Page 35 of Love, Take Two

"I'm listening."

"Don't overthink this," she says with the authority of someone who knows my psychological patterns too well. "Don't analyze it to death or create problems that don't exist or convince yourself you're not ready for this level of partnership."

"I'm not—"

"You are," Stella interrupts. "I can see it in your face. You're already starting to worry about logistics and timeline and whether you deserve this happiness. Stop it."

"It's complicated, Stella. We live in different cities, we have separate businesses, we've been back in each other's lives for less than a week…"

"So?" she says with characteristic bluntness. "Complicated doesn't mean impossible. You're both successful adults who are clearly crazy about each other. Figure out the logistics, but don't let logistics prevent you from choosing happiness."

"What if we move too fast and ruin it again?" I ask, voicing the fear I've been trying not to acknowledge.

"What if you move too slowly and waste it again?" Stella counters. "Hey, Emory, things are different now. You've both really come into your own since college, done amazing things with your careers, and figured out what you truly want in a relationship. This isn't just going back to old habits; you're both grown-ups now, realizing you're just better off together than not.”

"When did you become a relationship expert?" I ask with affection for my sister's wisdom.

"When I watched my brother spend eight years dating other people while obviously still in love with someone else," she says simply. "Tom and I have been waiting for this phone call for years."

"You have not."

"We have," she insists. "Tom owes me fifty dollars, actually. I bet him you'd find your way back to each other."

"You bet on my love life?"

"Successfully," Stella says with obvious satisfaction.

"Stella, we're not—"

"Yet," she interrupts. "You're not engaged yet. But Emory, I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at her. Don't let fear or logistics or overthinking rob you of something this good."

Sitting there after talking to Stella, I let everything sink in. The whole business partnership idea, how great it was for Vada and Stella to meet, and just this feeling that Vada and I are heading somewhere real instead of just playing it safe.

12

VADA

The sound of Maya blow-drying her hair in my bathroom creates a familiar soundtrack as I sit on my bed, scrolling through the social media notifications that have been flooding my phone since our volleyball victory. The engagement numbers are honestly staggering, content featuring both Emory and me consistently outperforms either of our individual posts by significant margins.

"Okay, but seriously," Maya calls over the hair dryer noise, "how good was meeting Stella? Because from what I could tell during that video call, that girl absolutely adores you already."

"She was incredible," I call back, closing my laptop and moving to help Maya with the makeup setup she's arranged across my vanity. "Smart, funny, completely down-to-earth despite being a successful architect. And the way she talked about Emory..."

"Like he's been pining for you for eight years?" Maya suggests with obvious delight, turning off the dryer.

"Like he never actually moved on," I admit, settling into the vanity chair while Maya starts working her styling magic."Apparently, he compared every woman he dated to me, which is both flattering and slightly terrifying."

"Terrifying how?" Maya asks, beginning with foundation and the kind of focused attention she brings to all important projects.

"What if I can't live up to the idealized version of me he's been carrying around for eight years?" I voice the fear that's been nagging at me. "What if the reality of being together again doesn't match his memories?"

Maya pauses her makeup application to give me the look of someone explaining something obvious to a child.

"Vada, honey, have you seen the way that man looks at you? There's nothing idealized about it. He's looking at the real you, right now, and he's completely gone for you."

"You think?"

"I know," Maya says with the confidence that's made her one of Portland's most successful marketing strategists. "Trust me, I've watched enough couples try to manufacture chemistry for social media campaigns. What you two have can't be faked or performed."

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