CHAPTER 7
GEMMA
I’m threading flowers through a garland for the large event table. It’s something I love doing and today is no different. Still, I’m usually focused. Today, I’ve had to stop, pull all the flowers out, and restart twice.
Because I can’t stop thinking about Keaton.
The way he touched me.
The way he looked sure and sincere when he said he didn’t regret being with me.
The way he kissed me was like he couldn’t get enough.
Just when I’m about to start pulling the flowers out again, my girls come barreling into the event room. They have huge grins on their faces, and I already know they’re up to no good.
“We’re here to help,” Greylin chirps while holding up a bag of chips.
“You’ve been in here forever,” Meadow holds up a box from the bakery.
I have no doubt that it holds brownies and cookies, ensuring she has everyone’s favorites. That’s just the kind of lady she is.
Mayer looks around with pride on her face. “Are you in here agonizing over every flower? It looks great in here.”
“I’m not agonizing over every flower,” I grumble the words even as I eye the garland.
Now I won’t be able to pull them out. Maybe it’s for the best. I keep going and the girls join me and make me forget why I was even worried about the placement of everything like it was the end of the world. It never was.
And I know that.
Maybe.
Kind of.
Meadow dances one of the brownies toward me after pulling it from the box. “Come on. Take a little break. You earned it with how good this place looks.”
The painting for the party is a beach scene, and I think everyone will have fun working on it. Everyone’s station is already set up, and I don’t have much else to do. Still, I don’t think I can sit still.
I try, but only because I’m being bribed with a brownie. Meadow knows it’s one of my weaknesses and she’s concocted this recipe just for me. Including the peanut butter bits that get all melty and gooey inside of every square of chocolate deliciousness. Don’t get me started on the caramel drizzle.
“Fine,” I whine slightly as I slump into a seat. “Only because of the brownie.”
I watch as my friends double check everything, knowing full well how I like things done and how I set things up. Greylin blushes when Meadow teases her about Aiden and how she’s been doing since he’s been working nightshifts recently.
Their chatting is nice, but my mind drifts back to Keaton. I almost let out a groan when I remember the feeling of being filled by him. My body heats up and I take an even bigger bite of my brownie. Hopefully, she brought another one for me.
“You’re being quiet,” Mayer’s voice is a mix of accusation and concern.
I look up to find my best friends looking at me. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline as I mumble, “Who? Me?”
Mayer huffs out a laugh while grabbing a cookie. “Of course. Who else? You’re being very quiet and you just had this faraway look on your face,” she teases me.
“Did you finally do it?” Meadow is staring at me like she already knows the answer.
She hadn’t mentioned the tribunal again, but now it’s time for me to prove the truth in my promise to her. Damn it.
“Of course,” I tell her and stick my tongue out at her. “I went to Keaton and asked for help.”
Greylin and Mayer freeze, their eyes going wide, as Meadow looks on with pure satisfaction written all over her face. She claps a few times and does a little shimmy, and I can’t help but smile.
“You asked Keaton for help?” Greylin sounds affronted. I can’t say I blame her; I haven’t made my resistance a secret.
When threatened with the tribunal, did I really have a choice?
I nod and make a noncommittal noise, even though I know it’s not going to be nearly enough. Their eyes bore into me even though I try to ignore them. It’s impossible.
“I know you’re not leaving it at that,” there’s a clear threat in Mayer’s voice.
I roll my eyes and finish off my browning while giving my friends the most innocent smile I can muster. The looks on their faces tell me they’re not buying it.
“What?” I try one more time, but Mayer only arches her eyebrow even higher.
Yeah, she’s not going to let me off for a second longer.
“I went over to his place and told him what I was doing and then asked for help.” I shrug like it’s not a big deal, but the looks on the faces of the women around me tell a different story.
It is a big deal. And I know it.
“He came over to check everything out. He says it looks good. Now, he’s planning on doing a little research on the cannabis to hops ratio, which is where I’m pretty sure everything is falling apart. Then we’ll go through what I’ve tried and go from there,” the words rush out of me.
Maybe if I talk fast enough then they won’t notice what I’m not saying. Keeping my face neutral is the hardest part.
These women know me too fucking well.
“He came over and you walked him through everything you’ve been using and your methodology?” Greylin’s question is pure shock.
“How else would he help?”
