Chapter 57
Summer
Seb, E, and I are having brunch at Alex’s house this morning to talk things out, then I have shopping to do.
“Good morning,” Alex answers, coming over for a hug, followed by Seb.
I get a “hello” and smile from E, his hands covered in dough, so I ask what I can help with. “There’s fruit in the fridge if you don’t mind cutting it up, Summer,” E replies.
“No problem.” I wash the fruit and then start cutting.
E puts the biscuits in the oven after pulling out some candied bacon, which Seb and I both grab a piece of. “Oh, it’s got a kick. E, what is that?”
“Sugar and a pinch of cayenne.”
“It’s fantastic,” I compliment. After placing the cut fruit in a bowl, I scramble some eggs while E cooks sausage. Once the biscuits are done, we set the table and sit down to eat. As usual, everything's delicious. E makes a plate for Steven, and Alex runs it downstairs to him while we clean up.
Once we’re all settled on the couch, no one knows where to start.
It’s awkward with a lot of mixed emotions.
Luckily Alex begins. “I think we should start by acknowledging the hurt feelings between the three of you. Perhaps each of you can tell us what you would like out of this conversation? Summer, would you like to start?”
“Okay,” I nod, taking a deep breath because I need to remain calm. “I need to understand why you made the choices you did, E. What you were thinking, or not thinking about, and if you realize why Seb and I were so hurt.”
“I’m wondering that too, man. It seems you chose money over both of us, many times. If you didn’t, then I don’t understand,” Seb shrugs.
“I promise I didn’t intend to favor anything over you two. Despite my fear, it felt like everything would be okay after you both agreed I could live with my grandparents and pretend to be with Summer while I still had you, Seb. I don’t know how it all went wrong.”
“You were going to date other girls, E,” I remind him.
“But they weren’t dates to me.”
“Come on, man, we talked about this. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…” Seb replies.
“When you both expressed your displeasure, E agreed not to go on any of those dates,” Alex gently reminds us.
“Yeah, then he spent Friday and Saturday with Georgia,” Seb replies.
E's visibly distraught. “I am so incredibly sorry about those pictures. It was all just timing. When she leaned over to talk to me at the table and put her hand on my arm, I moved it off right away. The dance was just a dance. She asked me to escort her on a walk around the garden, and my grandmother insisted. I didn’t see the harm, but I promise you, when she put her arm around my waist, I asked her to remove it.”
“You still put yourself in a position where that could happen, E, and your response to that entire conversation when I got back from Virginia was hurtful.”
“I understand you messed up that weekend, E, but Sunshine's correct,” Seb begins.
“You put your foot in your mouth, behaving like it wasn't significant. First, we were hurt, so it was significant to us. Second, the paper quoted your grandmother, and she basically said you were matched. Then you tell us you weren’t going into WITSEC,” Seb says, shaking his head.
He looks so dejected. I think this is harder on him because he and E were so intertwined with each other. I grab hold of his hand for support.
“Let us focus on one thing at a time,” Alex placates. “E, can you explain your thoughts during that time?”
“None of it was real for me, so I guess I wasn’t worried about it.
I didn’t care about the girls or the functions.
You two have my heart, so no one else was on my radar.
Even though I didn’t read the article until later, what it said didn’t matter to me because it was all bullshit.
I didn’t understand my grandmother’s manipulation at the time, either.
What my grandparents did and were willing to do still shocks me.
I honestly didn’t think they were capable of the stuff that happened. ”
“We told you many times, but you wouldn’t listen,” I say.
“I know,” E nods. “I know I should’ve listened to everyone. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“What about WITSEC?” Seb brings up again. This is where we differ. I’m not upset he didn’t want to go into WITSEC with me, but I’m sad for Hurry.
“WITSEC is where you lost Seb,” I tell E, in case he doesn’t know.
“I was scared. That’s a big deal, and I made the wrong call. I know I would’ve regretted it. All I can say is I’m sorry. If it helps, I would've been miserable the rest of my life without you two.”
“You chose money over us, E. You were my forever,” Seb says as a tear escapes the edge of his lashes. I lean my head on his shoulder to remind him he’s not alone.
