Chapter 5 Nina
Nina
The storm has finally passed. I wake up wrapped around Joel in his bed, and for a moment I just lie there, memorizing the feeling. The weight of his arm around my waist. The steady rise and fall of his chest. The way I fit perfectly against him.
Today Alexis comes home.
We spend the morning in a strange limbo—making breakfast, shoveling the driveway, well, Joel shovels while I make snowballs and occasionally throw them at him, trying to act normal while we're both waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Joel's phone buzzes in the fternoon. "She landed. Should be here around six."
My stomach drops. "Okay. Okay. We can do this."
"Nina." Joel pulls me into his arms. "Whatever happens, we're going to be okay. You and me—we're solid."
"I love you," I say against his chest.
"I love you too, baby."
We hear Alexis's car pull into the driveway.
Joel and I are sitting on the couch, holding hands like we're about to face a firing squad. We decided earlier that we'd tell her right away—no pretending, no avoiding it. Just honest and direct.
The front door opens and Alexis comes in, dragging her suitcase behind her. "Oh my God, you guys, LAX was an absolute nightmare—" She stops, taking in the scene. Joel and me sitting very close on the couch, holding hands. "Uh, hi?"
"Hey, Lex." My voice comes out steadier than I expected. "How was your flight?"
"Long." She's staring at our joined hands, confusion clear on her face. "What's going on? You guys look weird."
Joel clears his throat. "Alexis, come sit down. We need to talk to you about something."
"Oh God, is someone dying?" She drops her suitcase and hurries over, sitting in the chair across from us. "Dad, are you sick? Nina, are you—"
"No one's dying," I say quickly. "Everyone's healthy. It's just... we need to tell you something and it's going to be kind of a lot."
Alexis looks between us, and I can see the moment it clicks. Her eyes widen, dropping to our still-joined hands, then back to our faces.
"Oh," she says faintly. "Oh? Oh!"
Joel squeezes my hand and jumps in. "Nina and I have developed feelings for each other.
These past few days, snowed in together, we—" He pauses, and I can see him choosing his words carefully.
"We realized we care about each other. Romantically.
And we wanted to tell you directly, together, because you matter to both of us and we don't want to hide this from you. "
Alexis is just staring at us, her mouth slightly open.
"Say something," I finally beg. "Please. Even if you're angry, just—"
"My dad?" Her voice cracks slightly. "Nina, you're dating my DAD?"
"I know how it sounds."
"You're twenty-five! He's—" She looks at Joel. "You're forty-eight!"
"I'm aware," Joel says calmly. "And we know this is probably shocking."
"Shocking?" Alexis laughs, but it sounds slightly hysterical. "My best friend and my father—I mean—how long has this been happening?"
"Since Christmas Eve," I tell her. "But Lex, I've had feelings for him for a long time. Years. I never said anything because you're my best friend and I never wanted to put you in this position, but—"
"Years?" She's looking at me like she doesn't know me. "You've had feelings for my dad for YEARS and you never told me?"
"I couldn't." My eyes are burning but I force myself to hold her gaze. "You're the most important person in my life. I didn't want to make things weird between us. But I also couldn't help how I felt."
Alexis turns to Joel. "And you? How long have you—"
"Since the first time Nina came here for Thanksgiving," he admits. "I tried to ignore it. Tried to keep my distance. But Nina is—" His voice softens. "She's extraordinary. And these past two days, getting to know her without the walls I'd built up—I fell in love with her."
"You LOVE her?" Alexis's voice goes up an octave.
"I do," Joel says simply. "I love her very much."
Alexis looks at me. "And you?"
"I'm in love with him," I say quietly. "I have been for five years. I know this is weird and uncomfortable."
"Weird?" Alexis stands up abruptly, running her hands through her hair. "Weird doesn't even begin to cover this. You're my best friend. He's my DAD. I—I can't—I need a minute."
She practically runs up the stairs, and seconds later we hear her bedroom door close.
I look at Joel, my heart sinking. "That went—"
"About as well as expected," he finishes. He pulls me into his arms. "Give her time. She just needs to process."
"What if she doesn't come around?" I'm trying not to cry. "What if I just lost my best friend?"
"You won't." He kisses my forehead. "She loves you. She'll come around."
But he doesn't sound entirely convinced.
The next two hours are torture.
Joel and I sit on the couch, not talking much, both of us listening for any sound from upstairs. I keep starting to stand up, wanting to go to her, but Joel gently pulls me back down.
"Give her space," he says. "She needs to process this."
"What if she hates me?" My voice is small. "What if I just destroyed the most important friendship of my life for—"
"Don't." Joel cups my face. "Don't finish that sentence. This isn't a mistake. We're not a mistake."
"I know, but"
"No buts." He kisses me softly.
I nod, but my stomach is in knots. I pull out my phone, staring at it, willing Alexis to text me something—anything—but there's nothing.
