Chapter 9
Chevonne
Brevin came back into the living room five minutes after he called for me to prove to Tina that I was okay. He was carrying another two mugs filled with steaming hot liquid.
“I have tea and I have hot chocolate,” he said. “Which would you prefer? If you just want to cradle one of them in your hands to warm yourself up some more, that’s okay too.”
I smiled up at him. “I’ll take the hot chocolate. I think I could use the sugar.”
He handed me one of the mugs and took his seat by my feet again.
“What did Tina say?” I asked him. I took a tiny sip of my hot chocolate. Too hot to drink, but just holding it close to my body was exactly what I needed. I could wait.
“She was afraid I’d murdered you.” He looked appropriately concerned at the concept.
I rolled my eyes. “Tina can be dramatic when she wants to be.” On second thought, I shook my head. “Scratch that. She’s dramatic all the time. Wait. You’re not going to murder me, are you?” I teased.
“After I went to all that trouble to save your life? What an inefficient use of my time that would be.”
I laughed and he smiled; that gorgeous grin that lit up his face in high school was still there.
“I really do regret that we didn’t get a chance to get to know each other back when we were eighteen,” Brevin said.
“I know I was an idiot when we were in the musical, but after that … I guess my parents were a lot like your friend. They kept control over everything I did, even though I was technically an adult. It wasn’t until I had real money of my own that I got free from them. ”
“And now? Do you still talk to them?”
He dropped his gaze to his cup clutched in both hands. “Only when I have to.”
“I’m sorry if I brought up something you don’t like to think about.” I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I was too far away. Instead, I tucked my toes under his thigh. Brevin gently held my uninjured ankle with his warm hand.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I just wish they’d been more … normal, you know?”
“Yeah.” I wondered what it would take out of me, both physically and emotionally, to make a clean break from Tina.
So much of our lives were tangled together, from groups we both belonged to on social media to yoga and fitness classes we took together.
Then again, I couldn’t afford the classes anymore anyway if my job wasn’t secure.
I wouldn’t be able to afford my apartment much longer, and moving meant I might not be able to keep Princess.
All the thoughts made me sigh, which made Brevin turn his gaze to me again.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Because I’m getting hungry, so I could whip us both up some dinner.”
“That would be great, thank you.” I smiled at him, truly grateful for everything he’d done for me.
“I had a granola bar when I was sitting under the tree, but I have no idea how long ago that was. It seems like a different time.” One in which I counted on Tina for my well being.
I rolled my eyes and snapped back to the moment when Brevin spoke.
“Is there anything you’re allergic to? Any intolerances? Dislikes?”
“I’ll eat just about anything,” I said, appreciating his concern.
“Well, I’ve got steaks I can cook on the barbecue on the covered deck, along with … hmm. Baked potatoes would take an hour outside. But I have rice and I could do baby carrots. Or I have the ingredients for grilled cheese.”
“Whichever you prefer. I’m good with either.”
“Okay then. Grilled cheese for us, a fried steak for Princess it is. Would you care to come to the kitchen with me or do you want to stay here where it’s warm?”
“Actually, is there a washroom on this level of the house?” I asked, already calculating how I’d get up a flight of stairs if necessary.
“There’s a powder room. Get back on the chair and I’ll wheel you to the door,” he said gallantly, like he was offering me a ride on his noble steed.
“You haven’t lost your acting chops, I see.”
Brevin smiled. “They’re polished and always ready to roll out.”
A minute later, by the light of my phone’s flashlight, I found myself in a pristinely clean washroom with a toilet and a sink.
I was surprised how much I’d warmed up—how much the living room had warmed up compared to the rest of the house, and again, I wondered what the sleeping arrangements were going to be.
When I was finished, I got myself back onto the office chair and using my good foot, pulled myself along the thankfully uncarpeted hardwood floor to the kitchen, where I found Brevin cooking what looked like a sirloin steak in a pan.
