Chapter 16
I didn’t know if it was a side effect of the drugs or exhaustion from one of the most overwhelming nights of my life, but I slept until almost noon the next morning.
When my eyelids first fluttered open, it took a moment for it to all come back to me. I repeated each event to myself, one by one, as I attempted to piece it all together.
I had fainted during prerelease night. Devin took me to the hospital. I found out that both my period pain and my sexual issues were the result of a medical condition, and they could be fixed.
Also… I sat up, running my fingers through my messy curls. I think Devin and I are…together now?
Sprinkled in between the facts of the night before, I relived all the emotions I’d felt. I remembered the way he looked at me in the hospital room. The way my heart exploded like fireworks when we kissed. How this time, there were no more secrets. No more running away. I’d finally confessed, and he still wanted me .
Lastly, I remembered my hormonal, drug-addled self attempting to seduce him in my bedroom.
And that part made my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Concerns still lurked in the back of my brain. I feared that he might change his mind down the road, depending on how long my sexual issues lasted. Even after I recovered from the surgery, I didn’t know if I’d be able to do the deed right away.
Surgery.
My stomach fell. I’d never had surgery before. Not even for my wisdom teeth, which were still buried well beneath my gums.
A faint tap on the door knocked me back to reality. There could be only one person standing outside my bedroom, and I knew that she was itching for details on the night before.
“Hi Cass,” I greeted with a smile as I swung the door open.
She stood with her arms crossed in the hallway, her eyebrows narrowed and a knowing smile spread across her face.
“Alright. Tell me everything.”
“ Everything ?” I trilled in a sarcastic tone as I raised an eyebrow. “Not sure if I can do that. I was pretty messed up last night.”
“He didn’t… did he?”
“What? No.” I shook my head. “He tucked my delirious self in bed and left.”
“Good.”
“I may have protested, though.”
Cassidy laughed. “Just to clarify—you’re together now? You figured out whatever mess happened last week?”
I sighed. I’d already braved telling Devin the truth; I needed to tell my best friend my secret too.
“Yeah…I have a lot of explaining to do. And so do you, missy! What happened with you and Aaron?”
Cassidy’s smile disappeared, and her arms unwound from her chest and fell by her sides. “That also involves a lot of explaining. I’ll tell you what, I haven’t had a full weekend off in forever, so let’s go do something fun.”
“Like what?”
Cassidy pursed her lips, taking a moment to think. “Well, if I’m gonna tell Aaron the truth and he still wants to go on a date, I need some clothes. I just rummaged through my closet, and all I have are work scrubs and geeky t-shirts. I need some cute dresses.”
I perked up at the thought of going shopping. It had been ages since we’d had a girls’ day.
“Absolutely,” I grinned. “Let me just shower and get dressed. Give me twenty minutes?”
“Of course. I need to get dressed too. Also…” Cassidy plopped a blue flower-clad phone in my hand. “You left this in the kitchen last night. I heard it buzz earlier.”
Realization zapped through my brain as I flipped open my phone screen. Just as I’d expected, I had a text from Devin. One that was sent three hours ago.
Crap. It was almost noon and he hadn’t heard from me.
“Have fun chatting with your new boyfriend!” Cassidy grinned as she sauntered down the hallway and returned to her bedroom.
Once I was back on my bed, lying on my stomach with my body propped up on my elbows like a seal, I flipped open my messages.
Good morning Avie. You still drugged?
I scoffed. What a romantic greeting .
Aw c’mon. I don’t get a “good morning beautiful,” or something like that?
I could feel anticipation humming in my veins as soon as I hit send. But it must’ve been quiet at Critical Games, because the typing bubble appeared just a few minutes later.
Ah, of course. Let me try again. Good morning, my beautiful little Avie. You still drugged?
No. I am not.
Aw, bummer. That was pretty funny.
Yeah, yeah. I may have been all over you last night, but you’re still a pain.
I promise that will never change.
Anyway, how’s the shop?
Fine. Slow. Saturdays are Wargavel days, but the nerds don’t generally start filing in here until two. Leaves me plenty of time to punch hundreds of cardboard pieces out of the new board games I ordered for the shop. Fun stuff.
Do you play Wargavel?
I know the rules, and I’ve played a few games. But I already have boxes full of D&D minis in my spare bedroom. If I got into Wargavel, my whole house would be overrun. Anyway, what are you doing today ?
