Page 51 of Yours, Unexpectedly

Need, not want. Because she can see that being around my parents is difficult for me. And I really do need her there as much as I want her by my side.

“I do. I need and want a lot from you, Bex. And it makes me feel really selfish sometimes. Something I’ve tried not to be these last few years. But I feel extremely selfish when it comes to you. I want you by my side this weekend.”

She sighs. “I already said yes, killer,” she says with a wink. “And I know what we have isn’t enough for you, but—”

“Woah, hold on. Whatever you give me will always be enough for me. Do I want more? Absolutely, but you are enough, Bex. And I’ll be here waiting as long as you need me to.” I see the words relax her, like a balm to her soul.

I untangle our hands, bringing one hand up to plant a kiss on her palm.

“Come on, let’s get back out there before Gabe comes crashing in here.” It wasn’t enough alone time, but it feels like I’ll never get enough time with her.

We walk back into the living room and Gabe hands me another margarita. He starts to walk away but then looks back and forth between us quizzically.

“Where’s the play you were looking for?” he asks.

Bex has to hide her face behind my shoulder so Gabe can’t see her huge grin, leaving me to answer this question on my own.

“Oh, uh. I couldn’t find it. Weird.”

He shrugs and returns to the couch with his own drink.

Bex’s grin doesn’t disappear the rest of the night.

“Hey BB, want to go to the park with me?”

There’s currently a heatwave in Massachusetts and going to the park seems like a terrible idea. “JuJu, it’s like, a million degrees outside.”

Really I should be glad Jules wants to hang out with me. He and Ben have finally “come into their own” as Mom says. Which I’ve learned means my friends think they’re hot now. Which is gross. And also makes it incredibly difficult to tell who wants to be my friend for me and who is just trying to get close to one of my brothers.

“C’mon, Bex. You’ve been in your cave all weekend—let’s go enjoy the sun. We can dip our toes in the creek.”

“What’s gotten into you? You’re usually the one who will crawl into my cave with me.”

Jules’ sigh is heavy. “Ben and Gabe are driving me crazy. I just need to get out of the house, okay?”

“Okay, JuJu. Let’s go.”

I’ve had to be “on” my whole life. As the only girl in my family, I’ve felt a pressure to be a certain way. Look a certain way. I don’t think anyone ever really pushed that on me, more so that I pushed it on myself after looking around and deciding who my family needed me to be, who my friends needed me to be. Where I fit in, in the world.

That same feeling crawls its way up my spine as Anders pulls up in his forest green Jeep Cherokee that has to be at least twenty years old. I’ve always thought his choice of car was interesting, but we’ve never really had a reason to talk about it.

I’m nervous to meet his parents, especially knowing he doesn’t have a great relationship with them. My mind is flooded with thoughts of how to impress them, to show that I’m worthy of their son.

I might have done a little googling after we got home from Margarita Monday and Anders’ family is loaded. Like, not just they have some money, but they have hosting galas at The Plaza kind of money. From what I can tell, it’s old money. Generational wealth. Wealth that Anders is probably supposed to inherit.

All the more reason for me to be confused about his choice of car. And another tick in my running column of reasons Anders might change his mind about us.

My family definitely never lacked in anything, but I realize that having four kids so close in age must have been a strain on the purse strings. I worry I won’t be able to measure up to the imaginary woman Anders’ parents have in mind for him. Someone who also grew up in New York society—who went to private school and was a debutante, or whatever the hell people with this much money do.

Jolting me out of my thoughts, Anders puts the car in park and hops out. “Sorry I’m late! It took me twenty minutes to find my car keys. They were in the pocket of the pants I wore yesterday, in case you were wondering.”

I snort as Anders rounds the front of the car, grabbing my things and placing them in the trunk before opening the passenger door for me.

“Your chariot, my passenger princess.”

“Hey! I resent that. I’m a great driver! I just… prefer not to if there are other options.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a passenger princess,” he chuckles as he slides into the driver's seat, his hand sliding across my thigh. “Plus, I like having you here like this. I’ll even give you control of the music.”

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