Princess was sitting beside him, watching his every move.
The room was lit up by more fairy lights draped across the counter and the table.
“She’s dining in style tonight,” I said as I snuggled my toes into the thick hair on her back. She made an excellent warm footstool at the best of times.
Brevin turned and grinned at me. “Well, she is a Princess.”
I laughed. “True enough.”
“I’ll get her all set up and then I’ll get our sandwiches ready. Do you want sweet pickles or ketchup?”
“Pickles, please.” I stopped short of asking how he cut a grilled cheese sandwich, not wanting to sway him one way or another.
I don’t think I could date a man who didn’t cut them diagonally.
It was a deal breaker. And … now I was thinking about dating him.
Amazing how Tina’s lack of influence, even for a few hours, had freed me.
Or maybe just the dream coming true of Brevin acknowledging what he’d done all those years ago had given me hope.
He got the steak cooked through and set it aside to cool, then he pulled the stuff for the sandwiches out of the cooler. We sat at the kitchen table together and he handed me a plate and a butter knife so I could help butter the bread.
“Do you like to cook?” I asked him as we worked.
“Yeah, actually. I enjoy cooking for my friends, knowing I’ve created something they can savor.”
I studied him. Yes, it was the same guy I knew once upon a time, but I was amazed at how he’d matured. He was still him, but he seemed more caring. Or maybe I just hadn’t known him very well back in high school at all.
“Did you like cooking back when you were a teenager?” I felt like I had to know.
“God, no.” He smiled, more at himself than me. “All I wanted to do was socialize and party back then. No, I think I discovered how much I liked taking care of people when I got to a point in my life when I realized I had no one to take care of.”
“What do you mean?” I put down the butter knife and looked at him.
Our eyes met.
“There was this girl in high school,” he started, making me blush. “And she really wanted to date me, but I stood her up.”
“But you explained that it wasn’t your fault,” I countered.
“I could have sought her out when I came back to town. I could have apologized a long time ago. As a result, I’ve been cursed to a life of solitude …” He placed the back of his hand on his forehead and tipped his head back in a “woe is me” gesture.
“Oh, you poor thing,” I laughed.
Brevin laughed too. “But seriously, I could have,” he said after a while. “And while it’s true that I’ve been alone for the most part all this time, I never forgot about you.”
His eyes locked on mine but as he stood and leaned forward over the table, his gaze fell to my lips. “May I kiss you?”
I opened my mouth to say yes when the phone’s ringer made me jump.
“Sorry,” Brevin said. “I have it turned up extra loud so I can hear it from anywhere in the house.” He turned to look at it on the counter, then turned back to me. “If it’s Tina, do you want to talk to her this time?”
“Not in the slightest. But I’d like to hear what she has to say to you.” The last piece of this puzzle was making sure Tina was the bad guy and it wasn’t just Brevin stringing me along. And the diagonal cut on the sandwiches, of course.
He reached across and brought the whole phone to the table before he picked up the receiver. “Hello?” he said. Brevin paused, then tipped the phone away from his ear so I could hear before he said, “She’s not available to talk.”
“Bullshit!” Tina yelled on the other end of the line. “I was coming to get her on a snowmobile, but the streetlights have gone out and it’s pitch black out here. I’m stranded! I need you to come and get me.”
“What the hell?” I mouthed.
“I don’t have a way to get to you, nor do I have any idea where you are. Call 9-1-1.”
“No!” she yelled. “You’re responsible for me being out here, you come and get me.”
“How the hell am I responsible?” Brevin was clearly exasperated.
“If you hadn’t ‘rescued’ Chevonne”—I could practically hear the air quotes around the word rescued—“I wouldn’t be out here.”
“So what should I have done? Left her there to die of hypothermia?”
“She’d be better off dead than to be with you,” my best friend said.
At this point, “best friend” deserved the air quotes the most. It was all I could do to stop myself from saying something to her.
