Chapter 20
Day One
Gavin
I woke up before my alarm, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the complete absence of the knot in my chest that had been my constant companion for the past week.
Andi would already be at her shop though. I stared at her contact for a moment, then hit call before I could overthink it.
She answered on the second ring, and I could hear the sound of music and clanging in the background. "Hey."
"Morning. You at the shop?"
"Where else would I be at six in the morning?" Her voice had a smile in it. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. I just—" Grabbing my earbuds, I popped one in an ear and walked to the kitchen, phone pressed to my ear. "I wanted to hear your voice."
The sound of an espresso machine whirred in the background. "Yeah?" The smile in her voice brought one to my face too.
I let out a soft "Yeah," and I could feel a weight lifting as I said it. No need to explain further—she'd understand. Shifting to something lighter, I asked, "How's the morning rush looking?"
"Not too bad yet. Give it twenty minutes, and this place will be packed.
" I heard her moving, the familiar sounds of her shop—a drawer opening, the clink of mugs.
I started brewing my own coffee, wishing I had better quality beans this morning.
"What are you doing up? Charisse doesn't need to be at school for hours. "
"Couldn't sleep. Too much in my head."
"Good stuff or bad stuff?"
"Good stuff." I leaned against the counter. "What are you doing later today?"
"Um... Working most of it. Why?"
"Wanted to know if you’d wanted to grab some breakfast later this morning. Maybe with some of my friends."
A pause. Then: "Oh. Really?"
"Yeah. I was planning to pick up a game this morning with the guys. Charisse has a piano lesson and is going after to a friend’s until the afternoon."
"And you’re asking me to come?"
"Yeah. I thought maybe you’d want to come meet the guys over breakfast."
"So...like, as your girlfriend?"
I smiled into the phone, feeling the words form in my chest before they reached my lips. "Yeah, babe. As my girlfriend." The declaration hung in the air between us, simple but weighted with promise.
"Okay." Her voice softened. "Yeah. I'd like that."
"And I'm calling my lawyer, Victor, this morning. Giving him a heads up about what happened with Rebecca yesterday."
"That's smart."
"He'll probably tell me to document everything from now on. No verbal conversations with her; everything in writing." I poured coffee into my mug. "I'm not taking any chances with this."
"Good."
The shop bell chimed in the background, followed by a muffled "Morning, Marcus!"
"Hold on one sec," Andi said. Then, away from the phone: "Marcus, can you get the register? I'm on a call."
"Yeah, boss!"
Andi came back. "Sorry. Morning rush is starting."
"Yeah, go. I'll let you get back to work."
"Okay," she paused. "Gavin?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you called."
"Me too."
After we hung up, I stood in my kitchen with my coffee, staring out the window at the city waking up. It was hard to believe that everything with Andi and later Rebecca had only just happened yesterday.
The words were out there now—my heart exposed. She hadn't echoed them back, but that was fine. I hadn't said those three words to create an obligation. I'd said them because they were true, and she deserved to know.
I watched a jogger pass on the sidewalk below, his breath visible in the surprisingly chilly morning air. My fingers tapped against the warm mug. The truth was, I didn't want her to say it until she meant it with the same certainty I felt. Until then, I needed something else to occupy my mind.
I pulled out my phone and texted the guys.
Gavin: You guys wanna grab a pickup game this morning?
Jake: Hell yeah.
Devon: I’m in
Jim: Me 2
Jake: 8?
Malik: I’m in. Might throw up from overdoing it last night, but I’ll just aim at Gavin.
Gavin: I’ll throat punch you, bro. See you assholes soon.
I grinned, pocketed my phone, and headed to get Charisse up for the day.
By 7:45, I was at the court. Jake was already there, stretching in that overly dramatic way he always did.
"Look who showed up," he called. "Thought maybe you'd be crying about the not-girlfriend who’s going to leave you for me."
"Shut up," I said, but I was smiling.
Malik arrived next, then Devon and Jim. We ran through our usual warm-up, trash-talking the whole time.
"So," Devon said as we started playing. "When do we actually get to meet this mysterious woman?"
