CHAPTER 27
REESE
Dinner had been mediocre at best, but Reese had never really been much of a cook.
She was loading the dishwasher and taking care to wipe down every surface in the sleek kitchen.
The mug of hot tea she made earlier had been left abandoned on the window sill.
Shrugging, Reese hastily drank the last few ice-cold sips before tossing the mug and accompanying spoon into the top rack.
She slung a tea towel over her shoulder and bumped the mechanical door shut with her hip, listening for the hum of confirmation as it started to run.
A classic rock playlist quietly filtered from the wireless speaker in the corner and Reese gave the space her pleased approval before grabbing the towel over her shoulder and strolling downstairs to the basement.
Reese was relieved to finally be able to do laundry without having to vigilantly stand guard over the machines like she did in Lida’s apartment building.
She shoved the last of the towels into the washer and began folding the warm clothes just pulled from the dryer.
A satisfied smile crossed her face as she realized that she’d unintentionally settled into a new routine here.
Granted, the space wasn’t ideal and it definitely did not feel like hers, but it was exciting just to have a quiet place to be alone.
She anxiously glanced at the clock on her phone.
It would only be a few minutes until Jette would finally be done with the last Fincher show on this leg of the tour.
Since Reese came back from New York, it had felt like the month dragged by painfully slowly even though they texted nonstop.
Jette never failed to send her a selfie on stage for soundcheck in every new city, the curve of her confident smile making Reese weak in the knees every damn time.
She wasn’t sure how she’d finally react when Jette finally gave her that same smile in person.
The thought made her giddy with anticipation.
She piled the stack of freshly folded laundry into a duffel bag at her feet and lugged the wide strap over her shoulder.
As she started towards the stairs, a sharp and echoing crash to her right nearly made her jump out of her skin.
The frontmost edge of her bag collided hard with a brass cymbal that Reese really had tried her best to avoid.
She reached out a hand and grasped the vibrating metal to silence the noise.
It tickled under her fingers as the room fell abruptly quiet save for the churning of the washing machine.
Reese carefully wrapped her arms around the large bag hanging against her hip and cautiously ducked around the glittered silver drum kit that took up the majority of the small room.
As if on cue, the phone in her back pocket chimed and Reese bit the corner of her lip to keep from laughing to herself.
Jette had all but insisted that Reese spend a few nights a week at the empty apartment to give both her and Lida some much needed space.
While they loved each other dearly, they could only handle so many arguments about groceries and hot water usage in the span of a lifetime.
And after Lida had made a few less-than-subtle hints about wanting to bring someone home for the night, Reese gladly jumped at the chance for a change of scenery.
She slumped her bag under the entryway table and groaned as she straightened her spine.
Sleeping on a lumpy sofa after a week of grueling roller derby practices hadn’t done her back any favors.
And Reese was still paying the price despite the improved sleeping conditions at Jette’s for the past few days.
JETTE
LAST SHOW!
A photo accompanied the text that popped up on Reese’s screen.
On stage, the band had their arms wrapped around each other, their faces still glistening with sweat.
Jette was beaming and her cheeks were flushed an adorable shade of pink as she flashed a brilliant and exhausted smile.
She scanned over the crowd of faces before spotting Paulie, Sav, and Finley whom she’d met several times over video chat the past month.
Even Natalie, who Reese was still wildly intimidated by, looked pleasantly relaxed.
Which looked out of character based on everything Jette had ever told her about Nat.
A flutter of nerves radiated from the depths of Reese’s stomach. The only thing left was the overnight bus ride followed by eight long hours of traveling until Jette would finally be home in Philly tomorrow afternoon.
REESE
HELL YEAH! Congrats! How’s it feel?
JETTE
Amazing but so so tiring. I’m ready to come home
REESE
What’s the plan tonight? Going out to celebrate?
JETTE
Finley wants to go out for drinks one last time but I’m reeeeally tempted to bail
REESE
Why??
JETTE
I just want to curl up in my bunk and facetime with you
I can’t stop thinking about kissing you
It was impossible to keep the smile off her face now.
She grinned back at the phone, feeling a steady blush rising in her cheeks embarrassingly fast. Not that anyone could see it anyway.
What Reese wouldn’t give to have Jette in her arms right this moment instead of seventeen hours from now.
But she didn’t want Jette to risk missing out on a night with her new tour family.
Even if Jette had wanted to skip drinks with the rest of the group, Reese knew she’d regret it when the FOMO kicked in.
She might’ve needed a little well-intentioned encouragement.
REESE
Well damn, now you’ve got me blushing
But you realize you’re going to see me tomorrow, right?
JETTE
Oh I’m very well aware…I’m counting down the hours here, beautiful
REESE
And after tonight, you’re not going to see the rest of the girls for another 2 months…
JETTE
I know, I know, you’re right
REESE
I’ll be here once you’re all done :)
JETTE
I’m going to hold you to that
REESE
I hope you do
. . . .
It was early but Reese was already itching to climb into pajamas and settle under her favorite blanket on Jette’s couch.
She browsed through movie after movie until she finally decided on a mindless romantic comedy.
It wasn’t exciting by any means, but it was exactly what she craved at the moment.
What could she say? She missed Jette so much it literally left her breathless when she thought about it too much.
She was a changed woman. A woman in love.
She hadn’t expected to feel so whole after the debacle of ending a nearly four-year-long relationship.
Add that to the chaos of moving and resorting to living out of cardboard boxes in Lida’s living room and well, Reese couldn’t help feeling a little proud of herself.
She’d taken every change in stride and found that it wasn’t nearly as daunting as she expected it to be.
In the meantime, she was lucky to have Lida to lean on.
A fact that she was never going to forget.
Not that Lida would let her. And the rest of her derby team stepped up to catch her when she worried about finding a more long-term housing situation.
In fact, Sloan had even used her professional connections to help Reese scout several different places around the city.
Plus she was still storing the rest of Reese’s boxes in her loft.
All without giving her an ounce of judgment or pity.
Reese couldn’t believe how it was possible she’d gotten so lucky to find so many people willing to stand in her corner.
Her family, however, was a bit of a different story.
In typical fashion, her mother went into hysterics upon hearing the news of her breakup.
Instead of offering comfort or even trying to understand the weight of everything Reese had been through, she quickly pivoted all her energy into pushing Reese to go back to school for her Master’s or even worse, reconciling with Kiran.
Rather than getting upset or trying to reason with them, Reese had to accept the fact that she wasn’t the kind of person her parents had ever expected as a daughter.
Sure it stung initially, but she was slowly working through it.
To be fair, she attributed most of that growth to the work she was putting in with her new therapist. Reese had grown tired of trying to change her parents.
She was too proud of herself to force herself into a box just to fit into other people’s lives.
If her parents weren’t interested enough to get to know the real Reese, then she was fine to give them a courtesy call a few times a year to keep them updated on any broad life changes but otherwise, she was prepared to maintain a healthy distance.
At least Reese knew without a doubt that she’d always have Seth and Lilly.
And a new nephew who Reese was dying to spoil in just a few short months.
Not that the rest of the family had known or suspected a thing, but Reese couldn’t help noticing the way Lilly’s small belly grew more round each week on their scheduled Sunday video calls.