But I knew it was no use. Even if I told her I was listening, she’d gaslight me and tell me I took it out of context because she’s lost in the snow and panicked.
And then I’d have to welcome her to the club, and honestly, I’ve had enough.
This breakup had been a long time coming, and the clock had finally wound down.
“Put Chevonne on the phone. Now!”
I shook my head quickly.
“No,” Brevin said. “She’ll talk to you tomorrow, when she’s feeling better.” He looked at me and smiled uncertainly and I’d never been more appreciative of anyone than I was of him in that moment.
“If I’m dead of hypothermia tomorrow and I never talk to my best friend again, my blood is on your hands,” Tina growled into the phone.
That set me back. What if she did die out there and I did nothing to help her? I was about to reach for the receiver when I heard it. Tina’s little dog barking like someone had knocked on the door. Tina’s front door. There was no way she would have taken that tiny dog out in a snowstorm.
“I’ve got—” Her voice was cut off there as though her line went dead. Or she cut the call herself and she was hoping Brevin wouldn’t hear what was obvious at least to me.
He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it before his gaze landed on me. “Was that …”
“Her dog? Yeah. She’s not out on a snowmobile, she’s at home.” I let out a sigh and slumped against the table.
“She’s really a piece of work,” Brevin said. “Sorry. I know she’s your best friend and all, but—”
“She’s not my best friend. Not anymore. This is definitely the last straw.” Just saying it lifted a weight off my shoulders.
Probably sensing that I wasn’t ready for any other life-changing activities like kissing, Brevin suggested we eat.
While he put the grilled cheese in the frying pan, I cut Princess’s steak up and put it on the floor.
She made very short work of it. Brevin gave her a slice of cheese for dessert before he put it away.
Tina never liked Princess, and the feeling was mutual.
Not that my dog would ever threaten her, but she never went to Tina, and my best friend would never have taken care of my pet.
In fact, the one time I’d stayed in the hospital for a procedure, I had to ask my neighbor to look after her.
Tina’s excuse was that she had to visit my bedside.
Which she did for all of fifteen minutes because she couldn’t stand the antiseptic smell.
And the fact that she had a dog of her own at home that could take care of itself well enough while Tina was out meant Princess would have been okay too. But whatever. I saw it now.
Why I’d never really scrutinized our relationship before to get to this point I might never figure out.
But now, I knew I could never go back to hanging out with her.
Everything had changed. She’d sabotaged what could have been something beautiful and lasting when she threatened Brevin.
I never would have spat in his face, and Tina knew that.
Yes, I’d been disappointed, but I’d never been vindictive.
As of tonight, I had hope that I had a new friend in Brevin.
I watched him take the grilled cheese sandwiches out of the pan. He plated them and placed them uncut on the table in front of me along with a knife.
“If you’d like to cut them, I’ll take Princess out,” he said, avoiding my gaze suspiciously. Apparently we had the same idea.
“Oh, no. No way. You cut them,” I demanded.
A smile spread across his face. “Are you testing me?”
“Were you testing me?” I countered.
“Mmmaybe a little?”
I thought about it for a moment, then teased, “I think you should cut them since I’m the injured party today. In more ways than one. It’s too much for me to handle.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that,” he said with a wry smile. “But if I do it wrong, will you forgive me?”
“Mmmaybe,” I said, smirking.
Brevin picked up the knife and set the blade gently on top of one of the sandwiches lengthwise. I had to do my best not to react. Especially when he lifted it and put it back diagonally.
“Now you’re just teasing me,” I said.
“What would be the fun if I didn’t,” he asked with a raised eyebrow. The look on his face practically made me melt, and I decided then that if he did it wrong, I would forgive him. Because there are so many worse things in the world, as I found out the hard way just tonight.
He spun the plate and studied the sandwich.
“Screw it,” he said, and cut into the sandwich. Diagonally.
If it hadn’t been for my sore ankle, I’d have leapt up and kissed him right there and then.