Chapter 19 #2
With a hand still on Andrea’s thigh, I pick up my glass of wine and bring it to my lips for a sip, its earthiness coating my tongue pleasantly.
“All that matters is, it worked, and we got to start Kelex together,” I say.
“Which ultimately led me to meet you in that elevator, so I definitely did the right thing back then.”
I only realize my mistake as I notice my friends practically gaping at me. They never knew me as the sentimental type, and while Andrea has grown used to it, they’re clearly shocked by this new side of me.
“What happened to my cold and aloof best friend, and what did you do to him?” Kevin asks with shocked amusement.
“I happened,” Andrea proudly states.
“In an elevator?” Shelly wonders. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, we ended up pressed together on our way up during my very first day. And then Lex opened a nude from some blonde woman, right in front of me. Needless to say, I never imagined that hunk would turn out to be my boss.”
Kevin’s laughter fills the room. “What a first impression …”
“I’m used to botching first impressions, so that wasn’t anything new.” They chuckle at my solemn tone.
“Oh, my second impression of you was so much worse,” Andrea counters. “It took you about thirty-seven impressions for me to start appreciating you.”
It’s my turn to chuckle. She isn’t wrong.
“And you, Lex? What was your first impression of her?” Shelly asks.
After a moment to think about it, I say, “I usually dissociate when I’m in the elevator, because it’s hell on earth.
But I remember the flowery scent. I liked that.
When I looked down, I found her pretty. But I must have been in an odd mood because now when I look at her, she’s nothing short of stunning.
” I gaze at Andrea, who’s looking at me with stars in her eyes—a galaxy of them.
“She made a joke at some point, which piqued my interest further,” I recall.
“But if I’m being very honest, I didn’t realize just how incredible she turned out to be until I watched her work.
In less than a minute, I knew she was one of the greatest minds I’d ever encountered. ”
“Yeah, my brother didn’t help me with that test,” she teases.
“No, it was all you. Always you.”
We stare at each other for a moment, and many things pass in our silent exchange. My thumb grazes her thigh, and I squeeze it just a little.
“Okay, that’s it,” Kevin intervenes. “You two are about to give me a toothache with all that corny sweetness. Can I get anyone a coffee?”
I’m the only one who accepts, as the women refuse, arguing they’re full after the gargantuan dinner Kevin cooked. The moment we’re left alone with Shelly, I notice a switch in her. She’s going into her therapist mindset.
Twice this week, I came here and talked to her, unpacking whatever damage my months in Sheridan did to my complex mind. Those talks already helped me feel better, but I know I’ll need more of them to heal. Being back with Andrea is my greatest step for now, and the rest will follow.
“How are you two doing?” Shelly asks, leaning forward on the table. Right, so we’re doing couples counseling.
“We’re good. We’re really good,” Andrea says, laying a hand over mine on her thigh. “We’ve been talking a lot in the past few days, and it’s helped us tremendously.”
“Talking is important, yes. Especially after what you’ve been through. Both of you.”
“Yes, we’ve been very honest and open,” I confirm. “We’ve got a healthy line of communication going on, and we’ll make sure to keep it that way.”
“I take it there are no more secrets between you, now that Lex’s past has come to light?”
Andrea shakes her head with confidence. “I already knew about Lex being Nammota. I’ve learned a few more things since, but I don’t think there are any secrets left. Well, maybe he doesn’t know everything about me, but at least he knows the important parts.”
“Same on my end.”
Shelly observes us, reading us like the professional she is, and turns to Andrea. “I know Lex took a while to open up to you after his release. How did that make you feel, Andy?”
“I needed time to—” I start before she cuts me off.
“I already know your side, Lex. I want to hear hers.”
Andrea’s hand on mine tightens. “I won’t lie, it was hard. He was right there, yet still out of reach. But I knew he wouldn’t approve of what I had to do to get him out, so I wasn’t entirely surprised that he was pissed at me. But God, he was a tough nut to crack.”
