So, yeah, I know Nate would give up the band in a heartbeat if he needed to.
Unfortunately, for this reason alone, I see Ria’s reasoning is valid.
I get it.
I do.
I don’t like it, but I get it.
Simply nodding, I clench my eyes before opening them again. “Okay, I’ll take him out somewhere, just him and me, and tell him to let you go. I’ll be brutal and quite clear with him that you don’t want him. Just know that once I do this, there might be no coming back from it.”
“Good. It needs to be truly over in his mind.”
Shaking my head, I lean in and pull her into an embrace as a tear rolls down her cheek.
“I’ll do this on one condition.” She nods. “You let me come over as often as I can to help you, seeing as you won’t let Nate. Letmebe your support.”
She sniffles and nods.
I hate that it has come to this. That my friends are so far gone they can’t work their shit out, despite loving one another. It kills me a little more that I can’t fix this mess, no matter how hard I try. They’re too stubborn for their own good.
***
It’s been a month since I told Nate he had to let Ria go, and the fallout was exactly as expected—messy and explosive. At Inflatable Land—a chaotic wonderland of oversized slides, obstacle courses, and bouncing chaos—let’s just say things escalated quickly. Nate, already teetering on the edge, ended up destroying a few inflatable attractions. It was pure carnage—rubber walls deflating like wounded balloons and us trying to dodge the fallout. Tillie, in true Tillie fashion, swooped in and smoothed everything over, charming the owners and settling the bill.
Still, the damage wasn’t just to the inflatables. Nate’s mood has been in a permanent downward spiral since then. Even now, as we close the gallery and head to his house, he’s quiet, brooding in the way only Nate can. I know better than to push, so I let the silence stretch between us, a familiar weight that I’ve learned to carry.
When we pull into his driveway and step inside, we’re greeted by an unexpected sight. Matt is in the kitchen, holding a smoking sage stick like some kind of domestic shaman. I glance at Nate, raising an eyebrow in question, but he groans, his expression sayingdon’t ask.
The deeper we venture into the house, the more surreal the scene becomes. Whisper is in full theatrical mode, darting around the living room and singing “Hava Nagila” at the top of his lungs. His arms flail dramatically, and his flowing shirt gives him an almost ethereal quality as he rushes about.
“Whisper, what the hell are you doing?” Nate grumbles, rubbing his temples like this is the last thing he needs today.
Whisper spins toward us, beaming. “Feng Shui, darling!” He waves a hand over Matt’s chest in an exaggerated, almost mystical gesture. “The energy in this house is stale. And you two sexy boys radiate some serious bad juju. We need to realign the qi, get love flowing, and banish negativity. Trust me, it for your own good.”
Matt tries to stifle a laugh, but it comes out as a snort. Nate, on the other hand, looks like he’s seconds away from throttling Whisper.
“Love?” Nate scoffs, his tone laced with bitterness. “I’m not in the mood for finding love anytime soon. Or maybe fuckingeveragain.”
Whisper clutches his chest like he’s just been stabbed. “Don’t say such things. You hurt my heart. Love is all around us! It in the air, the furniture, the sage smoke…” He pauses dramatically, sniffing the air. “Well, maybe not sage smoke. But you get my point.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing as Matt shakes his head, muttering something about “Whisper being Whisper.” Nate just groans again and stomps toward the couch, flopping down with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Fine,” Whisper says, unperturbed. “If you won’t open yourself to love, then open yourself to an energy cleanse. You thank me later.”
All I see are shaking heads, and as absurd as the scene is, there’s an undeniable warmth in it. Whisper’s antics, Matt’s quiet support, and even Nate’s grumbling—it all feels strangely comforting, like a chaotic but well-meaning family.
And maybe, just maybe, Whisper’s right.
This house could use a little love, even if Nate refuses to see it.
Whisper lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Well, if sexy boy Nathaniel won’t put himself out there, then it up to my girl Alex and sexy boy Matt to make love happen,” Whisper announces.
Matt looks at me as I look at him with our eyebrows raised high.
“Um… what do you mean, Whisper?” I ask.
He nods toward Matt’s MacBook. “I love guru! Internet dating… I help you choose your perfect matches. Yes?”
