Chapter 24
twenty-four
Why?
That was the first question that popped into my head and to be honest for a long moment, I couldn’t move beyond that. Just… Why?
The boy I had fallen for when I was seventeen and heartbreak still felt romantic instead of exhausting was standing in front of me.
The boy who had written a poem about my laugh in my yearbook and then dumped me two weeks before graduation because he was going off to find himself at college, was standing in front of me with his hands in his coat pockets, boots coated around the toe with a light sheen of slush.
I turned towards Gina who looked as if she might explode with delight.
“Why,” I asked slowly, “would you do this to me?”
“You said you were open to being set up until Christmas, didn’t you? And you need to stop living in your head, Bri. You’ve been moody since we left the city—”
“I have not been moody.”
“You literally cried into a gingerbread cookie I’d picked up from the bodega yesterday.”
I didn’t have a very good answer to that. “It was a very emotional cookie.”
Gina crossed her arms, unconvinced. “You need closure. Or a rebound. Or both. So, bam! Closure, wrapped in a cute scarf.”
I turned back to look at Brenden. He was waving now.
And smiling.
That smile. Charming. Harmless. And now entirely unwelcome.
My heart beat faster, but not the way it used to. Not with fluttery nerves or first-date jitters. This was confusion, unease. Something restless in my chest.
My voice was quiet when I said, “I thought I was done with the blind dates, Gina.”
“But you haven’t found your holiday sweetheart,” she said. “And don’t lie to me, this one feels right, doesn’t it? You’re back here in town where everything started and so is he. You’re both together again.
Both together again.
Josh flashed back to my mind.
“I can’t do this.”
“Sure you can.” Gina nudged me forward. “Just say hi. One drink. Maybe a holiday miracle.”
I turned to her, my breath fogging between us. “Did Josh know you were doing this?”
Gina shrugged. “Why would he care?”
But I cared.
I cared far too much.
My high school boyfriend, Brenden, stood on the edge of the sidewalk, letting me take my time. Behind him, I glanced at his car that was in just as good condition as when his parents had bought it for him for high-school graduation.
There was a soft look in his eyes. My heart still hammered in my chest, but at least, less so?
And also a whole lot more so.
My shoulders slumped. I mean, I knew Brenden. I’d been sick with Brenden and gone through awkward high school drama with him. It certainly wasn’t like I was suddenly on another blind date. Not at all.
What was going on here?
“Hey, Brielle.” The corner of Brenden’s lip curled up into a half smile.
He looked just about as awkward as I felt right now.
I couldn’t believe it. He was here. Right in front of me. This was Gina’s pick? Brenden was my final date before Christmas? I guess…
Well, it could certainly be so much worse.
Before I knew it I was swept up in a long hug. “It’s good to see you too Brenden.”
“I’ll just leave you two here to get along. Have fun!” Gina squealed as she headed back into the house.
Once I was released from the hug, I turned to watch Gina’s retreating figure, feeling a mix of gratitude and frustration. Was this her wingwoman move? Because this was now the second time that she had stuck me in front of a guy and run away.
Why did she always have to meddle in my love life? And why had she thought Brenden was the right choice for me? I mean, he had been. Once.
I turned back to Brenden, who was still standing there with that same soft look in his eyes.
“So … Brenden,” I started, not sure where to begin. “What are you doing here?”
He shifted on his feet, seemingly nervous. “I heard you were back in town for the holidays, and I thought it might be nice to catch up. See how you’ve been.”
I couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia at his words. Brenden and I had been close once, before life took us on different paths. But here he was, holding a red flower and looking at me like maybe there was still something between us.
As we stood there in the fading light of the quickly turning winter evening in front of a house from my childhood, I realized that maybe Gina’s matchmaking wasn’t so terrible after all.
Perhaps this unexpected reunion with Brenden was exactly what I needed to face the unresolved feelings from our past and finally find closure.
Maybe it would help me get over Josh. Or at least forget about him for a few hours.
Josh, Josh, Josh.
Bah!
“Ready for our blind date?” He chuckled.
I couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Yes. Let’s do this.”
What was happening with my life?