“You’ve never even let us see where you do your brew,” Meadow’s words are edged with jealousy and maybe a little hurt. I shoot her an apologetic look.
I have been very secretive when it comes to my beer. I’m even aware that it’s a little weird. I’m protective of it.
I’m not ready to share more of it.
What if it’s even more of a failure? What if I never find the right combination? What if I just keep letting myself and the business down?
I shake off those questions because Keaton is helping me now. I’ll figure out the right recipe. Eventually.
At least, I hope I will.
While throwing my hands in the air, I whine, “You’re the one who threatened the tribunal if I didn’t get out of my own way. I did and now you’re surprised?”
“You threatened a tribunal?” Greylin looks at Meadow and tries to sound shocked.
It doesn’t quite land and I narrow my eyes at her. “You were planning on it too, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” Greylin sighs and winks at me, “but apparently Meadow is faster.”
“I was mentally taking bets on which one of them was going to use that card first,” Mayer teases. “If they were going to take much longer then I was going to have to use it myself.”
“I can’t believe I call you my friends,” I gripe at them, not meaning a single word.
They’re worth more than fucking gold. I’m more than aware of that. Even when they annoy me. Even when they push me.
“You love us,” Mayer deadpans.
“Was it awkward? You guys have been circling around each other for so long, while trying to ignore the other and be personable.” Greylin sighs, “Honestly, it looks exhausting.”
“It was so fucking awkward,” the words rush out of me before I add, “at first. Then it wasn’t and we just talked. It was easy to do because we focused on brewing for the most part.”
“What aren’t you saying?” Meadow is watching me closely. Too closely.
“Oh,” Greylin holds out the word and leans toward me while studying my face, “something definitely happened.”
I press my lips together and then let out a sigh. “When I thanked him for agreeing to help me, he said he had to help me because I’m like his little sister.”
My face scrunches up and I feel the pang of hurt from his words again. But then I remember the way he put his hands on my windowsill as if he was truly willing to keep them there even if I decided to close the window.
“He said what now?” Mayer’s chin drops down to her chest and I’m afraid she’s about to breathe fire for a split second.
“The man hasn’t looked at you in years,” Greylin snorts. “He does not think of you as a sister.”
“His avoidance of you is evidence enough,” Meadow chimes in.
Even though the memory of his words slices into me, seeing the way my friends react to his words makes it better. I can’t help but smile at them.
“It didn’t feel great,” I admit.
Mayer’s face does that thing it does when she’s working on a puzzle and is very close to figuring it out. “You should be more upset,” her voice is suspicious.
“I was upset,” I counter. “I basically shut down and got out of there as soon as possible. It made things awkward again when he came over to my place.”
My cheeks heat and I avoid the eyes of the women in the room. If I look at them, they’ll know.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking at me.
“Something else happened,” Mayer prompts.
“When he came over to my place, I walked him through everything. Then he kissed me.”
The silence in the room is so complete that I look up expecting my friends to have disappeared because they don’t even move. But there they are. Looking at me with matching expressions of shock.
“He kissed you?” Meadow’s question is filled with awe.
I nod slowly and then whisper, “Then he said he shouldn’t have done it and moved so fast I thought he sprouted wings.”
“He ran away?” Greylin gasps the question.
“He totally did.”
“You should sound more upset about it,” Mayer’s tone is filled with accusation.
“I really need you to give the full run down of the events. I feel like we have to pull everything out of you,” Meadow complains with a pout.
“Maybe if you let me finish instead of interjecting every few seconds, then I’d be able to get through it,” I protest.
“Then stop saying things that require gasps and a moment to process,” Greylin admonishes me.
I cross my arms across my chest, my mission to grab a second brownie completely forgotten for the moment. “I’m not upset about it because he came back in the middle of the night and knocked on my window. I opened it, he climbed in, then he spent the night. The end.”
My friends are staring at me like I’ve spouted a disco ball, and it is dangling in front of me like I’m an angler fish going to a party.
“He spent the night?” Greylin questions.
“He showed up in the middle of the night?” This practical question comes from Mayer.
“You really think you can say ‘the end’ and that’ll be enough?” Meadow looks just as affronted as her question sounds.
I almost laugh at what each one of them has chosen to focus on, but I can’t quite manage it. Because saying it out loud makes everything more real.
