Page 42 of Wildly Yours
"Enough to be here, and to eat those mushrooms."
"That's a great start."
I roll my eyes but I know why he's pushing. For the first time in my life, I'm walking into his house not as the mayor on town business, not as his school buddy, but as his date. Things have changed.
When he opens the door, he waves to everyone and I hear a roar of excitement. Then he steps aside and I walk in, and the whole room gets quiet.
Okay, I wasn't expecting this grand of an entry.
"Um, hi everyone. I brought cheesecake!"
Zoe and Renée jump up to hug me and I whisper in their ears that we need to grab a drink and head out to the dock.
Callie and Buzz both give me a hug too, with Cole and Caleb giving me a smile in greeting.
Renée grabs a bottle of white wine from the fridge and three glasses. "We're going to have a little girl talk outside. Sorry Callie, this might be more information than you want to hear."
"I'm fine staying in here with all my boys." She winks and waves us off.
Zoe grabs a blanket and the three of us head down the short trail to the dock. We settle in on the blanket and before my wine is in my hand, she pipes up.
"Okay, spill. Last time I saw you two in the same vicinity you were avoiding each other on purpose. What happened?"
I take a deep breath. This is how I start to trust. One secret told at a time.
"Cody and I had a falling out seven years ago."
Zoe's eyebrows shoot up with impatience. She already knows that part.
"Okay, okay. We were close when we were young. Very close. We spent all our time together when Cody wasn't with Caleb. I even signed up for the same community college as Cody so I could be around him before he left and got his Master's degree. Anyway, during our college years, our friendship turned into something else. Something much deeper. I fell…I fell in love with him."
I look out over the lake. The sun is reflecting off of the water, and the tops of a few tall trees in the distance are dancing in the breeze. I felt so at home here for all those years. Off to the left is the giant maple we used to climb with our books and soda pop, relaxing in the wide branches and talking about school, our families, and animals. With Cody, there was always talk of animals.
His favorite bird could sometimes be heard on those long, lazy afternoons, and he'd tell me how much he dreamed of studying them, or working with wildlife animals in a vet clinic.
Zoe nudges me and I'm pulled from my reverie.
"Sorry. Uh…anyway he graduated two years earlier than me because he's so smart, so after he finished college we spent one last summer together. And one night while my roommate wasaway, we had sex. And it was everything. I don't think I've ever experienced a deeper sense of closeness and care and…intimacy as I did that night. I know that sex is already intimate but this was more than that. It was like there was before that night, and after that night. Before Cody, and after Cody. Everything in my life is split between those times."
"Gives new meaning to B.C." Zoe barks out with a snicker.
We all crack up, nearly spilling what's left of the bottle of wine as we double over with laughter.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before. Especially given that he's going to be your brother-in-law soon."
"Well, Caleb hasn't actually asked me yet. But I think he's working up to it. He thinks he's being sneaky but I caught him measuring one of my rings the other day when I came out of the bathroom. He played it off but…"
"That's so exciting!" Renée pulls Zoe in for a hug.
"Wait Serena, the story can't be over yet. You said you had a falling out."
"Yeah. We did. So, we have this one magical night until he tells me he has to go do something really important, but he won't say what it is. So he leaves, and I don't hear from him for two weeks."
"What? That's a dick move."
"Tell me about it. But it gets worse. When he get back, he tells me he can't see me anymore. That he's sorry he, uh, took my virginity when he didn't deserve me. That I'm better off without him. I begged him not to do it. He was my sun. He was my everything. I lived and breathed for Cody, but he hung up the phone and we never spoke again."
The inevitable tears start to flow, and my friends wrap me in their arms and hug me as I remember the night that changed my life. The night that served as the last nail in the coffin, making me turn away from believing in people. From believing that my heart could be safe with them.
