Chapter 20
Marilyn
With my hand in Ricky’s, we make it down the back stairs. The newly renovated kitchen is beautiful, but devoid of people. Together, we walk through the first floor, the dining room and the living room. At each turn, I expect to see our friends. We find nothing but silence. Finally, we make it to the front office. For most of my life, it belonged to Devan’s dad, Jack. Now, I suppose it is Justin’s.
The door is closed.
Ricky looks my way, silently shrugging. I nod. Instead of knocking, he opens the door and grumbles. “Jeez, get a room.”
Peering around his shoulder, I smile, seeing Devan sitting on Justin’s lap, not unlike how Ricky and I were a few minutes ago.
Devan laughs, throwing her head back. “Since you two went MIA, we decided to give you space.” Her attention goes to where my hand is in Ricky’s. “It looks like you weren’t upstairs fighting.”
Despite the warmth filling my cheeks, I walk around Ricky and face our friends. “This weekend is about coming clean, right?”
“Shower is upstairs,” Justin says, causing my cheeks to flame even brighter as memories of this morning’s shower take new life in my mind.
Devan stands, separating herself from her husband. “Okay, spill. Both of you.”
I look up at Ricky as he stares down at me. Taking a breath, I’m the first to speak. “Maybe I’m an idiot, but we are going to give this a try.”
“This…?” Devan presses.
Ricky volunteers, “What Marilyn is saying is that she’s giving me another chance, one I hope I don’t blow.”
“That question I asked earlier…” Justin says to Ricky.
“Still none of your business.”
With a contented grin, Justin nods. He looks at me. “Just so you know, Marilyn, Rick never said anything to me about…”
“About our first time,” I say.
Devan’s eyes grow wide. “Does that mean there’s been a second, a third…?”
Ignoring the fire raging in my cheeks and neck, I smile at my friend. “It means two consenting adults are going to see if we can make this work.”
“That means you’re dating?” Devan asks.
Again, Ricky and I look at each other and nod. Ricky lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “If we need labels, then yes, at least until Marilyn realizes she’s too good for me.”
Devan’s scream fills the office as she claps her hands. “I knew it. I knew you didn’t really hate each other. I mean, I knew after Justin told me what happened. Before then, you had me fooled.” She reaches for my hand. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen, and you can tell me everything.”
Ricky tugs on my other hand, leans down, and kisses me. It isn’t the same as getting a pregame kiss in the stands before a Riverbend men’s softball game, but in many ways, it feels as significant. I smile up at him. “Dating?”
“Yeah. I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.”
It isn’t until Devan has us back in the kitchen that she turns, grabs my arms, and jumps up and down, mouthing a silent scream. Finally, she speaks. “This is amazing.”
“You don’t think it’s weird that your friend likes your brother?”
“Yes. But to be honest, I would think it was weird that anyone liked Ricky. I think it’s fantastic that he likes you too. He’s never seemed like the settle-down type.”
Settle down.
That’s not what we’re doing.
Dating.
Yep, just dating.
Devan and I keep the conversation light until Justin and Ricky leave the house. They claimed they had a few things to check out in the barns, and then they were meeting some friends in town at Decoy Ducks, one of Riverbend’s most popular drinking establishments.
Once the back door slams, she reaches across the table and covers my hand with hers. “Give me details.” She scrunches her nose. “Not copious amounts, because Ricky is my brother, but still.”
“You’re no longer mad?”
“I guess it helped that Justin didn’t know either. Sounds like my brother’s not the type of ass who tells the whole world. Point for him, right?”
“We’ve talked about it, something we hadn’t done…ever.”
“I hope you made him grovel.”
That makes me smile. “I didn’t make him, but he’s done a good job. I’m scared to believe him. That’s why we agreed to pretend to not be involved.” I sigh. “I don’t want to have to face you or the rest of Riverbend if he hurts me again.”
“You both knew the other was going to be here?”
“Yeah. I mentioned that I was headed down here, and he told me Justin asked him to come down.”
“When?”
“This morning.” My eyes grow wide as soon as the answer is past my lips.
“This morning,” Devan says a bit too loudly. “Is that…because you two were together since last night?”
Covering my face with my hands, I lean forward.
“You were!” she shouts excitedly. “Does that mean there’s been a second or third time?”
“Fourth,” I confess through the protection of my hands.
We both startle and turn at the slamming of the screen door. Jill steps inside with two reusable grocery bags, overflowing with wine bottles and a plethora of snacks. “I’m here. What did I miss?” She sets the bags on the kitchen table and looks at me. “I brought wine and snacks in case we have a broken heart to mend.”
Devan looks at me, and we both giggle.
“Oh shit,” Jill says. “Not a broken heart?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“Okay, reason to celebrate. We can drink to being happy and childless. That birthday party was torture.” She turns to Devan. “Your nieces were there.”
“They’re not torture.”
“They are when they’re part of a twenty-five-kid-strong gang of squealing, screaming children high on sugar and jacked up on party games.”