Going shopping with Cass.
Nice. You need a fun day after everything that happened last night. I’ll be at the shop late tonight, but will you be at C&C tomorrow?
Of course.
Awesome. You get to watch me entertain a table full of preteens. But the shop closes at five on Sundays, and I was wondering if you were free afterward?
Warm tingles ran down my limbs and made my heart gallop in my chest. It had finally happened.
You asking me out?
Absolutely. A completely unrelated question: what’s your favorite kind of food?
Hmmm…definitely Greek food. My mom is Greek, and I grew up on her cooking.
Interesting. I love Greek food. There’s a gyro shop next to Critical Games that I sometimes grab lunch from. Did you have any Greek restaurants in mind, or should I start searching?
My smile stretched so far that my cheeks started to hurt. In all the dates I’d ever been on, no one had ever asked what my favorite food was. The guys I met on my app often picked a place for us. They usually chose a bar, which made it awkward since I didn’t drink.
Yes. It’s in Oviedo, though, which is a bit far from the shop.
I don’t mind. What’s it called?
It’s called Olive Tree Café. Although the sign out front just says, “Greek Food”. It’s a tiny little hole in the wall, but I go there every few weeks because it reminds me so much of home.
Is that where you’d like to go tomorrow night?
I paused. Part of me felt like I should pick a more… formal restaurant for my first date with Devin. But the thought of bringing him to one of my favorite places made me feel warm and happy. I went there often enough that the owners knew me. It wasn’t a place I’d take a guy from my dating app to. But Devin was different.
Yes.
Perfect. Do I need to make a reservation?
No. Trust me, it’s a tiny little café. You ok with that?
Yes. I am perfectly happy going anywhere with you.
Goddamnit. My face flushed red.
Alright, Olive Tree Café it is.
Sweet. Hang back after C&C. I just need to take care of a few things before the shop closes. And heads up, I won’t be very responsive this afternoon. Wargavel day keeps me busy.
Of course. I understand. Anyway, I need to get ready for shopping with Cass.
You do that. Goodbye Avie.
He ended his final message to me with a bright red heart. One that made my own heart flutter in my chest.
I sat my phone down on my desk, my mind still processing what had just happened.
I had a date.
With Devin Lancaster.
The snarky game shop owner I had been annoyed by for five years.
But…was I really annoyed? Details of our years of banter flicked through my mind, and I pondered the tone in which our exchanges were said. The look on Devin’s face every time I stepped foot in the game shop. It wasn’t the look of someone who dreaded seeing me.
It occurred to me that, even though I couldn’t see my own face, I probably had that look too.
I’d been falling in love with him at a snail’s pace without even realizing it.
Another warm smile stretched across my face. It stayed there as I showered, got dressed, and departed the townhouse with Cassidy.
I saw it reflected back at me in the rearview mirror as I turned my car on.
Yup.
Definitely falling in love with him.
Cassidy was eager for me to tell her the full story as soon as we pulled out of our neighborhood. I watched out of the corner of my eye, pleading like an expectant puppy, and laughed.
“Alright, alright.” I sighed. “God…where do I begin?”
“Let’s start with what happened between the two of you after PvP night ended,” Cassidy declared. “Did he confess his feelings? Did you?”
“Uh…it was sort of mutual.”
“Let me guess…at some point, you two ended up alone in the shop together.”
I cringed, my eyes twitching. God, was it that obvious?
“Yeah. We talked, and, well, turns out we’re more alike than I thought.”
“It took you five years to realize that?” Cassidy exclaimed. “I knew you two were meant for each other within a few months of meeting you.”
“ What !? You never told me about this!”
Cassidy shrugged. “He’s like a decade older than you. And you didn’t seem like you wanted a relationship at the time.”
I nodded, my gaze locked on the road as I pulled up to a red light. She’s right. I wasn’t ready back then. I don’t even know if I’m ready now .
“Anyway,” Cassidy continued. “What happened that night? I’d assumed one of you rejected the other, but you both looked upset last night at prerelease.”
My stomach clenched. That was where things got messy. But if I could handle telling the truth to Devin, the person I’d eventually end up being intimate with, then I could handle telling Cassidy. After all, she was my best friend.
“I can’t have sex,” I blurted out, in much the same way I’d done in the hospital with Devin. “It turns out I have a condition called endometriosis, which is also why my periods are so bad.”
