Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Me
Where are you?
Cash
Wolves Den.
Me
I need you.
Me
Heading there.
Cash
What’s going on?
Me
I need advice.
Cash
The guys are all here. Bellamy went over with Willow to hang out with Berkley. Is it private?
Me
Nah, shit I may need all hands-on deck. Does that mean Nate’s there too?
Cash
Yep.
Me
Alright be there in 5.
Four sets of concerned eyes watch me flop down into the open chair in the living room.
“Did something happen on the date?” Cash asks, much more gently than his normal tone.
I nod. Trying to articulate my words and where my head is at.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Nate says, “I’m just going to ask it…”
“Okay?” I quirk an eyebrow at him.
“Did Peyton stick her finger up your ass or something? Was it not everything you thought it would be?”
I can’t help the laugh that bursts from my lips. Leave it to these guys to turn my anxiety into amusement. The finger joke is a common one in our household. It all started thanks to Berkley sharing Nate’s bedroom preferences with the whole party one night when he first came to Mountain Ridge.
“Bro.” Nola smirks, shaking his head.
“I figured I’d pull one out of Mavvy’s playbook. I could tell he needed a good laugh.”
“Thank you for that.” I let out another chuckle. “But unfortunately, there was no touching involved in my date. It was way more complicated.”
“What’s going on?” Hudson asks.
“I’m just so confused right now.” I tug on my hair for what feels like the hundredth time today.
“Earlier today, the girl of my dreams...literally the one I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember, came to me and confessed that she wants the same thing.”
“Shay,” my brother whispers.
I nod. I know this doesn’t come as a surprise to any of them. Well, at least the part of me wanting her for long a time doesn’t.
“It killed me, but I told her I already had this date planned with Peyton. A date I was excited for all week because Peyton has made me want things. New things lately, and now, I’m just so confused.”
“Okay, so you went on the date, and what happened?” Nate asks.
“Once I got out of my head, we had fun, but then at the end of the night, I thought I saw Shay, and…I think Peyton noticed my reaction.” I shake my head, disappointed in myself for the slip-up.
“Which was what?” my brother asks.
I think about it for a second and decide to be completely honest. “My stomach always dips when I see her, so that was the first reaction. But then I immediately got worried about her feelings and not wanting her to be hurt if she saw me with Peyton. And…”
“Tell us,” Hud encourages.
I drop my head. “Excitement because I remembered that she told me she wants me.”
“Well, that seems normal to me. Even if you like Peyton, you’ve liked Shay for longer than I’ve known you,” Nola chimes in.
“So did Peyton say something, or did you just notice a change in her?” Nate asks, circling back.
“She straight-up called me out.” I huff. “She asked me what the deal was between us and said that she’d really appreciate me figuring it all out before we hung out again. I could tell it hurt her, and that killed me. I don’t want to be that guy. I never intended to be.”
“You aren’t that guy, Mav. Far from it,” Hudson says, giving me a reassuring smile.
“At the end of the day, you haven’t done anything wrong, but she’s right,” my brother says, looking me in the eyes, pausing to make sure he has my attention. “What do you want? Because if there’s one thing I can tell you…being with the wrong person isn’t the life you want to live.”
I know deep down there’s really no question, but I think she’s felt out of reach for so long that I’m terrified to admit it.
Nate speaks up, “If these clowns promise not to laugh, will you try something for me?”
I quirk my eyebrow at him. Even in the confusion of my day, I can’t help but let the joke slip. “As long as it doesn’t involve any fingers.”
“Guess I walked right into that one.” He laughs and nods at me. “Glad to see you still have your sense of humor.”
“Okay, for real, what ya got, Superstar? At this point, I’ll try anything,” I ask Nate, knowing he’s had his own share of relationship issues in the past.
“Close your eyes,” he says matter-of-factly.
I look at him in confusion.
“Go on, close your eyes.” He nods at me.
Tentatively, I close my eyes. “Now think of the girl you can’t live without, the one you don’t want to imagine with another guy, the one you can’t imagine going a day without talking to... And who do you see?”