Finally, around eight-thirty, we hear Alexis's door open. Footsteps on the stairs. I grab Joel's hand like a lifeline, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
Alexis appears in the doorway to the living room, her eyes red like she's been crying. My chest aches seeing her like this, knowing I put that look on her face.
"Lex—" I start, but she holds up a hand.
"Let me talk first." She comes in and sits in the chair across from us again. "I just spent two hours on the phone with my therapist—yes, I called her on her holiday, yes she charged me double—trying to process this."
Joel and I wait, and I'm pretty sure I've stopped breathing.
"Here's the thing," Alexis continues. "This is weird. Like, really, really weird. My brain doesn't know what to do with the image of my best friend and my dad as a couple. And the age gap, well, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't make me uncomfortable."
My heart sinks. This is it. She's going to ask us to end it.
"But," Alexis says, and it's the most beautiful word I've ever heard.
"I also spent two hours thinking about you both.
Dad, you've been alone since Mom left. Not dating, not even trying, just..
. existing. And Nina, you've been settling for guys who don't appreciate you, who don't see how amazing you are. "
She looks between us. "And then I thought about how you both looked when I walked in. Scared, yeah. But also... happy. Really happy. I haven't seen either of you look that happy in years."
"Alexis," My voice cracks.
"I'm not saying I'm thrilled about this," Alexis continues.
"And I'm definitely going to need more therapy to deal with the mental images.
But—" She takes a deep breath. "If you two make each other happy, if this is real and not just some weird holiday fling, then I'm not going to stand in your way. "
"It's real," Joel says immediately. "Alexis, I love her. This isn't a fling."
"And I love him," I add, tears already streaming down my face. "I know this is strange for you, but I promise…"
"I have conditions," Alexis interrupts. "If we're doing this, there are rules."
"Okay," I say quickly, willing to agree to anything. "Anything."
"No PDA in front of me. Not for a while. I need time to adjust to seeing you two as a couple."
"Done," Joel agrees immediately.
"And Nina, you have to promise me this doesn't change our friendship. You're still my best friend first. I still get to call you at two AM when I'm spiraling about my career. I still get to text you stupid memes. This doesn't change US."
"Never," I say, practically choking on the words. "Lex, you're the most important person in my life. That doesn't change just because I'm dating your dad."
"Dating my dad," Alexis repeats, shaking her head and visibly shivering, being more than a little over dramatic in her usual way.
"That's going to take some getting used to.
" She looks at Joel. "And Dad, you have to promise me you're serious about this.
Because if you hurt her, I will make your life hell. "
"I'm not going to hurt her," Joel says firmly. "I'm in love with her, Alexis. I want a future with her."
"A future," Alexis echoes. "Okay. Okay. This is happening. My dad and my best friend are together." She laughs, and it sounds only slightly hysterical. "My therapist is going to have a field day with this for years."
I let out a sound that's half-laugh, half-sob. "Does this mean we’re okay? You and me?"
Alexis looks at me for a long moment, then stands up and opens her arms. I practically launch myself across the room, and we hug like we're trying to squeeze the life out of each other.
"We're okay," Alexis says into my hair. "We're always going to be okay. Even if you have terrible taste in men who happen to be related to me."
I laugh through my tears. "He's not terrible."
"Jury's still out." But she's smiling when she pulls back. "Also, just so you know—I'm not gonna call you Mom."
I burst out laughing, and Joel makes a choking sound behind us.
"Oh my God, Alexis!"
"I had to say it." She grins. "Had to break the tension somehow."
Joel stands up and pulls Alexis into a hug. "Thank you," he says quietly. "For being so understanding about this."
"Yeah, well." Alexis hugs him back. "You're both important to me. I want you to be happy." She steps back, looking between us. "Okay. I'm going to go order takeout and pretend I don't know that you two were probably having sex on every surface of this house while I was stuck in LA."
"Alexis!" My face goes bright red.
"Am I wrong?"
The silence is damning.
"Oh my God." Alexis covers her ears. "I don't want to know. I'm ordering Thai food and we're going to eat dinner and talk about literally anything else. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Joel and I say in unison.
Dinner is awkward at first, with all of us trying too hard to act normal.
But gradually, it gets easier. Alexis tells stories about the production disaster that kept her in LA.
Nina talks about her plans to find a new job.
I just listen to them banter back and forth, the way they always have, and feel grateful that we didn't lose this.
Around ten, Alexis yawns. "Okay, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed." She stands, then points at both of us. "Remember: no PDA. I see nothing, I know nothing."
"Got it," Nina says.
After Alexis goes upstairs, Nina collapses against me on the couch. "That was—"
"Better than I expected," I finish.
"She's really okay with this."
"She's Alexis. She'll come around completely. Just needs time to adjust." I pull her into my lap. "But we should probably be respectful about the PDA thing while she's here."
"Probably." Nina kisses me softly. "Should I stay in guest room tonight? So it's not weird."
"You can stay in my room," I say. "Alexis is twenty-six. She knows we're together. We don't have to hide."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." I stand up, pulling her with me. "Come on. Let's go to bed."