Chapter 6
JESSE
The silence held as Eric drove us back toward my place. Some part of me thought we should be high-fiving and whooping it up over putting our cheating ex in her well-deserved place. We should’ve been pumping our fists and cursing her name.
Instead, the mood in the car was somber. Though I couldn’t read his mind, his expression was filled with the fatigue, shock, and “what the fuck do I do now?” that I was feeling. Or maybe I was projecting.
Whatever the case, we were silent as Eric drove us out of his neighborhood and got on the freeway toward my place.
Our place. I had no idea how long that arrangement would last. I couldn’t imagine he wanted to stay with his ex’s sidepiece longer than he had to.
Quite honestly, I didn’t mind if he hung around for a while; whether it was rational or not, I still felt horribly guilty about everything, and putting him up assuaged my conscience a little.
But I wouldn’t blame him if he got out as soon as he could. I was probably a walking, talking reminder of why he’d spent last night canceling his wedding.
I shifted in the passenger seat. The silence was uncomfortable, though I had no idea how to fill it.
And it didn’t help that traffic was slow.
It was a Sunday, but there was probably a big event tonight in downtown Pittsburgh.
A concert? A sportsball game of some sort?
I had no idea. It was just weird to see the world going on like normal while Eric’s and mine had been turned on its ass.
Maybe that meant our lives would get back to normal someday. I had no idea. Nothing felt anything like normal right now, and it was hard to imagine ever experiencing normal again.
Surreptitiously, I watched Eric as he drove.
I couldn’t imagine what was going through his head right now; I was off-balance enough with this breakup and the realization that I’d been Selena’s sidepiece.
He’d been cheated on, had to cancel his wedding, and had to put most of his possessions in storage while he moved out of his own home. That had to be rough.
Out of nowhere, gaze still fixed on the road, Eric broke the silence. “You work remotely, don’t you?”
I studied him. “Uh. Yeah? For the most part? Why?”
He glanced at me. “Do they let you work from anywhere?”
“Within reason, sure.”
“What about paid time off?”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Maybe sniffing around for a lead on a new job? Trying to change everything about his life as long as he was going through a major shakeup? So, I played along. “They’re pretty generous with vacation. Four weeks a year.”
Eric nodded, adjusting his grip on the wheel and focusing on the line of taillights in front of us. “Any chance you can take a three-week vacation on a moment’s notice?”
“A three—what?” I blinked, but then my brain caught up a little. “Wasn’t your honeymoon supposed to be three weeks?”
Eric nodded again. “Yeah. And my father-in-law—” He grimaced. “Selena’s dad said I could spend some time at his cabin up in New England. He knows I love that place, so he said that since I’ve already got the time off work, I might as well go there to decompress.”
It took me a moment to process what he was saying. “Are you… Are you asking me to come with you?”
He shrugged. “If you want to? Since you’re tangled up in all this shit, too, and I mean, I think I owe you for everything.”
“No, you don’t. If anyone does, it’s her.”
“Still.” He glanced at me, his expression completely serious.
“It won’t hurt my feelings if you say no.
It really won’t. But the offer is open if you want a quiet place to lick your wounds.
” He shot me another glance, a tired but mischievous grin on his lips.
“And what better fuck-you than taking her place on her own honeymoon?”
A laugh burst out of me. “Was that where you two were spending your honeymoon?”
“Oh, God no.” He chuckled and shook his head. “She hates it up there. Every time we went for family stuff, she’d groan and complain about it.”
“But you like it?”
“It’s nice. Huge place. All the amenities. And it’s right on a lake. It’s not a luxury cruise like we were doing for our honeymoon, but for three weeks of decompressing after this? It’s perfect.”
Huh. When he put it like that…
I shifted a little in the passenger seat. “I need to check in with my boss. I’ve got a fair amount of PTO on the books, but on short notice…” I thought about it. “I could probably get away with it if I do some work while we’re traveling.”
Eric glanced at me again, eyebrows up and eyes full of interest. “Yeah? So you’re game?”
Hell, forget taking advantage of the trip to lick my own wounds. If taking me along brought him even this much back to life, then what was there to think about?
“For three weeks out in the middle of nowhere, as far away as possible from my cheating ex?” I snorted. “Fuck yeah. Sign me up.”
He laughed and we bumped fists over the console.
“So, where exactly is this place?” I asked, quickly warming up the idea.
“Maine. It’s about a fourteen, fifteen-hour drive from here, so I usually break it up into two days.”
I nodded. “Seven and seven—makes sense.”
“It really is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, too,” he went on. “It’s a tiny, tiny town, not like a big resort area or anything.” He paused. “It’s leaf-peeping season, so it might be crowded, but it’s not usually too bad.”
“Wait, leaf peeping?” I cocked a brow. “That’s… that’s a thing?”
“Well, yeah.” He glanced at me. “It’s a thing here, too.”
“Yeah, but there’s going out and checking out the leaves in your area, and there’s flocking to towns in the middle of nowhere to see the leaves.” I narrowed at him. “Are you a closet leaf peeper?”
Eric barked a laugh. “Nah. I mean, I’ll stop and take photos, and it really does look pretty amazing when they’re at their peak. But actually plan a trip around the colors of leaves?” He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “Not me.”
“Okay. I’m just making sure you’re not a weirdo.”
“Oh come on, it’s not that weird.”
“It is too!”
“Uh-huh. Well, peep the leaves out there and then tell me if people are weird for making a trip for it.”
I eyed him dubiously. “I kind of feel like we should lay money on this, but then I feel like it’s going to bite me in the ass.”
Eric shrugged innocently. “Your call. Take a risk if you’re so sure, or take the safe route like a coward.”
“Ooh, those are fighting words, my friend!”
“Uh-huh. And?” He flashed me a grin. “You gonna fight or not?”
I rolled my eyes. “Jesus Christ. No, I am not making bets about leaves.”
“Chickenshit.”
“Asshole.”
We exchanged glares, then laughed as he continued slogging us through the dense traffic.
It felt good to break out of the numbness and banter with someone. It felt great to have something to look forward to. I had no doubt the real emotions would crack through eventually. A breakup like this didn’t just go away. At some point, I was going to feel it. So was Eric.
But right this minute, as we inched farther and farther away from the smoldering wreckage of both of our relationships with Selena…
I let myself feel better.
I let myself breathe.