All eyes turn to me and I let out a long breath before groaning out, “Okay, fine! So, Zander and I have kind of started seeing each other, okay?”
“Not good enough!” Skyler insists. “You two were at each other’s throats just days ago. How do you go from wanting to kill each other to PDA outside the locker room and what I assume is very hot, dirty sex?”
I hold up a finger. “Okay, first off, yes, the sex is very, very hot. The man knows what he’s doing and you should all be very jealous. Second… I dunno. We talked and worked through some of our issues and misunderstandings, and then we just clicked.”
“What misunderstandings?” Stacey asks with a frown.
I drum my fingers on the table before finally deciding to just tell them everything.
“So, Zander and I kind of hooked up the night of Grace’s and Jensen’s wedding.”
“What?” they all exclaim in near unison.
“Yes, yes, yes!” I quickly continue. “I was drunk and he got me to my room, and I guess I was a little needy, but we didn’t actually have sex.” Unlike what I originally thought for so long. “He left before I woke up, though, and I thought he’d ghosted me and that he was just another asshole. When we ended up sharing the apartment here, I couldn’t shake my anger at him for that, but we’ve gotten to know each other better and… and I was wrong about him. I think that maybe, finally, I’ve actually found someone perfect who I don’t have to settle for.”
Grace and Skyler appear stunned as they stare at me.
“Woah… really?” Skyler murmurs.
“That’s significant,” Grace adds.
“Holy shit,” Sutton murmurs through the phone.
Stacey looks confused, her gaze bouncing between us. “Uh… am I missing something? You guys are acting like this is a big deal, but it just seems nice and normal to me.”
I almost forgot that she doesn’t know my family’s history.
“So, here’s the thing,” I begin, then suck in a deep breath before continuing. “My mom and dad met when my mom was a freshman in college. They hooked up during a party - just a one night stand thing - and Mom ended up pregnant with my older brother Aidan.” I’m powering through the story because I hate talking about this, but Stacey needs the context to fully understand how special Zander really is. Still, my stomach is twisting and I can feel the old feelings of hurt and frustration about my family bubbling up inside me. “Dad was a few years older than mom, and from Ireland, so he never intended to stay in the States. After Mom got pregnant, he felt obligated to marry her. Mom didn’t really have anyone, because her dad died not long before that, so she said yes even though she’d never really planned on getting married.”
That was something that Aidan always held onto - he was convinced Mom only thought of him as a burden and never actually wanted him. He never gave her a chance to prove him wrong.
“Mom and Dad tried to make it work, but I don’t know if my dad ever truly loved her.They lasted a little over ten years, which was when they had me. I believe I was kind of a last minute Hail Mary attempt to keep the relationship from totally fizzling out. In the end, though, it wasn’t enough for my dad to stick it out and try to make it work. Instead, he decided to jet on back to Ireland and start a whole new family since we weren’t picture perfect for him. Aiden remembered the fights, and was affected more because he was so much older. He was so angry all the time. At mom. At Dad. Even at me. So he didn’t stick around longer than he had to. Mom raised me pretty much alone and always taught me not to settle like she had to. If I was ever going to be with someone, to make sure he was perfect and loved meenough to fight for me and sacrifice for me, unlike my Dad… and I think I’ve finally found that in Zander.”
Stacey regards me for several moments, looking somewhat baffled. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, but she’s not swooning over how romantic my relationship with Zander is, so I’m confused too.
“No offense, Rylee,” she says at last, “but I don’t think that’s right.”
Blinking, I stare back at her. “Huh? What do you mean?”
She shrugs and looks around at all of us before explaining, “I mean… there’s no such thing as a perfect person, let alone a perfect man. Relationships take love, sacrifice, and patience from both sides. Everyone makes mistakes, and part of being with someone is being able to work through those mistakes. It’s not up to one side or the other to sacrifice and fight. Both sides need to work together, as a team. I certainly know I made my fair share of mistakes in mine and Owen’s relationship.”
“Jensen and I definitely aren’t perfect,” Grace chimes in. “I was so against being with a hockey player that if it weren’t for him, I would’ve died on that hill.”
“I never imagined I’d be with my best friend’s brother,” Skyler chuckles. “Especially after I thought he rejected me in high school. I still spend more time wanting to strangle him than fuck him.”
“And, if I had listened to my Mom’s advice about Owen,” Stacey adds, “I’d be just like her… bitter and alone.”
Their words sink into my mind slowly. I never really thought about the craziness they’ve all faced in their relationships. I wouldn’t have thought any of their guys were perfect at the beginning, but now I can’t imagine any of them with anyone else.
Maybe… maybe my mom isn’t right about everything after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: ARCADES AND FRENCH BISTROS
RYLEE
When I get homefrom my evening out with the girls, I walk into the apartment to find the lights low and lit candles resting on the kitchen island and countertops. There’s also a huge bouquet of roses in a glass vase with a folded piece of paper sitting next to it.
I look around as I slowly approach the island, but I don’t see any sign of Zander.
