back the memory of my friend Ben asking for her number.

  “Sash, did you get a call from Ben?” I asked, remembering I gave him her phone number during one of our rehearsals for the anniversary party back in December. Shit. I cannot believe I forgot about giving him Sasha’s number.

  “Ben?” she asked, confused.

  “Yeah, Ben Ellis. He asked me for your number a while back. Did he not call you?”

  She sighed and seemed a little upset. “No, he did not.”

  I felt bad because I brought it up and now she knew he was going to call her but didn’t. I pulled out my cell and shot him a text asking why he never called her. We made it through airport security and went to find a seat at our terminal. We sat for a while talking about what we wanted to do while we were in Cabo.

  My phone pinged with a text from Ben. He apologized for not calling Sasha. He let me know the band became busy, but he was going to call her right then to see if she wanted to go out to dinner with him. I sent him a text back telling him she was with me and on her way to Cabo for a week.

  Sasha’s cell rang as soon as I hit send. She almost hit the ignore button when she didn’t recognize the phone number calling her.

  “Answer it. It’s Ben,” I ordered her, with a sneaky grin.

  She curled her fingers into a fist and gave me a teasing look, as if she wanted to punch me. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her. Secretly, I knew she was thrilled I’d given him her number. She finally answered her phone and pretended she didn’t know he was calling. Apparently wanting some privacy, Sasha stood up and walked to the windows t
o watch the planes take off.

  Since we made it through security quickly, we had thirty more minutes to wait for our plane. Jess was engrossed in a book she’d been reading for a few days and Sasha was still on the phone with Ben. I took out my iPod and started the new Snow Patrol album I’d bought prior to our trip. I reached inside my purse and picked out a new book to read.

  We were going to be on a plane for five hours, with a quick stop in Phoenix where we had to change planes. I quickly immersed myself in my book and before I knew it, Jess was standing in front of me mouthing something. I yanked out my earbuds so I could hear her.

  “They just called our flight, Z. Let’s go! Let’s go!” she squealed.

  Why did I have such an achy, empty feeling in my gut? Even though things were strained, Andy was the best thing to happen in my life, aside from my adoption, and I left him.

  “Quit thinking about him. You need to do this for yourself,” Jess said as she grabbed my hand and yanked me out of my chair. “Shit. Sorry, Z, I forgot about your bruises. Did I hurt you?”

  I laughed so hard I had to hold on to my stomach to stop it from hurting.

  “What?”

  “First off, you said the word shit, and secondly, I was tossed ten feet by a man everyone is describing as the size of an NFL linebacker and I survived. I am pretty sure I can take being manhandled by someone as tiny and puny as you.”

  Jess put her hand over her heart, her mouth dropping open like she was offended. “Why, you giant, Amazon wench!” she yelled, looking up at me. “How dare you?”

  Jess was petite. I don’t think she even weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet and was over six inches shorter than I was.

  Jess, Sasha, and I were quite the trio. Me being tall, blonde, and slim, Jess was petite with dark mocha skin and black curly hair. Jess was cute, bubbly, and never had a bad word to say about anyone. She never cussed and was the sweetest person I’d ever known.

  Then there was Sasha. Sasha had been gothic for as long as I’d known her and wore dark clothes and makeup. Her stick straight hair was styled with perfect bangs that just reached her eyebrows. It was never the same color. Currently, it was black with purple streaks. I wasn’t sure I even knew what her natural color was. She was absolutely gorgeous, with her pale blue eyes and dark hair combination. In fact, she reminded me exactly of the character Kenzi from my favorite Syfy show, Lost Girl. They had the same look, attitude, and style.

  “Hey, Morticia!” I hollered at Sasha, who was still on the phone with Ben. “Plane’s leaving without you.” Jess and I gathered our purses and moved toward the line.

  When she finished her call, Sasha joined us. “Morticia? Zoey, really? That was so high school,” she laughed.

  It was our turn to board the plane and we slowly made our way down the aisle. Why did it always seem like people went in slow motion once they made it through the door of the plane? We found our numbered row and stowed our purses under the seats in front of us. We chatted excitedly about our trip until the plane was ready to take off.

  As the plane slowly taxied toward the runway, I sent Andy a quick text.

  We’re getting ready to take off. I’ll try to call you tonight when we land. Love you.

  I was about to shut my phone off when he messaged me back.

  Miss you already. I love you.

  I wanted to have a great vacation, but I felt bad for leaving. We just started our relationship and I felt like I was leaving him at a bad time. We should be working on fixing what had gone wrong, but I was on a plane leaving the country instead.

  The pilot’s voice came over the speaker, telling everyone to power off all devices. I shut off my phone, threw it in my purse, and found my book. The three of us talked while the plane took off, but once we were in the air we made ourselves comfortable for our flight.

  The pilot gave us the all clear to turn any devices back on so I pulled out my phone and powered it up, along with my iPod. I needed to keep my mind occupied, so I put in my earbuds and opened my book to the last page I’d read.

