Dean pulled me to his side, and we stepped out of the line and towards the brother we both loved and were afraid of hurting. The carnival was forgotten, as was the girl beside Drew witnessing everything.
“How long have I been sleeping with her or how long have I loved her?”
“Christ.” Drew scratched at his face. “Both.”
“I’ve loved her for years. It’s why I stayed away, because coming back was torture. And, today was the first time.”
Drew’s eyes met mine. “You’ve lied to me—a lot.”
“Yes.” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t know if Dean would ever return my feelings, so I figured it would be less embarrassing to keep them to myself until I knew.”
Drew was silent for a minute before he turned away from us. “I’ll meet y’all at the truck.” He said over his shoulder as he disappeared heading toward the parking lot.
I was about to take off after him, but Dean stopped me. “He needs to process the fact that we have both been lying to him for years, Nora. He’s pissed. Give him a minute.”
Tears filled my eyes, and Dean pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around me as he stroked my back.
I cried into his chest, soaking his shirt. When I finally felt calm, I peeked up at him. “Are you mad at me?”
His head reared back and his eyes filled with confusion. “Mad? Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I’m Georgia Peach.”
I didn’t expect Dean to laugh, but he did. “Hell no. I don’t have to break some other girl’s heart, and I don’t have to explain a pen pal relationship to you. I’m fucking relieved.”
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath, but I let it out slowly and hugged him tighter. “God, I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Dean kissed my lips softly, the crowd around us bedamned.
We stood there lost in our warm embrace and our own thoughts. However this night ended, it didn’t matter, nothing was ever going to be the same again.
“I think it’s time.” Dean laced our fingers together as we walked hand in hand toward the parking lot and toward the unknown of our future. Drew’s reaction would give us a way to gauge Dad’s, and so far, the outlook was grim.
* * *
Drew already had the truck running. He was sitting, stone faced, inside the cab with the music blasting. It was clear he hadn’t calmed down yet.
Dean opened the back door for me, giving my hand a quick squeeze of encouragement.
“Do you want me to drive?” Dean volunteered. “You’re angry. Driving angry and emotional isn’t good or safe for anyone.”
“I got it,” he insisted.
“Let me know if you need me to take over.” Dean kept his voice calm and even.
As soon as we were all buckled, Drew put the truck in drive and pulled out of the space. The music blasted, but Drew didn’t want to talk, and I didn’t know exactly what to say. He knew everything now.
We were about ten minutes from Sunset Falls before he reached over and flipped off the radio. “Why didn’t either of you just tell me how you felt for the other? Seriously, why lie? Why separate yourself from us for three fucking years? You could have died over there and for what? Because you were running from this?”
“You want honesty? Honestly, I never worried about what you would think, Drew. I was more worried about Dad and Evelyn’s reaction to it. You would eventually accept it. I knew that, even if it pissed you off for a while. Dad and Evelyn, I wasn’t sure about.
“Nora was a freshman, and I was graduating and enlisting. While I was overseas, I never stopped wanting her. I tried like hell to find interest elsewhere, but nothing worked. I felt sick for wanting a high school student, so I stayed away. Four years age difference isn’t much, but it makes a man feel like a perv if the woman he’s craving is still in school.
“You want total honesty, Drew. I’m in love with her. I have been since we met. I didn’t ask for it. In fact, I fought it like hell. Now, I recognize that’s partly why I was so mad at Dad for marrying Evelyn. I knew it would prevent me from being with Nora. I’m done fighting it. I’m done denying it. I love her, and I’m marrying her.”
“What?!” I almost screamed from the shock of his words. Tears had flooded my eyes at Dean’s speech. He felt the same. All this time, and it was such a relief that I couldn’t help the overwhelming emotions.
Dean looked over at me with a satisfied smirk. “You heard me.”
