Page 17 of Keeping You

Why is he not blowing up? I was rude and woke him up this morning with loud noises, made a mess in the kitchen, which I didn’t clean up, and filled his entire apartment with my stuff.

Frustrated, I huff as I turn off the show, grab my Kindle, and settle back on the couch. I need a good book boyfriend to distract me.

Around lunch time, I get a text in the group chat.

Liv

Lunch today? You’ve got to talk to us Han, we’re here for you.

Han

Sure. I’m at Grayson’s so let me know where.

Zo

Sammy’s close to you?

Han

I’ll make it work. See you in 30.

I gather my things before heading to my car to meet the girls. I know this is going to be difficult. The girls are probably hurt I didn’t tell them, but also I don’t know how to fully explain how I ended up to married to Grayson. The night we got married is still a complete blank for me.

Growing up, I always pictured my wedding with the white dress, the decorations, my friends and family. The only thing that wasn’t set in my mind was my groom. Not being able to remember that night sucks, because I feel like I’ve lost the one thing I’ve always dreamed of. Knowing I’ll never get that first wedding back crushes a small piece of my soul. I only hope that when the ninety days are up and I can get this marriage annulled, I’ll have that chance of meeting the one person I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with.

Outside of the diner, I take a deep breath before getting out of my car and making my way inside. The girls are already there in a booth with drinks in front of them as they talk.

My best friends.

The guilt begins to eat at me. I know these girls would never judge me. They’ve been there for me through thick and thin. They are the sisters I never had.

I slide into the booth beside Zoey, and the girls look at me, smiling hesitantly. I smile back.

Sammy, the owner and a waitress in the diner, approaches with a cup of coffee for me. We place our orders, and when Sammy leaves all eyes are back on me.

“Sooooo….” I start, my fingers playing with the handle of the coffee mug. I tell them the entire story of how I woke up married to Grayson and our ninety-day agreement. I take a long sip of my coffee before looking at the girls again.

“So, I agreed to give him ninety days, because I just want to get this over with. I don’t want him to drag this out. I don’t want to be a repeat of my parents,” I say, and they nod, knowing exactly what I mean. They’ve heard the story and know just how badly it affected me. They’re silent as they watch me. I can see the wheels turning in each of their heads as they try to understand how I ended up married to the man I’ve told them I hate.

I’m not sure that’s the appropriate word to describe how I feel about Grayson Maxwell. How do you describe that feeling of going from seeing a potential future with someone and wanting to really try a relationship, to being completely destroyed by something they’ve done? I still don’t understand the events of two years ago. I know nothing has come of a relationship between Samantha and Grayson since then, no matter how much she wants one.

After the night of the supply closet incident, he never tried reaching out again. He never tried to explain what happened, or why he did what he did. It got to the point where I was so upset about him not contacting me, I actually changed my cell phone number, trying to convince myself that him not having my new number was the reason he wasn’t reaching out. I know that makes me delusional, but I was so hurt.

Liv is the first one to break the silence. “Why ninety days?”

I shake my head and lift a shoulder. “I don’t know. He was very specific about that when he was trying to convince me to make this work. I knew if I didn’t agree, he could drag this out and fight it, so I agreed.”

“What are you going to do for the next ninety days?” Liz asks.

A Cheshire grin spreads across my face. “I’m going to make him regret the day he ever married me.”

Liz’s eyes go wide as Zoey and Liv almost choked on their drinks, and Bailey assesses me.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Zoey asks.

My cheeks hurt from the size of my smile as I position myself so I can see all four of their faces perfectly when I say, “I’m going toHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Dayshim.”

They stare at me for three seconds before they all break out laughing. We’ve watched that movie as a group so many times; it never fails to be a perfect comfort movie for us when we need a girls’ day. They know exactly what I’m talking about.

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