I stand. “It sounds like Jill needs the wine.” I look around the now, unfamiliar kitchen. “I don’t even know where your wine openers are anymore.”
Soon, we all have a glass of wine and are sitting in front of Devan’s fireplace. It is the original fireplace, made by her grandpa or great-grandpa when the house was first constructed. Honestly, it’s pretty cool that the Dunns have had this home in their family for so long. It makes me understand what Ricky was saying about being glad that his dad sold the farm to Justin and Devan.
It’s still in the family.
Outside the windows, snowflakes dance in the air. There aren’t enough to cover the ground, but enough to remind us that it’s winter in southern Indiana. Inside their home, the fire is warm and comforting. Sitting on a love seat, I bend my legs beneath me and listen to Jill go on about the birthday party.
It’s right as she starts to lament spending the night at the Blakelys’ instead of with her parents that she looks at me. “Wait, why am I talking?”
Devan and I laugh.
“What’s happening with you and Ricky?”
“Crazy, wild sex,” Devan volunteers.
“I never said it was crazy or wild.”
This time, it’s Jill’s screech that threatens to break our wineglasses. “I need a play-by-play on how you went from hating him to wild and crazy sex.”
Twisting the stem of my glass between my fingers, I think about the last twenty-four hours. “I suppose I haven’t hated him as much as I said. I hated what he did or didn’t do.”
“And you’ve forgiven him?” Jill asks.
“Yes and no.”
“No?” Devan asks.
“I was hurt because he didn’t do anything after our one time.”
Devan wiggles four fingers.
Jill gasps.
“The first time,” I clarify. “We both went into sex declaring it wasn’t a big deal. No strings. I guess it was a big deal, but only to me. I thought he might think so too, but he didn’t. He stuck to our agreement. That wasn’t fair of me to be upset because he did what I said. In that way, he doesn’t need my forgiveness.”
“What’s changed?” Jill asks.
“Besides seven years…” My friends listen as I try to make sense out of what doesn’t make sense. Somehow after hearing Ricky’s explanation, I see things differently. Never in a million years would I have thought he felt undeserving of me. With the changes he’s made in his life over the past few years, his reasoning falls into place.
“Tell us about the partner dinner,” Devan says.
“I wasn’t going to go.” My eyes open wide. “Oh, Jill, you don’t know this part.”
“Why am I always the last to know?”
Devan presses her lips together. “Excuse me. Seven years late in learning, here.”
I jump in before my friends battle over who is told less. “Thursday night, Ricky and I went to dinner to prepare for our fake date on Friday. We had a good time.” I smile at Jill. “He isn’t boring.”
“How many languages does he speak?” Jill asks.
“One, to my knowledge.” I go on with my story. “At the end of the evening, I ask for his phone. He wanted my address. As I began to add my name, it came up?—”
“With a note,” Devan adds.
“Something like ‘great in bed’?” Jill asks.
I shake my head. “Marilyn J. Do not answer.”
“Oh,” Jill growls. “And you still went to the dinner with him?”
“I wasn’t going to. I was mad. Except, later that night, he showed up at my apartment with a pint of caramel ice cream.”
Both of my friends swoon.
“I still didn’t forgive him. I ate the ice cream in the bathtub with wine.” They both sigh. “Then the next day at work, I receive a handwritten letter from him, asking for forgiveness and telling me to forget the dinner.” I take a drink of my wine. “I was going to, but then Bryce came into my office.”
Jill’s nose wrinkles. “Ugh. Why?”
“He’s on the talent acquisition team and had to go to the dinner, and his current girlfriend wasn’t feeling well.”
“He asked you to go with him?” Jill’s tone goes up an octave.
Pressing my lips together, I nod. “And get this, it was his girlfriend’s idea. She said he should take me, because I wasn’t a threat.”
Both of their mouths open wide.
“Bitch,” Jill mutters under her breath.
“I decided I wanted to be there, with a better plus-one than Bryce.”
“I never met him,” Devan says.
Jill responds, “You aren’t missing much. Real douchebag.”
“Did you tell Ricky about Bryce?”
“I told Ricky that Bryce asked me to the dinner, but there is nothing between us.” A smile comes to my lips. “Seeing the two of them side by side makes me wonder what I ever saw in Bryce.”
Devan shakes her head. “Still my brother.”
“Now,” Jill says, “tell me about numbers two, three, and four.”
It’s my turn to shake my head. “Nope. I’ll just say that he’s a lot better than before. A whole lot.”
“And it doesn’t hurt that you’re more experienced,” Jill says, lifting her glass.
“It’s not like I have an extensive list, but of the few…” I let out a long sigh. “I could get used to Ricky.”
“This is awesome,” Devan says. “You could become my sister.”
“I’m not making any predictions.”
Devan stands and lifts her glass. “I am. I predict a summer wedding.”
Jill stands in alliance. “To a summer wedding.”
“Come on,” they both say, encouraging me to stand.
I lift my glass. “To not getting my heart broken.”
We all clink glasses.