“It felt long to you, but trust my experience, getting through him within a week, like you did, was incredibly fast. I know it firsthand from working with him. It would have taken months for anybody else, even us.”
Andrea practically beams at that.
“Remind me, where does the line between friendship and doctor-patient confidentiality start and end?” I wonder, twirling the wine in my glass.
Shelly leans back with a grin. “Feel free to file a complaint with the Department of Health if you feel I crossed it.”
Her husband returns before I can reply, holding a tray with two cups of espresso and what looks like homemade sugar cookies.
“So, what are your plans for the immediate future?” Kevin asks as he sits down with us again.
“Hmm … We’re celebrating my birthday on Friday, then heading down to Portland for the weekend. My parents and abuela have been begging me to bring Lex since his release.”
“Oh, it’s your birthday?”
“Yeah, I’ll be turning twenty-seven.”
“I didn’t know that. You should take the day off. It’s one of our policies. No one should work on their birthday.”
“I love my job,” Andrea protests. “I don’t mind.”
“Nonsense. Your boss is a horrible snob—though not as bad as his ex-partner—and the company isn’t all that great,” Kevin humors.
“What is it with you two trying to get me off work?”
“You deserve a break,” Shelly chimes in. “I know you just had a month off, but you weren’t really off, were you? Remember to take time for yourself, Andrea. It’s important.”
“Okay, but time for myself turns out to be time for him,” Andrea explains, pointing at me. “And at this pace, I’ll end up with permanent nerve damage.”
Kevin laughs into his coffee, some of it spilling over as he tries to contain the mess. “Lex, you beast. Leave that poor woman alone, will you?”
“She’s the one always asking for more.”
“Yeah, I do that a lot,” Andrea confesses with a wince. “But we’ll soon be bored with each other and have sex like, once or twice a day or something.”
“That’s still a solid pace there, doll.”
“Definitely more survivable than four times a day.” Andrea shrugs.
“Four?! Is that all you do whenever you two are alone?”
“We take breaks,” I say.
“Barely,” Andrea argues. “And it’s closer to seven times on my days off.”
“Seven times?! I get why you were so eager to get back to work. Come on Friday. It’ll be like some political asylum.”
“Oh, come on,” Michelle intervenes, resting a hand on her husband’s arm. “You remember how we used to be.”
“Not seven times a day, darling.”
“What about Jamaica?” she insists.
Kev reflects on it for a moment until a naughty smile tugs at the corners of his lips. “Okay, yeah. Sorry, I get you, guys. No judgment from me. Andrea, you’re off on Friday. I’ll fill out the paperwork.”
His complete change of attitude seems to leave Andrea whiplashed, and I say nothing, happy with the way things turned out. Having Friday to ourselves will help with the birthday plans I have in mind.
“Anyway, no big plans for now, is that it?” Shelly asks, getting us back on track.
“No, not right away,” I confirm. “Though we will take a vacation off the coast of Belize at some point.”
“Or Jamaica. Sounds like a good time,” Andrea notes with a grin. “Why?”
“Well, we’re finally getting around to getting Maddison baptized, and Lex is set to become the godfather, so we need you around.”
“Plus, we wanted someone strong, courageous, and talented as a godmother to inspire our baby girl to become whoever she wants to be,” Kev explains. “So, naturally, we were thinking you’d be perfect for the role, Andrea.”
Eyes wide, my freckled dork stares at them. “Really?”
“Of course.”
After a few brief moments of stupor, Andrea eventually nods and says, “I’d be honored, yes.”
“Perfect.”
Kevin gets a notification on his phone, and when he opens it, the wailing cries of a baby come through. “Well, speak of the devil … Looks like someone wants to see her future godparents before they leave. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go prepare a bottle,” Shelly explains before standing up as well.
Once we’re alone, Andrea turns to me with an endearing smile. “This is so nice.”
I turn my hand into hers, entwine our fingers together, and bring it up to my lips to kiss it tenderly. “It is, yes.”
“We should do it more often.”
