Chapter 23 Gia
Gia
Iflop face down onto Gwen’s couch with a groan.
She laughs as she moves my feet to sit beside me. “You weren’t that awkward.”
I lift my head enough to look at her over my shoulder. “I gave him a high five and said, ‘We tag-teamed that bitch.’ I’m not sure I could’ve done anything weirder.”
Gwen’s eyes sparkle with contained laughter. “So it was a little odd, but Holt seemed to find it endearing.”
“I don’t know how to do this!” I flop over onto my back, careful not to kick Gwen.
“I’ve never done the whole dating exclusively thing.
I’m good at one-on-one situations where it’s just us, but how the fuck does PDA work?
What’s appropriate? Kissing? Making out? I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.”
“I think you do whatever you feel comfortable with. Obviously, high fives work great.”
I glare at Gwen. “That’s not funny. I panicked.”
She snorts, her laughter finally escaping. I start to laugh with her as the absurdity of the situation gets the better of me. Holt drove me over to Gwen’s house this morning and helped me carry my suitcases into my new room.
When he was getting ready to leave, a sudden bout of nerves walloped me over the head at the idea of kissing him goodbye in front of Gwen. Instead of being normal and pushing through the nerves, I gave him a high five like we were dude-bros and made a sexual innuendo. I felt like an absolute idiot.
“You could always ask him what he’s comfortable doing in front of people. I’ve heard communication is the key to a successful relationship.”
I poke Gwen in the ribs with my toe. “Thanks, oh wise one. This is going to be rough for a while. I should probably warn Holt before he gets sick of my shit.”
“I have a feeling that man will never get sick of anything you throw his way.”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a pretty messed-up brain.”
“Who doesn’t?”
“Good point.”
Gwen pats my legging-covered shin. “I’m really glad you’re here, Gia. It’s nice to have another person in the house again.”
Looking around, I smile at Gwen’s adorable little cottage. It’s boxy, and the rooms are closed off, but instead of feeling claustrophobic, it’s cozy. “This was your aunt’s house, right?”
“Yep. She gave it to me and Charlie after she moved into an independent living community. I thought Charlie and I would live here together until we either found partners or got too old to take care of the place.”
“You miss them.”
Gwen nods, picking at something on her jeans. “I know they needed some space to feel independent. I can’t really blame them, but it was still hard. I’ve been Charlie’s caretaker since I was little. Now, I have to figure out who I am outside of that.”
“I think you can still be a caretaker, but maybe you channel that into other aspects of your life. We could be a foster home for cats or something.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I wouldn’t be able to do dogs since my shifts at the Grind are way too long.”
“And I am not a dog person. Cats are way more my speed. They’re the perfect amount of asshole to match my prickly personality.”
“You’re not prickly.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Gwen, I just high-fived the man I’m hopelessly falling for. I’ve got some pretty jagged edges.”
“We’ve all done some weird shit to the guys we’re crushing on.
There was a hot guy who came into the Grind, and he ordered one of the cinnamon rolls.
I wanted to say that I love the smell of cinnamon, but it came out that I loved huffing cinnamon, like I was some kind of spice drug addict or something. ”
“Oh, no.” I wince in solidarity. “Do you know who it was?”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t grow up here, so I have no idea who he is. I still can’t face him. I make Charlie serve him anytime he comes into the cafe.”
I chuckle. “I’d so do the same thing.”
“I need to head in for my shift. You okay here by yourself?”
“Yep. I’m going to unpack my stuff and get some work done. Then I need to see about buying a car.” I sold my tiny one, knowing it would never survive a winter in Colorado. Holt told me Xander could help me find a good one, so I’ll probably head over there to see what we can find.
“I’ll bring home dinner, and we’ll celebrate our new adventure.”
Music streams from my laptop as I work. After my campaign for Mayor Dillion went live, I had a couple of towns in the area reach out, wanting similar packages.
I’m booked out until the summer now, between my regular clients and the new ones coming in.
I owe the mayor a fruit basket or something for the referrals.
I’ve been working at the kitchen table since I got back from finding a respectable four-door sedan this afternoon. Xander was really sweet and just as shy as he’s been every other time I’ve interacted with him. His business partner, Sam, helped me more than Xander.
I also spent a little time getting my stuff unpacked after Gwen left. Everything seems to fit perfectly with Gwen’s, which surprised me. I was fully prepared to shove half my shit into a closet since I moved into a fully furnished place.
Instead, I found out that Gwen and I share a love of coffee mugs with rude sayings and have very similar tastes in artwork.
My phone buzzes next to my computer, and my cheeks heat at Holt’s name on the screen.
Holt
Did you get unpacked today?
Me
I did, yes. And Xander helped me find a car.
Good. What are your plans tonight?
