Chapter Thirty-One #2
“Oh, nice.” Sheree checked her makeup in the mirror.
She turned to Noelle, and her expression became serious.
“Also, I meant to apologize about Brian. When he told me how he tried to talk to you outside of your job, I got so upset. Turns out, he was bothering Raven too and wouldn’t stop texting her, even after she cursed him out multiple times.
We kicked him out of the wedding party, and he won’t attend the wedding, period.
You don’t have to worry about running into him. ”
Noelle hadn’t been worried. She’d figured if Brian refused to take the hint again, she’d hit him with a good dose of pepper spray. But it was good that Sheree and Justin were thinking about everyone else’s well-being.
“Oh, I would say I’m sorry to hear that, but…” she said.
Sheree laughed. “The other reason I bring that up is because we already paid the venue for our guest count, and with Brian’s seat vacant, we have space for another person. Do you want to bring a date? You’ll know the least amount of people there, so I wanted to offer that option to you first.”
“That’s really sweet of you,” Noelle said. She bit her lip and glanced away. She would have loved to bring Jeremiah as her date. But…“The person who I’d bring will be across the country by then.”
“Oh.” Sheree frowned. “Long-distance partner?”
“Something like that.”
Sheree leaned her hip against the sink, looking at Noelle with intrigue and care. “Is everything okay with y’all?”
“It’s a bit complicated.” Noelle paused. “You don’t need to listen to me talk about my problems! It’s your bridal shower! You should get back out there with your guests.”
Sheree waved her hand, dismissing this.
“You were there to listen to me when I needed it, so now I’m here to listen to you.” She gently placed her hand over Noelle’s. “Tell me what happened.”
“Okay…well, remember the long-term commitment I just mentioned having this summer?”
Sheree nodded.
“A guy—his name’s Jeremiah—paid me to pretend to be his girlfriend for a weekend with his family, but it turned into a lot more than that.”
Sheree’s eyes widened. She squeezed Noelle’s forearm. “Damn, girl. Tell me the rest!”
So, Noelle spilled everything about what happened with her and Jeremiah this summer, and how everything had unraveled on Sunday night.
It felt good to tell the story to someone who was unfamiliar with it.
Although Tati had been supportive and attentive, Noelle could tell that she was beginning to drive her best friend crazy with the number of times she’d brought up Jeremiah this week.
“Well, it sounds to me like you had a little drama, but it’s ultimately something you can work through,” Sheree said, after Noelle finished explaining.
“Maybe,” Noelle said. “I’m sure it’s something we could overcome. But I don’t know if we should.”
“Why not?” Sheree asked.
“I’m afraid now,” she said. “I really love him. But what if I put in the effort and our relationship fails? What if I end up wasting my time and my heart and get too distracted from my own goals? I’ve done that in the past, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”
“Even if you’ve made mistakes in the past, you’ve probably learned from them and grown, right?
” Sheree said. “From what I’ve seen from you, you’re professional and on the ball.
Maybe you aren’t giving yourself enough credit now.
If we spend too much time thinking about the what-ifs, how can we ever accomplish anything?
And isn’t love always a risk, regardless?
Justin has never given me a reason to doubt him.
That doesn’t mean that something might not go wrong down the line.
You never know. But I have enough trust in him and our relationship to believe that we’ll be okay.
I mean, shoot, I’m marrying him, aren’t I? ”
She laughed, and Noelle laughed softly too.
“What I’m trying to say is,” Sheree continued, “don’t take yourself out of the game before you’ve really had a chance to play. You might be surprised by how well everything turns out.”
Sheree’s advice was not dissimilar to Tati’s advice to not miss out.
Noelle realized that, in a way, she’d been punishing herself for the things that had happened to her when she’d dropped out of college.
She’d held on to the embarrassment and shame, and those negative feelings had pushed her to work hard and get back on track.
But she didn’t need those negative feelings to drive her anymore.
She’d grown since then. And she needed to give herself grace about forgetting to schedule her advisor meeting.
Because, as Professor Mathis said herself, who would be thinking about something like that on a Saturday night during summer?
Noelle wasn’t giving herself enough credit, like Sheree said.
And she wasn’t giving Jeremiah enough credit either.
She had no reason to believe that he’d try to interfere with her studies.
Look at how he’d respected her desire for space this week.
Yes, they’d experienced a brief rough patch, but not giving their relationship a chance would be the real waste.
Why couldn’t she be dedicated enough to keep her eye on the ball and graduate, while also maintaining a relationship with Jeremiah if that was what she wanted?
“I think you’re right,” she said softly. Sheree smiled and nodded.
The bathroom door opened, and Sheree’s mom peeked her head inside. “Sheree, everyone’s looking for you. It’s time for the toast.”
“Okay, I’ll be out in a sec,” Sheree said. She turned to Noelle. “You coming?”
Noelle nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right behind you.”
Sheree began to follow her mom out into the hall, but then she doubled back. “Hey, once all this wedding stuff is over, do you want to hang out for real?”
Noelle’s smile took up her whole face. “Yeah. I’d love that.”