Page 100 of A Class of Her Own

That had me rolling my eyes as I launched into the whole story of the night before. When I’d laid it all out, I said, “I’m falling in total love with him, and I can clearly see some behaviors and issues I have that might drive him away. So, today I pout.” They were nodding and chewing on their food as they thought. “Excellent, you all agree.”

“That you have issues? Definitely,” Ruby cracked. “This is like the worst-kept secret in the universe. You’re messed up, my friend.”

A smile cracked through my defenses. “Thank you for validating me.”

“But the important thing is you know you’re messed up. The people who really worry me are the ones who don’t realize it.” Ruby tapped the table with a long fingernail.

“To paraphrase Dr. Seuss,” Aryn said, “we are all a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness matches ours, we join up and fall in mutual weirdness.”

We chuckled, and I took a bite of my chicken. “I’m definitely strange.”

“Honestly, Mer, if you are still feeling this way after school, go talk to him. Communication needs to become your new superpower,” Hailey advised.

“But snark has always been my superpower,” I joked.

“Don’t forget striking terror in the hearts of your enemies,” Aryn added.

“I’ve always been a fan of your ability to silence a room with one eyebrow lift,” Ruby said, attempting to move her eyebrows separately.

I arched one and gave them all the teacher stare. Ruby fake shivered. “That’s the one. Ooh, it’s creepy. Maybe don’t lead with that.”

“When in doubt, always lead with chocolate,” Aryn said.

I showed up unannounced at Brooks’s house that evening. When he answered the door, he was loosening his tie, and the top buttons on his shirt were undone, exposing that evergreen tree over his heart. His suit jacket was hanging off one arm, and he looked like a man ready to call it a day.

“I gave you a key, love, remember?” he teased, stepping back for me to enter.

“I only plan on using that when you’re away so that I can eat all your food in peace,” I replied, tilting my head back to receive his greeting kiss.

He closed the door behind us and finished taking off his tie. “How was your day?”

I followed as he walked into his kitchen and draped his suit jacket over the back of a barstool. “Good. Um, I’m here with a peace offering.”

He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. “A peace offering? Hmm. In my family those come just before someone is about to share bad news. So, I’m not sure how to react.”

I smiled. “In my family they come after the fight.”

He nodded, his face relaxing into a smile. “I like your way better. But I thought we were good. Are you still feeling bad about yesterday?”

I nodded and handed him a chocolate bar I’d snagged at the gas station on the way home since I didn’t typically keep junk food handy at my place. “My friends told me to always offer chocolate.”

“I like your friends. What else did they tell you?”

“That I have issues and need to learn to communicate better.”

He leaned back against the counter and looked at the chocolate bar, toying with the wrapper. “Probably good advice for everyone I know.” He looked up at me, his dark eyes solemn. “You know I was engaged before, right?” I nodded, hating the reminder but also accepting that we both had pasts. “So, I can tell you with total accuracy that couples argue. In fact, I’d be more worried if we never argued because that would mean one of us wasn’t being honest.”

“I’m very honest,” I nodded, my mouth tugging up.

“I don’t need a peace offering after every argument we have. All I need is for you to keep coming back and keep trying with me.”

“I can do that.”

“In a very short time you’ve come to mean a lot to me, and if you think you’re the only one who is a little nervous about that, you’re wrong. I’ve been doing a lot of woodworking, using the time to make sure my heart doesn’t run away too fast.”

That small confession made a huge difference in how I felt, and I smiled at him. “I used to be afraid of loving too deeply. I watched my dad and thought that I’d never want to love someone so much that when they were gone, I’d become a shadow. It was important to me to be a whole person myself and not fall into the trap of thinking I needed someone to complete me.”

He stood up from his leaning position and came close to where I was standing. “And now?”

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