“I’m so sorry,” E says, his eyes watering too.
“I love you so much, and I fucked this all up. I swear it was never you or the money in my head. To me, I just had to play along for a while, and then I could provide for us. I had so many plans for our future, Seb. The money was going to pay for your university, in case you didn’t get a scholarship to the school you wanted.
I was gonna pay for Gabs, too. I wanted to buy us a house on the beach and travel the world together.
Someday I wanted to open my own restaurant.
Our kids would have everything they wanted.
“I couldn’t see the truth of who they were, too caught up in my dreams. It took me too long to realize who they truly are.
I had no intention of ever giving you up.
I was willing to play along, but if they had come out and said it’s you or the money, I would’ve chosen you.
When I realized they expected me to marry someone else…
there’s no way,” he shakes his head. “No way. I could never. I thought playing along would give me time to get my inheritance, but they never intended to let me have it. They’d hold it over my head forever.
I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ll listen to my friends from now on.
I promise. I’m so sorry I hurt you both,” E cries. “Please, please forgive me.”
Seb looks torn, so when his eyes meet mine in anguish, I give him a nod, and he goes over to hug E. E is genuinely remorseful for his actions. I think that’s enough for Seb to forgive him, and I’m happy for them.
Alex stands and comes over to sit beside me.
Once the embrace ends, they both wipe their eyes. “I’ll forgive you on one condition,” Seb says, getting all serious on us.
“Anything,” E nods.
“You choose us first over all else. Money, career, whatever happens, we stand by each other first. Everything else comes second. That includes agreeing to WITSEC.”
“I promise, although I hope we never need WITSEC in the future.”
Seb gives E a quick kiss on the lips, which makes E beam at him in return, and then Seb turns towards me. “What do you think, Sunshine?”
I smile sadly back. “I love you, Hurry, and I’m so happy for you both, but I’m not in the same place as you are.
I can’t be more than friends with E right now.
” Seb opens his mouth, but I put my hand up to stop him.
“Hurry, you can have a relationship with E and a separate relationship with me. I’m okay with that. E is still one of my closest friends.”
“I won’t lose you, Sunshine, so yeah, if that’s what you need, then I’ll do it. It’s gonna be weird though.”
“Is there nothing I can do, Summer?” E asks, his arm still wrapped around Seb.
“For me, I think you need to mature a little first. Your priorities and inability to see the hurt you were causing concern me a lot. Putting yourself in the situations you did is a big red flag for me. Maybe if we had been together for years, I might feel differently. I don’t know, but at this time in my life I can’t be more than your friend. I’ve got too much on my plate already.”
“I’m sorry,” E reiterates, deflating into Seb’s side.
“I know you are E. Some introspection, maybe therapy, would be helpful, not for my benefit, but for yourself.”
“That is a good idea, Summer,” Alex replies, giving me a head nod.
“I promise I'll do both,” E tells us.
After our talk, we pile into my Jeep to go shopping.
Bay and Olivia are meeting us at the mall.
I purchased a gift online for Alex, so I just have Seb and a few smaller gifts to get.
I pre-ordered Seb's present and have to pick it up from customer service.
Once I park, we walk over and meet Olivia and Bay at the front door. “Hello Olivia,” I smile.
“Hi Summer. Hi everyone,” she waves. “We have to buy a present for Daddy today, come on,” she waves, pulling Bay along inside.
I smile as we follow her to the back of the hardware store. Seb steps up to ask her questions about her Christmas list, as Bay drops back to walk beside me. “This gives Dad a chance to shop, wrap her gifts from Santa, and hide them,” Bay whispers.
“Ah. Makes sense,” I reply.
“Who are you shopping for today?” He asks.
I point at Seb’s back first. “I need to pick up one of Zander’s presents nearby and a few smaller things. I still have to wrap everything, too.”
“You’ve been very busy. I’m happy Jake is doing so well.”
“Thanks, and yes, I have been. Crossing my fingers, next year is a lot quieter. Hey, I forgot to ask, how did the SAT test go?”
