37. Jules #2
Lavinia howls with laughter and Bailey buries her head in the couch cushions. I giggle at Lavinia’s reaction.
It feels unbelievably good to have her here. I automatically feel less stressed about everything that I did earlier this morning. No one can replace your best friends in your life. If you’re lucky enough to have the kind of person who’ll stick with you through thick and thin, hold on to them.
Gemma always used to tell me to surround myself with people who know how to tend to my roots just as much as they enjoy the blooms. Because life goes through seasons, and once summer is gone and the blooms disappear, only the select few will protect and shelter your roots until you bloom again.
Lavinia has always been that person for me.
“Do you want to watch a bit of the game?” Lavinia asks.
I agree and she switches the channel. We’ve barely watched it for a minute when we see one of the Toronto Knights defensemen slam Drew into the boards on his left side with the injured shoulder.
“Oh my god!”
“Fuck,” Lavinia breathes.
Even Bailey is on alert, knowing something wrong has happened. The camera narrows on Drew as the ref whistles and the Knights defenseman gets sent to the sin bin. The commentators confirm that Drew is okay, but I know he’s not.
“He’s fine,” Lavinia says, with a sigh. “This is just part of the game.”
He’s not fine.
I’ve lived with him for months and I know his shoulder isn’t fully healed. He’ll play through the pain because he thinks that’s what he needs to do.
While Lavinia gets ready for bed, I call Drew. He’s lying in bed when he answers, hair wet from the shower, glasses on. A big smile stretches across his face when he sees me and it drops as soon as he sees the concern on my face.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“How’s your shoulder?”
Drew sighs. “You watched the game?”
I nod.
“My shoulder is fine. He didn’t even slam me that hard.” He raises his left arm up in the air. “See? Perfectly functional.”
I’m not convinced. He keeps saying it’s perfectly functional when I suspect it’s really not. I can tell Lavinia the truth and let her handle it. But I want Drew to trust me with this without forcing his hand.
“Did you get my presents?” he asks, changing the subject.
“I had no idea you were such a romantic.”
“I’m just trying to say that I’m thinking of you,” he says.
“I’ll be thinking of you as well as I get in bed with your sister.”
He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners and gosh, I miss him. I didn’t know it’s possible to miss someone this much. I feel it all the way in my bones, like an ache that won’t go away.
“God, it’s only been four days,” I groan.
I fall onto the couch.
“It’ll go by sooner than you expect.”
“Easy for you to say,” I grumble.
Drew watches me with a small smile on his face and serious eyes. “It’s definitely not easy for me. I’d much rather be with you, falling asleep next to you, waking up next to you, listening to you sing along to The Cranberries in the shower.”
I laugh. It’s all too soon, isn’t it? We can’t go from nothing to this so quickly.
Granted, it’s been nearly a month and a half since our kiss.
A month and a half since we made out and dry humped on this very couch.
The months before that we spent getting to know each other in ways we didn’t before.
“Do you think we’re moving too fast?” I ask.
“Define fast,” Drew says. “Because Lavinia and Roman got married and then fell in love.”
“They’re the baseline?” I ask with a laugh.
“They’re the closest couple to us, so yeah, let’s use them as a baseline. Fast is just an adjective, Jules. It doesn’t define a relationship.” He peers at me closely. “But, if you think we’ve moving too fast, tell me. I’m not working on a timeline here and your comfort is more important to me.”
I tuck my hand under my cheek, watching him. Drew feels like an offering from the universe for all the shit I’ve had to put with. How else do I explain him? His concern for me feels foreign.
“I guess I’m just scared of being hurt,” I whisper.
Drew eyes soften in understanding. “Me too.”
I feel Bailey nudge my feet and I look at her as she climbs onto the couch.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m taking Bailey to the vet tomorrow,” I say.
Drew is immediately alert. “What’s wrong with her?”
I flip the camera so he can see her.
“I’m not sure. Lavinia and I took her to the coffee shop today and she didn’t eat her pupcino.”
Bailey lies down next to me and I hug her close, running my hand over her head and back. I flip the camera back to me and Drew is looking at me in confusion.
“You booked a vet appointment because she didn’t eat her pupcino?”
“I know my child, Drew. Wouldn’t you have done the same?”
Drew looks conflicted, overwhelmed, a soft v between his eyebrows. “Absolutely, I would have. I just… thanks.”
I frown at him. “You don’t have to thank me for loving Bailey. She’s mine now, too.”
“You’re not worried about moving too fast?” He smiles.
I wrinkle my nose at him, twisting my mouth to the side. “Not where Bailey is concerned. I love her and she loves me.”
Ford enters the room so Drew can’t continue talking. I wish him good night, and tell him to take care of his shoulder. We hang up and a text from him pops up immediately.
Drew
Think of me when you sleep
“Your dad is an absolute romantic and if I’m not careful, he’s going to steal my heart,” I whisper to Bailey.
Making sure all the doors are locked, I lead Bailey up to my room, for the second time wishing it was another Callahan in my bed.