“Endometriosis? What’s that?”
“The doctor at the ER explained it to me, but the details are still sort of fuzzy.” I rubbed my head. “I meant to do more research on it later today. But long story short, I need surgery. Soon.”
Cassidy’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. “Surgery ? God, Avery, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright,” I lied, remembering how badly I’d been trembling at the hospital the night before. “The doctor said it’s minimally invasive. It shouldn’t be too bad.”
“So all this time, with all that online dating…is that why you never found anyone? Is that why Tristan ended things?”
I didn’t respond, but Cassidy could tell by the way my face hardened and my knuckles clenched the steering wheel what the answer was.
“God,” she continued. “I didn’t know any of this. We’ve…been really distant from each other lately, haven’t we?”
I nodded, tightening the muscles in my throat to keep from crying.
“It’s habit,” I replied after a few moments of silence. “I bottle things up. I guess that’s what happens when you flee a controlling family and try to make it on your own. It’s hard. ”
“I feel that. My parents are poor as dirt and still chose to have six kids. I was almost completely on my own as soon as I turned eighteen.”
A small crackle of realization seeped through my heart like electricity as I realized that my relationship with Cassidy was much like my relationship with Devin. We’d known each other for years, bonding over geeky hobbies and silly jokes, but we never prodded beneath our superficial exteriors. I didn’t know much about Cassidy’s life before I met her. I hadn’t even known she had five siblings.
I decided that was something I needed to work on. My past caused me to avoid difficult conversations like the plague, which in turn made my emotions pressurize within me until they eventually burst. From then on, I vowed to be a more open, honest person. Not just with the people around me, but also with myself.
“But yeah, to wrap up my story,” I continued. “when Devin dragged me to the hospital, I told him everything.”
“And it didn’t scare him away, did it?”
A warm, reminiscent smile lit up my face. “No. It didn’t.”
“God, that’s so sweet.” Cassidy sunk into her seat, her eyes hazy with longing. “I stayed up for a while after Devin put your drugged self to bed. I didn’t know the full details at the time, but I knew that whatever had happened between you two, you managed to work past it. And it made me realize that I needed to do the same with Aaron.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Did you reject him over personal issues too?”
Cassidy gave a dark chuckle, one laced with sadness. “Funny enough, yes. I also have a medical issue that I’ve never told you about. And now it’s time.”
“What is it?”
Cassidy’s back stiffened as she took a deep breath. “I have herpes. ”
I felt the blood drain from my limbs as I processed her words. “Wait, what?!”
“Yeah.” Her gaze fell into her lap. “I never told you why things ended with my ex. Well…he cheated on me. That’s how I ended up with an STD.”
“God, Cass, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s funny, because my story is so similar to yours. I was terrified that no one would want to be with me. That’s why I haven’t dated in the three years since Brian and I broke up. It’s no secret that I want to be with Aaron, but people tend to run as soon as you mention an STD. So, when he confessed his feelings to me the night of the PvP event, I panicked and told him I didn’t feel the same.”
“And clearly, that’s not true.”
“Yeah.” Her voice sank like a deflated balloon. “And I think he knows it, too. He even asked if we could talk last night at pre-release, and I brushed him off. But knowing that you and Devin are working past your sexual stuff…it made me realize maybe Aaron and I can too.”
“He’s crazy about you,” I replied. “I think there’s a good chance he’ll be understanding if you explain things.”
“Yup. That’s what I plan to do. The truth is, if we use protection and don’t have sex when I’m having an outbreak, the risk of transmission is extremely low. And even if it is a dealbreaker for him…well, it’s better than awkwardly avoiding him for the rest of my life.”
“I feel that. It’s funny, when I was riding in the car with Devin to the ER, he really wanted to know why I rejected him. He looked so…sad. And when I finally told him, he swore he didn’t care. He acted like it was no big deal.”
“That’s wonderful.” Cassidy smiled, but it didn’t quite wash away the anxiety in her eyes. “I hope the same happens for me too. ”
“I’m glad we had this talk.” I flipped my turn signal on as we approached the entrance to the mall. “But for the rest of today, let’s just focus on having fun. It’s been a long week.”
“Agreed. But before we try on clothes…can we stop at the bookstore?”
I grinned as the familiar large, concrete structure came into view. “Of course. In fact, I was about to suggest the same thing.”