“Would you like that?”
“Yes, absolutely. Maybe next time we can invite them to our place instead?”
She’s had a few drinks, and given her petite physique, I know she’s likely tipsy right now. So, I shouldn’t let her inebriated words get to me as hard as they do. But maybe she means them?
“What?” she asks, noticing my silence.
“You said ‘our’ place.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“And … is it a good thing, or a bad thing?” she warily asks, unsure what’s going on in my head.
“I love the sound of it. Our place …”
Delighted by my words, she comes closer, looking up with a grin. “It does sound nice, doesn’t it?”
“It really, really does.” I lower to grant her a quick but intense kiss. “We should make it official.”
She stares up at me, surprised. “Do you mean it?”
“You’ve been living at my place for months. I’m merely suggesting we move in the rest of your things.”
“Yeah, but that was because I’m stubborn. I didn’t mean it as a permanent thing.”
“Then let’s make it permanent, shall we?”
It’s like she doesn’t believe that I mean it, staring into my eyes to figure it out. She must find her answer there because her doubts turn into what resembles utter joy.
That’s when Shelly returns, followed closely by Kev. “There she is,” he coos, twisting his upper body to show off his child. I watch as he comes straight to me, around the table, and hands me Maddison.
“There you go, Uncle Lexi is dying to hold you, my angel.”
I shoot him a dark look, but don’t protest, adjusting my hold on the wriggling bundle. “There you go, love,” Shelly continues, handing me the bottle of warm milk.
While I’m not an expert, enough nieces and nephews have been shoved in my arms to know what to do. So, I proceed with Maddison’s feeding while the conversation returns.
Any time I meet Andrea’s gaze, I find her slightly flustered. At first, I put it down to the many glasses of wine she’s had. But when Maddison finishes her bottle, and I put her over my shoulder to burp her, Andrea’s affliction becomes as clear as day.
She likes this. Likes seeing a baby in my arms. It sends a symphony of hormones through her, probably at the thought of me holding a baby that would be ours.
The moment our hunger for one another is tamed, as soon as a few days of sexless rest becomes acceptable, I’m getting my vasectomy reversed.
We’re probably not quite ready yet, but since it can take up to a year for everything to return to normal for me—if it ever does—we might as well get ahead of things.
“Alright, it’s not that I’m kicking you out, guys,” Kevin says when the conversation becomes sparse, “but I feel the urge to be alone with my wife and Jamaican music in the background. So, if you have any sympathy for a working dad who hasn’t had a seven-times-a-day streak in over six years, now would be a great time to go. ”
Andrea laughs while Michelle shakes her head. Out of sympathy for my old friend and because I need to put my freckled dork to bed, I comply and stand up. Since I’m holding the baby, and she’s already half asleep, Kev leads me to Madison’s bedroom so I can lay her down in her crib.
When we return, Andrea already has her coat on, and Shelly’s giving her a farewell hug. Once I’m ready to go as well and the goodbyes are over with, Kevin opens the door for us, and we venture into the dark night.
“Yes,” Andrea says, coming into the crook of my arm as we walk.
“Hm?”
“Yes, I’ll move in with you.” My steps halt, pausing our walk toward the car, and I look down at her, finding her with a smile from ear to ear. “Officially, I mean.”
Words would fail to express how utterly happy this makes me, so I don’t even try to answer. Instead, I frame her beautiful face with my hands and pull her in for a kiss, passing through every shred of adoration I have for her, and every ounce of love I harbor.
“Leave my property right now, you cruel assholes,” Kevin shouts at us. “I have a sleeping baby and a tipsy wife. All of this is peak fantasy for me.”
Andrea giggles against my lips, probably sensing Kev’s palpable despair, and I pull away just enough to gaze into her brown eyes. The pad of my thumb grazes the freckles that dust her cheekbone, the skin so soft and warm under my hand.
I’ll never understand what I did to deserve this maddeningly perfect woman. But she lives in my mind, in my heart, and now, in my home.