I caught the ball, took a shot. It swished through the net. "How about this morning?"
All four of them stopped moving.
"Seriously?" Malik asked.
"Yeah. Thought she could come for breakfast."
"Hell yes!" Jim grinned. "Bring her. I want to see if Jake has a chance."
I laughed. "Not a chance. I'd take him out before he knew what hit him."
"Two months older doesn't make you wiser," Jake shot back.
Devon grinned. "She's going to love our stories."
"Be on your best behavior," I warned. "I just got her back."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "You think she'll stick around after hearing about Professor Damiano's wake? The crop-dusting incident?"
I winced. "Shit. Forgot about that one." I said, catching the ball. "Do me a favor? Try to act normal for once."
By the time we finished, we'd cycled through twenty years of embarrassing highlights—split shorts, drunken mishaps, and Devon's infamous dean's truck incident. Basketball and brotherhood, distilled to our finest moments of idiocy.
"Text her," Jake said as we made our way to our cars. "See if she can still come."
I pulled out my phone.
Gavin: Just finished up. Think you can make it to breakfast with a bunch of idiots?
Andi: Is one of the idiots you?
Gavin: Obviously.
Andi: Then yes. Where?
Gavin: The Breakfast Spot. Not far from you.
Andi: Got it. Give me 30 minutes?
Gavin: Perfect. Fair warning—these guys are going to give me shit.
Andi: Good. You can take it. ;)
I looked up at the guys. "She's in. Thirty minutes."
"Oh, man," Malik said. "This is going to be good."
The Breakfast Spot looked exactly the same as always—red vinyl booths, checkered linoleum floors with edges curling here and there. The smell of bacon grease that had probably been building up since before any of us were born.
Walking in with the guys felt normal. Familiar. But knowing Andi was about to walk through the same door soon? That felt different. Important.
We grabbed our usual corner booth. Della appeared immediately with the coffee pot.
"Morning, boys. Your usual heart attacks?"
"Hey, Della. Probably, but we're waiting on a couple more," Devon said.
She'd just finished pouring when the bell over the door chimed.
I looked up.
Andi stood in the doorway, wearing jeans and a soft blue sweater that made her eyes stand out even from across the room. Her hair was down, a little windblown. When her eyes found mine, she smiled.
I was out of the booth before I realized I was moving.
"Hey," I said when I reached her.
"Hey yourself." She looked past me at the guys, who were all very obviously staring. "Those your favorite idiots?"
"In all their glory."
"They look ready to eat me alive."
"Nah. They’re more scared of you than you of them."
She laughed and let me lead her to the booth. The guys scrambled to make room, Devon sliding over so fast he nearly knocked over his water.
"Guys, this is Andi," I said, my hand finding the small of her back. "Andi, these are the idiots I've been friends with since freshman year. Devon, Malik, and Jim, and you remember Jake."
The silence that followed lasted exactly one beat.
"Well, holy shit," Devon said. "Gavin Byrne has a girlfriend, and he actually brought her to meet us."
"Language, Martinez," Malik said, then to Andi: "Sorry. He wasn't raised right."
"I was raised fine, you dick."
Andi laughed—actually laughed. "It's fine. I have four brothers. I've heard worse."
"Four brothers?" Jake’s eyes widened. "Jesus, Gavin. You picked the one woman who can handle your baggage."
"I didn't have a choice," I said, sliding into the booth next to her. "You don’t pass on perfection."
At that, the guys erupted in a chorus of fake gagging sounds and theatrical groans.
Jake mimed sticking a finger down his throat while Devon clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack.
Even stoic Malik rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of his head.
Even Andi couldn't help but laugh along with the table.
Della reappeared, eyeing Andi with interest. "Well, well. And who's this pretty lady?"
"Della, meet Andi. Andi, this is Della. She's been keeping us all fed for far too long."
"Pleasure, honey." Della poured coffee without asking.
"So," Jim said, leaning forward as Della walked away to give us time to decide on our food. "How long have you two been together?"