“Good, I think. We should get our results over the winter break.”
“Ugh, so much to do. I wanted to make each of you something and bake cookies for the people at Finn, but I ran out of time.”
“We'll help you where we can, Summer. As for the other gifts, it’s the thought that counts,” he replies, bumping my shoulder.
“I know and I appreciate you guys so much. I’ve got to study for the SAT and get my applications in over break.”
Olivia asks Seb to grab a toolkit from the upper shelf for her. “Look Summer. We picked this out for Dad.”
I step up and have a look. It’s a fairly large kit of different wrenches and other tools he can use at the shop. “That’s a nice set,” I reply.
“Yup, Dad needs a new set, and this one is 40% off,” she replies.
“Come on, squirt. Let’s go pay for it,” Bay says, grabbing the set from Seb.
We follow behind him and Olivia and wait for them to pay before we hit the next store. There, I pick up Seb’s present, and then we walk over to a third store to grab Zander’s gift.
Once I’ve got everything, I follow behind the rest of the guys as they shop and pick up a few smaller items I find. Zander has wrapping paper at the house, so I don’t need to worry about that.
It takes a few hours before we’re done, and then I drive us back to Alex’s house after saying goodbye to Olivia and Bay.
We part ways after I drop them off and head home. Zander and I spread out in the living room and wrap presents while watching movies. “I never even asked what the plan is for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Dad.”
“Usually, I visit Troy on Christmas Eve, and they come here for Christmas dinner. Since we’ve been so busy and Jake is here now, we adjusted.
We may get visitors in the morning,” he smiles.
“The guys usually exchange gifts with each other early on Christmas Eve. You can visit Jake after that. I thought you and I could spend the night here with cookies, hot chocolate, and movies. Troy and crew will still join us for turkey dinner on Christmas Day, but Troy is going to deep-fry the bird for us, and we will make half the side dishes. We can bring dinner over to Jake and Ray as well. ”
“Okay. Sounds good. What do you and Troy do for the Finn employees?”
“We give them a bonus. A percentage of earnings each year, and they received those last Friday. It’s fairly quiet over the holidays, and the office is closed unless someone wants to work.
There are two single guys who will be on bodyguard duty tomorrow and on Christmas Day because they wanted overtime, and we have a security job at a New Year’s party on the beach. ”
Nodding that I heard him, I finish tying a bow on Alex’s present and set it aside.
I ask Zander about his Christmases growing up, and we tell each other our favorite movies, cookies, and presents.
It’s a relaxing few hours that help me decompress.
We put all the presents under the tree when finished.
There’s a knock at the door after dinner as we’re cozy on the couch with the tree and fire on. Zander gets up to answer. “Hi Summer,” I hear E call.
Turning around, I see him heading for the kitchen with a few bags in hand. Getting up, I follow him and Zander. “Hi E, what are you up to?”
“I overheard you mention you wanted to bake cookies for all the Finn employees and since I made too many sweets for the three of us to eat, I brought you a bunch,” he replies, pulling out cello bags with four cookies in each one. They even have a ribbon and gift tag attached.
Wow. “That was so sweet of you, E. You didn’t need to go through all that trouble.” I can’t believe he did all this so fast.
“Very kind of you,” Zander comments.
“We told Summer we would help any way we could, and this is my way. There should be enough for everyone here and a few extras,” E tells us.
“How do we get them to everyone?” I ask Zander.
“I’ll send out a text to everyone that they’ll be in the front office tomorrow morning, and people can come by whenever they have a chance to grab one.”
“Yay! This makes me so happy. I really wanted to do something for the crew. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” E smiles. “Just put your names on the tags and they’ll be ready. And no, before you argue, Summer, these are from you and Z. I’ll get out of your hair now. Alex and I are wrapping gifts tonight.”
I give E a hug before he leaves and then sit at the island. “I can’t believe he did all this,” I say, waving at all the bags.
“They’re all good boys, darling. Let’s fill out the tags so I can drop them off in the morning before our visitors get here.”
Zander grabs a few pens from the drawer, and we add our names before putting them all back in the bags, ready for the morning.