Page 49 of Waiting For Ever
Stepping back, I drop my hands from his back to each hip and pin my stare on his. “For real?”
“For real.” He adds, “Can I fill you in later, after the crowd? But I promise, Ever, he’s gone. They all are.” He releases me from his grasp but wraps his pinkie around my forefinger as he pivots and softly tugs me toward the door.
I tug back and release his pinkie, my bottom lip finding my teeth again. “Here.” I spin and reach up for the box of napkins on the stock shelves to my right. “Can you give these to Letty on your way to the kitchen? I just need a minute.”
“Yeah.” He winks at me on his way out like he has every confidence I won’t bail.
And maybe that’s why I don’t.
I dip into the bathroom right outside the office door and peek at my reflection. Splotchy skin, bloodshot eyes.Great!I wet my hands with the frigid tap water and place them on my cheeks. I expect them to sizzle. I do that a few more times and decide it’s as good as it’s gonna get. I swallow the urge to punch the image in the mirror. When did the self-loathing start? Maybe when I ran instead of told Chase to fuck off to his face. I hope Julian did. I stare back at the smug smile in the mirror.
You’re so brave behind your ripped . . . Is he my boyfriend? I shake off the train of my thoughts.One mental spiral at a time, Ev, okay?
I take three deep breaths and turn to rejoin the others. I want to help with the crowd. Via would be my first order of business when I finish at Brew.
***
“Oh my God, Evvie. WTF?” Via says the letters instead of the words. She rarely says the word fuck. “If I’d had any idea, I would’ve said. I swear. Ryan too. He said he didn’t know. And he’s never mentioned you being at Allie’s. To any of the crew. Not even Chase. He admits that Chase has brought you up a few times. And he did ask Ryan to go camping with them. Guy trip. But we already had plans.”
I don’t know what to say to Via. I just listen to her spiral, wondering what to tell her about my life here. So much has happened since I first arrived. I feel like a completely different person from the one who walked away from Oak Valley just weeks ago.
“So, what did he say to you anyway?” Her question stops my musing.
“Nothing. I didn’t really give him the chance. We were slammed at Brew because of the rain so I made an excuse and bailed. When I came back from getting supplies, they were gone. But he texted me once, a while back. I didn’t respond and blocked the number.”
I purposely leave out that Julian took care of it. First because I don’t know yet how he “took care of it.” And second, because Via doesn’t know about Julian yet. I don’t even know how to explain Julian. Except to say that I’d finally done what everyone in Oak Valley already accused me of and that it was mind blowing and that I couldn’t wait to do it again. But Via isn’t going to hear any of that anyway. I’m not even sure I can tell Lilly without setting my face on fire. Just thinking about it sends heat to my cheeks and my center at once.
“Shit. He just texted Ryan, asking to swing by here. Shit, Evvie. Want me to ask him about texting you?”
“No!” I spit out instantly. “Let him wonder if he texted the wrong person.”
“Okay, I won’t say a word. Promise. Listen, Evvie, I wanted to tell you something. I was going to call you anyway. I wanted you to be the first to hear. Forget about Chase for a second. Fuck him. I have news.”
Myheart skips then triple thuds in my chest. I can feel my pulse in the fingertips gripping my phone. But I fake calm well, or I used to. “Did you just say the F word, Via? Wow. This must be big.” I giggle. Not that Via doesn’t swear. She’s just selective about it so it tends to make the radar.
“Let’s just say Ryan and Chase have had some growing pains lately. But that’s a story for another day. So, listen, he didn’t go camping with them because he took me to the coast instead, where he . . . proposed.”
“Holy shit. You’re getting married?”
Chapter 33
Julian
Ever squeals. I’m halfway through our joined bathroom before I hear her follow-up giggle and stop my charge. She’s been on the phone with her sister for a while now. Relief to hear her excitement has me padding back into my room, folding laundry in my lame attempt at hovering. Like I hovered all afternoon. If she noticed, she didn’t let on. This girl rallies better than people twice her age. She simply got back to work. She bantered, made jokes and hustled her ass off until the last of the campers cleared out and went back to their campsites. Some choosing to leave early, the diehards sticking it out, rain or shine.
She took off for Allie’s as soon as she felt cleared to leave, saying she needed to call her sister. I told her I’d meet her there shortly. No one at Brew knew about her meltdown except me and Lilly. Lilly hugged her on her way out, but I never saw them discuss it. We were all too busy keeping the guests happy. As soon as I could leave, I dashed into my place, grabbed my laundry bag, threw it into the Jeep and rushed to Allie’s. As I stepped through the door, the hum of her muted voice filtered down the stairs. She didn’t sound distressed, but I used my laundry as a reason to be in my room. Not to eavesdrop I told myself, just to be close if she needed me.
Seeing her shut down on the office floor earlier gutted me. I stayed calm for her. But I wanted to smash that fucking dick’s face. I knew I didn’t have all the details. I wanted her to tell me on her own. I didn’t want to pry. But based on the reaction I got from Chase, he felt plenty responsible and possibly even guilty. It wasn’t hard to get him to leave.
“Young? Chase Young?” I stand at the arched entrance to the game room and call his name like a hostess calling for a reservation. When he answers, I ask to speak with him outside. We step away from the group and he follows me out the double doors of the café.
Once outdoors, I turn and face him squarely. “You and your group need to leave.” The look on his face tells me he knows that I know exactly who he is. And I know he wonders who the hell I am and how much I know. I can tell when he makes the decision to gamble on me not knowing all the details. He squares his shoulders and tilts his chin up to make himself taller. I take pleasure in seeing that he still has to look up to look me in the eyes.
When he opens his mouth to argue, I stop him with one finger raised between us. I move my face to within an inch of his and say, “You can tell your friends whatever you want. I’d go with something believable and blame it on the marina. We overbooked the site and the people coming in are celebrating a special occasion. And you’re just such a standup guy, you agreed to give up your space and go home early. The weather sucks anyway. And for your kindness, the marina agreed to waive your fees. Or you can tell them that you’re not welcomed here, and we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Or you can tell them what a fucking douche you are, and you had the choiceto leave or get your ass kicked. Either way, you’re going to haul your ass back to your camp, pack your shit and leave. We clear?”
He opens his mouth again to speak, and I roll my weight onto the balls of my feet. My fingers twitch as I clench my fists at my side. I really don’t like violence. I’ve seen enough of it within the walls of my own house growing up. But that doesn’t mean I’m not human. Every cell in my body wants to beat the shit out of this asshole. Part of me wants him to give me a reason. It must show, because after a brief stare down, he nods and turns to go back to the game room, presumably to tell his friends. I stay busy in the dining area checking on guests, making small talk until I see him and his group leave the café. Once I tell Ever he’s gone, I stay in the dining area until I watch his group’s vehicles leave the marina.
Ever has already returned to the kitchen making burritos with the littles when I rejoin them. She laughs and banters with them like she didn’t just have a meltdown in the office. My chest swells watching her. That she doesn’t realize her own strength makes her stronger. She’s not actively projecting strength. She’s just strong.
