Finn: He’s taken up gambling.
Finn: Phelps here is too lazy to pick up his phone across the room. He says Noah has a new lady in his life who only likes Jeeps. Silver ones.
I sent them a gif of Ryan Reynolds rubbing his eyes in frustration. Which was pretty accurate to how I was feeling at the moment. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what Jenny had said. About how I hadn’t just lied with words, but with my actions. And while I had vowed to never be that way with her again, I still had a problem with withholding information from people. Jenny had that tendency too. She said she’dfinallytold her best friend about us. Well, who had I told? I had kept too many secrets for too many reasons, and it was time to stop.
Noah: Actually, it is a new lady. Well, not new.
Trace: Noah has an old lady!
This was followed up with a gif of a grandma blowing out candles and losing her dentures. Very mature on his part. Why was I telling them about Jenny again? Oh, because even though Jenny didn’t know about this, and probably wouldn’t care, this was my way of trying to be the type of guy she deserved. A guy who didn’t keep secrets from his idiot brothers just because it was easier than getting made fun of.
Noah: She’s from carpool. I totally deflected when you guys guessed that, but you were right.
Trace: For the record, I, Trace Hamilton Daalman, was right. Everyone else just jumped on my idea.
Clark: So what, is she hating on the Chilivan? And your Dodge?
Finn: Ford snob.
Noah: Joke about the Chilivan all you want, but no jokes about Jenny, alright? And for the record, she’s not a Ford snob. I just want a truck with more than two seats in it.
Trace: For all their kids!!!!
It was going to be a long day. I wasn’t even sure if anyone realized I was just asking for help driving my vehicles over to the dealership. I needed backup, not only to drive, but in case we needed to haggle, or bail and try a different dealership. I had a few different trucks I was interested in.
Noah: Okay, some of us have to work now, but if you want all the details (the true ones) of why I left California, and why I had to be back in my carpool, you’ll have to show up tonight and help me pick out a sweet ride.
Clark: I’m in.
Finn: Finn and Phelps are in.
Trace: Way to leave us in suspense. Also, why isn’t this mysterious Jenny coming along?
I had no answer for that. Except that Jenny meeting my brothers sounded like a complete disaster. But perhaps this was just another example of me trying to micromanage a situation when I had no right to. What was I trying to hide? Before I lost my nerve, I texted Jenny and just asked.
Noah: Are you interested at all in coming with me tonight to trade out the Chilivan and my Dodge for a new(ish) truck? Full disclosure, my four brothers are coming with me, and they are really, really good at teasing me.
I was going to say that they were really, really stupid, but she could judge that for herself. Well, if she came. There was no way she’d want to come with us.
Jenny: Yeah, okay. What time? I’ll meet you at your place if you’ll give me the address.
What? If I’d known it was that easy to get her to come with me to stuff, I certainly wouldn’t have started with a date haggling with car salesmen while toting along my four brothers. I rubbed my neck and wondered what the heck I was doing. And then I reminded myself there didn’t have to be a goal or a plan all the time with projected outcomes. Sometimes, life just handed you an opportunity, and you winged it. Kind of like when I was making fun of Sadie’s step-brother at the rehearsal dinner. That had been too easy. It was the Daalman in me. Actually, that would be a good story to tell the guys tonight before Jenny came over. They’d love it.
Noah: 6:45?
Jenny: K.
I did a set of overhead fist-bumps right as two of my coworkers walked by. “Hot date tonight,” I called out. Might as well go all the way with this full disclosure thing.
Chapter 32 – Jenny
Saying goodbye to the Chilivan seemed like an event I should be there for. And the chance to meet the infamous Daalman brothers I’d heard so much about? Of course, I wanted that. Rewarding Noah’s patience was another good reason to come. I texted with him constantly. It was only natural we should hang out after work, too. But that wasn’t why I was jogging up to Noah’s apartment door, eager to see him.
It was just time. My toes and fingers tingled at the thought. Resisting my pull towards Noah was a habit I’d built up day by day until it was so strong, I didn’t know how to let go of it. And sadly, it took Denver finally making his move to wake me up.
Everyone had hinted at it. Even Stinton. But I still didn’t believe Denver had feelings for me until he came over the night after Sadie and I moved out and just told me. He said he’d been holding back because telling me while I was living with him would have made things awkward, but he just couldn’t wait any longer. He had to know so he could move on.
I think this was the longest he’d ever gone without a girlfriend since the seventh grade. It was flattering and overwhelming. A super-hot, kind, generous man had waited for me, and was putting himself out there for me, and yet all I could think about in that moment, was Noah. He had my heart. All of it. Even the parts I thought I’d been keeping from him.