  Luckily, my book was good and kept me engrossed all the way to Phoenix where we had to change planes. Unfortunately, we were forced to run to catch our connecting flight to Cabo. By the time we made it to our next terminal, I thought my hip was going to give out on me. As soon as we were in the air, the flight attendants offered us drinks so I asked for water and popped a pain pill.

  We landed at Los Cabos airport around six that evening where my aunt and uncle were supposed to pick us up. “Zoey!” a voice called to me while we waited for our luggage. I turned around and spotted my aunt Maria and my uncle Victor in the crowd. I went over to them and embraced them both.

  “It’s been too long. I’ve missed you guys,” I cried. It had been a few years since I’d last seen them. I’d never been to their house before in Cabo and they hadn’t been to Sacramento since my grandmother died.

  Jess and Sasha wheeled our luggage over to where we stood and I introduced everyone. As Uncle Victor loaded our belongings in the back of their van, Aunt Maria said she planned a huge dinner for us that night.

  We got on the road to their house. I turned on my phone and sent Andy a text.

  Hi, Sexy. We’re here. On our way to the house now. I’ll call you later. They have a big dinner planned so it might be a while.

  I waited for a few minutes to see if he would text me back, but he didn’t.

  The five of us talked on the way to the house about the things we wanted to do while we were in Cabo. Because we were vacationing in February, my aunt suggested we add whale watching to our excursions. It sounded amazing to me, and it would be calm and relaxing.

  Relaxation was exactly what I needed.

  It was a busy time of year in Cabo, so we would have plenty to do and new friends to meet. We would definitely have an exciting time if we went out on the town, which we planned to do the Friday before Jess and Sasha left.

  We arrived at the house and wheeled our luggage up the sidewalk toward the entrance. It was a traditional cream-colored Spanish style house with a reddish tile roof, located out in the country. There were several lush plants and cacti landscaping the front yard and tiled porch area. The inside of the house was large, but it had a warm, cozy feel to it, filled with bright colors that reminded me of my parents’ house.

  We rounded the corner near the kitchen and I smelled the mouthwatering food my aunt started preparing before they came to pick us up. “Aunt Maria, dinner smells delicious.”

  “I made molé for you, Zoey. Your mom mentioned it was one of your favorites.”

  Oh, yum.

  “What’s molé?” Sasha asked, looking very confused and a little grossed out.

  I laughed as I tried to explain it. “Well…the molé sauce has several different ingredients in it, including plantains and chocolate. It sounds like an odd combo, but it is the best thing you will ever eat. It’s filled with chicken and you wrap it up in a tortilla to eat. Trust me. You will love it. And my aunt makes the best rice you’ve ever tasted. We’re in good hands, I promise.”

  After the girls and I unpacked and settled in, we all sat down to dinner. “Zoey, your mom said you were in an accident a couple of weeks ago. What happened?” my uncle asked.

  I explained what happened and my aunt Maria, being the wonderful, concerned woman she was, forced me to stand up and show her my remaining bruises.

  “Oh, Mija,” she cried, with a pained expression on her face. “You could’ve been killed from hitting your head like that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Tia, I’m fine. I have a hard head. I’m not even taking pain pills anymore for it, just when I need them for my hip.” I jokingly knocked on my head. “See, hard as a rock.”

  Thankfully, she smiled and changed the subject to a much better topic. “Your mom also says you have a new boyfriend. Is that true?”

  Dang, was my mom the town gossip or what? I laughed at the thought. “Yes, I do. His name is Andy. He’s originally from Ne
w Zealand.”

  She seemed pleased. “Good for you. You deserve to be happy.”

  After dinner, we helped clean up then my uncle made margaritas for everyone. We sat around the fire pit on the back patio talking in to the night. We were drinking and having a good time when I realized I forgot to call Andy. I excused myself and went to my bedroom to find my phone. Shit, it’s after midnight. Should I call?

  Well, he did say to call anytime and I did tell him I would call him later. My finger hovered over the button on my phone for several seconds before I finally pressed it. He answered on the third ring. His voice was low and groggy so I knew he’d been asleep.

  “Hey, I’m sorry I woke you up,” I said quietly.

  “I said to call anytime and I meant it. How are you doing?”

  “Good,” I stated. “The flight was decent. We ate dinner soon after we arrived. Now we’re having some margaritas.”

  “Sounds like your vacation is off to a good start then,” he said in his deep, sleepy voice.

  I heard James meow in the background. “Are you and James at my place or yours?”

  “Mine. I moved him over here while you’re gone.”

  “Probably a good idea. Hey, I’ll let you go, since you have to work tomorrow and I woke you up. I wanted to say goodnight and tell you how much I love you.”

  I heard him moving around, probably trying to get comfortable. “Okay, send me some pictures tomorrow when you’re out so I know you’re enjoying yourself. Goodnight, love.”

  Well, he sounded better than before, half-asleep, but better. We ended the call and I rejoined everyone on the patio. I still couldn’t help feeling like I drove an invisible wedge between us.

  It all started after the accident. I was getting better, but he wasn’t. He was distant, broody, and just not himself. I would deal with it another day, when he had more time to get used to the fact that I would be gone for a while. Hell, I needed time to adjust to it too.