Gwen is bringing home dinner, and we’re going to have a girls’ night. What are you up to?
The guys wanted to get together, so they’re bringing their kids out to the house to play while we hang.
Aw. Look at us being all social and shit.
I’d much rather be with you.
Would you? Even after I made a fool of myself earlier?
Especially after you were being adorable.
That was psychotic, not adorable.
My phone begins to ring, Holt’s contact photo filling my screen. I snapped a pic of him in his cowboy hat after dinner at his parents’ house. Gage caught me taking it, but he just winked and got in his car.
“Is this when you tell me I need to seek help?” I answer.
Holt barks out a laugh. “No, this is when I tell you that I miss you.”
“Charmer.”
“What can I say? A high five gets me hot.”
I groan as Holt continues to laugh at me. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Probably not. You want to tell me what happened there?”
“I panicked, okay? We established that we’d tell people we’re dating, but we never discussed public affection. I wasn’t sure what you were okay with doing in front of Gwen, so I did the first thing I could think of.”
“Well, I think I’m good with doing anything in front of people as long as our clothes stay on.”
“Hmm. That’s still a wide range of options to work with. You’re cool with dry humping in front of people? I don’t want to brag, but I could make you come in your pants like a teenager.”
“Fuck,” Holt grunts. “Getting a boner in my office was not on my list of things to do today.”
“You want some help with that?”
“Yes. No. I’ve got to finish prepping for my case. But you better make this up to me some other time.”
“You started it with your ‘anything goes with clothes on’ comment.”
“You escalated it with your dry-humping skills,” Holt fires back. I love verbally sparring with him.
“Okay, fair. How about I promise to show you my skills if you call me tonight after your friends leave?”
“Deal. And just for the record, I’m good with hugging, kissing, holding hands, just about anything short of scandalous in public.”
“That works for me too, Cowboy. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yeah, we’ll talk later.”
We say goodbye, and I put my phone on the table.
“Look at that goofy grin on her face.” Gwen’s voice startles me. She comes into the kitchen with Farrah on her heels. They drop enough bags of takeout onto the counter to feed an army.
“I thought Farrah could join our celebration. That okay with you?”
I close my laptop and organize my work stuff into a small pile off to the side. “That’s perfect. What did you get?”
“A little bit of everything,” Farrah answers. “We thought showcasing all that Pine Creek Falls has to offer would be the perfect way to celebrate your move.”
Gwen grimaces. “Although if you don’t like half the stuff we got, you might change your mind.”
“I could live off of Gage’s pastries, Marcie’s fries, and the diner’s burgers. Not to mention coffee at the Grind. I think I’m covered all the way around.”
Farrah starts to pull out containers. “Marcie’s fries really are the best. I wish I knew how she makes them.”
“If you worked anywhere else but the diner, I’d say you could ask her,” Gwen says.
“Why does that matter?” I ask her. “It’s not like she’s cooking the food.”
“No, but Marcie and Desi have been in a feud since they were in college. Supposedly, Marcie stole Desi’s fiancé, but Marcie swears she didn’t know they were together. She even dumped the loser right after she found out, but it didn’t seem to matter to Desi. They’ve been rivals ever since.”
“I’ve always believed that no man can be stolen. He has to decide to cheat instead of setting a boundary with whoever is trying to get him to stray,” Farrah says.
I grab plates from the cabinet and hand them out. “Agreed. But I’ve also never understood women who go after married men. There are plenty of available guys. Why go after the one who isn’t? Unless it’s an accident because you didn’t know, there’s no excuse.”
“I think it’s the challenge,” Farrah answers. “It likely makes them feel like they’re the winner in a one-sided competition.”
“Were you a therapist in another life? That was seriously insightful without being mean.”
Farrah grins at me. “I’ve just had a whole lot of shitty life experiences. Plus, I’ve been in therapy for years.”
I hold up the wineglass that Gwen hands me. “Cheers to the miracles of therapy.”
We pile into the living room with our plates full of food. Contentment washes over me as we talk about everything under the sun.
I’ve been cautiously waiting to see if I’ll regret moving to Pine Creek Falls, but so far I’ve only felt at peace.
I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve made some questionable choices over the course of my life, but I’ve never regretted any of them.
I wouldn’t be who I am without those experiences.
But moving across the country on little more than a whim is a whole different story.
I left everything familiar to me—my friends, my family, the town—to live somewhere I’ve spent a minuscule amount of time in.
But those few weeks were monumental. For the first time, I finally feel like I fit in somewhere.
I can be myself without any preconceived notions about who I am or who I should be.
I get to find out what it would be like to let my walls down without the fear of disappointing people when I don’t live up to their expectations.
Not everyone is going to like me. I’m okay with that, but at least I don’t have to worry about people making snap judgments about me before I’ve even said hello.
That’s incredibly freeing.