“I thought for sure he was going to pull away and regret it. I braced for him to tell me that we made a mistake when we woke up.” Meadow opens her mouth and I shake my head slightly.
“That’s not what happened at all. I woke up to find him watching me like he couldn’t wait for me to wake up just because he wanted to spend time with me. ”
Understanding flashes across Greylin and Mayer’s faces while Meadow gasps, “Are you saying he didn’t put his foot in his mouth again?”
“He didn’t,” I can’t hide the glee in my voice.
My best friends freeze for about three seconds before they explode with joy. They cheer and hoot and holler. I can’t help but bask in the celebration. Their happiness is all for me, they give it freely and without a bit of reservation.
Our laughter and their gentle teasing wraps around me. The rise and fall of it, the way it reminds me of so many moments we’ve been there for each other before, and the knowledge that it’ll happen again and again in the future, brings me peace.
Greylin’s voice rises slightly, “It finally happened for you.” She reaches over and shakes me slightly. “I’m so excited. I have so many questions.”
Mayer’s face goes blank in the way it does when she’s realized something. It usually happens before she says something important. My gut sinks; I don’t need her to say it.
But she does anyway. Her words are neutral, but not cruel, “You’re worried about Gary.”
I groan and flop back a little while hissing, “Of course I’m worried about Gary.
Is he going to freak out? Is he going to try to do something utterly ridiculous like fight Keaton?
” The thought has me bolting upright in my chair and all three women reach for me like I was about to launch into orbit.
“He’s going to want to punch him for sure, isn’t he? ”
Greylin winces and nods slowly. “Probably. Even though Elwood is not confrontational normally, he’ll flip really quickly if he feels like he needs to protect someone.” She points to the rest of us. “He’d do the same for all of you and now Hollyn.”
“Ridiculous,” Mayer sneers. “Why would Gary or Elwood get a say? Why would Gary care if you’re with Keaton?”
I almost laugh because this is a rant I’ve heard from Mayer before. She’s just getting started. I share a look with Meadow and Greylin because they know it just as well as I do.
“It’s a guy thing,” Greylin tries to tell her.
Rage flashes in Mayer’s eyes. “That doesn’t make it better,” her voice is cold. “Who cares if there’s some manly rule about a man’s friend and his sister? Who even came up with that rule? It’s misogynistic bullshit. I’m not standing for it.”
Mayer stands up like she’s about to charge out of the room and take every man down who has the misfortune of crossing her path, whether they have sisters or not. We all lunge for her and push her back down in her seat. The huff that comes out of her is filled with indignation as she glares at us.
“You can’t go charging off,” I tell her, trying to calm her down.
“Why not?” Mayer curls her lip slightly and looks at us like she’s considering charging through all of us in order to unleash her wrath.
“Bro code is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Doesn’t it make more sense that a guy would want his best friend, someone he trusts and has a solid relationship with, to be with his sister?
Wouldn’t that be better than some stranger who is using hope to build trust? ”
Greylin holds her hands up in surrender. “Preaching to the choir,” she exclaims.
“Men,” Mayer says the word like a curse.
I can’t help but laugh at the scorn in her voice. “Speaking of men,” I reach for anything to change the subject, “is the mayor still being good?”
Mayer shoots me a look, but she doesn’t call me out on my attempt to push the spotlight off me. She scoffs, “For now. I don’t trust it though. I just know that old man is up to something.”
Meadow giggles and shakes her head. “You’re paranoid,” she accuses our friend who is wound way too tight.
“Maybe,” there’s a teasing in Greylin’s voice, “you should try to get close to York to find out what he’s planning. Aiden is still on the outs with his family, and they won’t give him any inside information anymore.”
“You definitely should,” I jump on the bandwagon encouragingly while Meadow nods like a bobblehead. “It could be an enemies-to-lovers type story with an undercover, secret agent vibe.”
Mayer’s frown is epic and she refuses to acknowledge the suggestion. Instead, she looks at me. “I’ll remember this little deflection. You can have it for now, but not for long.”
I can’t help but laugh because I know her threats are something I should only half-way be afraid of. Most of the time.
Warmth fills me as I stand up feeling much better about everything being ready for the event. I feel more settled even when my thoughts drift back to Keaton. Maybe we really can make this work.
I hope so.