I felt Andi's hand find mine under the table as I responded. "About six months."
"Six months!" Malik looked genuinely shocked, eyes finding me with accusation. "And we're just now meeting her?"
"Yeah," Andi said, and I could hear the edge in her voice. But then she smiled. "But we're meeting now. Better late than never, right?"
"She's diplomatic," Devon said approvingly. "That's good. Someone needs to balance out Gavin's tendency to brood."
"I don't brood."
All three of them responded in unison: "You absolutely brood."
Andi squeezed my hand, and I knew she was trying not to laugh.
"What do you do, Andi?" Malik asked.
"I own The Grind in Southie. Coffee shop on Broadway."
"Wait, I know that place!" Jim said. "I've been there. Great iced coffee."
"Thanks!"
"No wonder Gavin's been so happy lately," Malik said. "Girlfriend plus coffee that doesn’t taste like absolute shit."
"Hey, my coffee rocks," I protested.
"Yeah. Okay," Malik responded, as his head shook side to side.
Andi was fully laughing now, and the sound of it made something warm spread through my chest.
"It’s true. His coffee is absolutely horrendous," she said.
"Seconded," Devon said.
"Okay, that's enough character assassination for one morning," I said, but I was smiling.
Della came back to take orders. We all ordered too much food—pancakes, bacon, hash browns. The kind of breakfast that took up every inch of the table and required a nap afterward.
As we ate, the conversation flowed easily. The guys asked Andi about the shop, about how we met, and about her family. She asked about their jobs, their kids, their wives and girlfriends. She fit in seamlessly, giving it back as good as she got when they teased her about dating me.
"So what made you say yes to this guy?" Devon asked, gesturing at me with his fork. "He's not exactly Prince Charming."
"I don't know," Andi said, looking at me with that little smile. "He grew on me. Like a fungus."
The table erupted in laughter.
"Oh, she's good," Malik said. "She's really good."
"Gavin, you better not screw this up," Jim added.
"Working on it," I said, looking at Andi. "Every day."
There was a moment—just a beat—where something passed between us. Understanding. Promise. All the things we'd said yesterday at that restaurant, reaffirmed in a look.
Then Jake threw a balled-up napkin at me, and the moment broke, but it didn't disappear. "Don’t make eyes at my future wife!" He said.
"Guy. She wants nothing to do with you. You’re missing the secret ingredient."
Eyes wide, Andi turned to me and asked, "What secret ingredient?"
I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Heart."
She pulled back, her eyes crinkling at the corners as laughter spilled from her lips. "Well, that settles it," she said, turning to Jake with a mock-apologetic shrug. "Looks like I'm taken."
As we finished eating, Devon hung back while the others headed to pay.
"She's great," he said quietly. "Really great."
"I know."
"You seem different with her. Lighter."
"I feel different."
"Good." He clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't fuck it up."
"That's the plan."
"She met Rebecca yet?"
I blew out a breath, "Yesterday."
"Shit show?"
"Andi was great. Rebecca was an absolute nightmare."
"Unsurprising. Just be careful. Keep your eye on the crazy."
"Yeah, man. I’m on it."
Outside, I reached for Andi’s hand, pulling it into mine as we walked toward the cars.
"Your friends are nice," she said. "Protective and fun, but nice."
"They liked you. I could tell."
"Yeah?"
"Without a doubt. You held your own. What’s not to like?"
She laughed. "I told you. Four brothers. These guys are amateurs."
I stopped walking, turned to face her. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming. For meeting them. For..." I gestured vaguely. "Being you and letting me be with you."
She reached up and kissed me, her fingers threading through my hair, pulling me closer as her lips parted against mine. I forgot everything—where we were, who might be watching—until a wolf whistle from Devon's car yanked me back to the sidewalk where we stood.
"Call me later?"
"Absolutely."
I watched her drive off and turned at the shrill sound of another ear-piercing whistle. When I turned, Jake said, "See you around!" He tilted his head before saying, "You got a good one, bro. Good for you."
And he was right. I did get a good one. And I wasn’t letting her go for anything in the world.