It was…out there. It was real.
And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Though I felt a lot better when I watched Stick’s reaction when I walked out of the dorm.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered as he came forward and took my hand. (Took my hand! In front of the dorm, where my fellow students were coming in and out of!)
“You look…” He looked me up and down as we walked to the car. I vaguely saw Lucas do the same with Lily, getting her into the back seat, then joining her and putting the seat back in place. Stick held the door for me as I got in, then softly shut it and crossed to the driver’s side. As he crossed the front of the car he watched me through the windshield, and my body heated with the look he gave me.
Like he loved me in this dress, but couldn’t wait to get me out of it.
I felt the same way.
And he looked pretty damn good, too. In a smart grey suit, crisp white shirt and black tie. His hair was slicked back, showing off his strong face.
We all made small talk as we drove to Chesney, where apparently we had a reservation at some fancy restaurant.
It was all familiar, yet kind of unreal. Lucas and Lily cuddled together in the back seat, his arm around her, she tucked into his big torso. It was Friday night, one of the nights that Lucas didn’t have to work.
Stick had his hand on my thigh, slowly edging up the hem of my dress until I put my hand over his, halting his progress. He shot me a “come on” look, but I shook my head at him.
He must have told Lucas—and Lily, by extension—not to question us too much about our…relationship, because they didn’t. If it had been me, I’d have been giving them the third degree.
But then, I’m not Lily. And Stick and I were definitely not Lucas and Lily.
They had an ease about them, really had right from the start. Whereas with Stick it always felt like…work. Good work, challenging work. And definitely with the satisfaction of a job well done. Or at least that was how I felt after we had sex.
But I had this twinge watching the couple in the back seat, knowing that would never be Stick and me. Maybe not me with any guy. I just couldn’t imagine myself ever being that comfortable with anybody.
“We’re a little early for the reservation,” Stick said as we drove into Chesney. “I didn’t know if you guys would be ready on time or not.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” I asked. “What? You think we spent hours agonizing over what dress to wear? Please.” I didn’t dare look at Lily in the rearview, because I knew she’d give it away that Stick’s guess wasn’t that far from the truth.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. This is all kind of new to me, you know.” He looked a little embarrassed, so I let him off the hook.
“So, yeah, we’re a little early. And I have to drop something off for Caro anyway. Do you guys mind if we do that first?”
There were shrugs and “whatever”s from all three of us, and Stick drove through town and toward Chesney Hills.
When we entered Caro’s estate, Stick said to me, “You know, she’d probably love to see you in that dress. Why don’t you go in with me while I drop these meds off.” He pointed at the small white bag in the middle of the seat.
I was about to say no when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucas give Lily a meaningful look and decided I did not want to be alone in the car with the lovebirds no matter how short Stick’s errand would be.
We walked into the house (Stick never knocked or rang the bell anymore), and when he called out, Caro’s voice directed us to the living room.
He took my hand, which was weird, and led me down the hall. Just as we were about to turn and enter the room, I heard noise from behind me and saw that Lily and Lucas had come in the house.
I didn’t know how Caro would react to strangers seeing her, so I shooed at them to go away.
“It’s fine,” Stick whispered, then pulled me with him as we turned into the living room.
“Surprise!” shouted a small gathering in the living room. Besides Dotty and Caro (dressed in elegant slacks and sweater set, not her normal tracksuit), there was my father and Grayson Spaulding and a woman I recognized from pictures as Lily’s mother. Syd was there too, looking great in a red dress, but also looking a little uncomfortable.
Another guy was there, and he seemed to be filming me on his phone.
“What the fu—”
“Happy birthday, Jane,” Caro said, stepping forward, her hand reaching out to me.
