Just kidding i’m absolutely picturing the last thing CALL ME
“Shit.” Mae pressed Call so hard it hurt her finger. “I’m sorry! I’m safe! Everything’s fine!”
Vik’s sigh was loud in Mae’s ear; Mae couldn’t quite tell yet the balance of angry and relieved.
“Good,” they said, and Mae’d say it was 50/50. Which was probably kinder than she deserved. “Thank fuck. But Jesus, Mae, never leave Moonie’s again likethatand then send me a text message likethatand then go radio silent.”
“I know, I know. You’re right.” She was about to jump into the story when she paused. “Wait, how did we leave Moonie’s?”
“Like you were about two seconds from jumping each other’s bones. Jackson was extremely jealous. What am I saying, we all were.”
“Right. That didn’t…quitehappen.”
And then Mae did jump into the story.
Vik, as always, was a patient, attentive listener.
“Wow, Mae,” they finally said.
“I know.”
“And you’re…” Vik sighed. This gust of air was clear: 100% worry. “You’re sure you’re okay with this, if it moves forward? You know we’ve seen it…go wrong.”
Mae winced.Fuck.It had gone wrong, specifically, with Vik and Jackson. It had been a long time ago, before Mae knew them; she didn’t even know the third’s name. But Vik had told her about it, after Mae had told them about Becks. It hadn’t been the same thing, but it had been soothing for both of them, Mae thought, sharing their mess. Knowing that people you loved had mess, too.
They still cautiously practiced openness, sometimes, but they had clear boundaries now. Sex only. No deeper feelings.
And it was clear, even if Dell tried to argue that it wasdifferent, that Dell had feelings.
“Fuck, Vik. I should’ve thought more before I presented this to you. Sorry if I said anything that brought up old hurts.”
“No, no.” Mae could hear Vik’s bittersweet smile through the line. “You’re fine. And it’s good, sometimes, to bring up old hurts. Make yourself remember the things you’ve learned. And it wasn’t all bad, our thing.”
“Yeah.” Mae bit her lip.
“Just…you have to be really, really honest with yourself, and each other. All of you.”
“Yeah,” Mae said again.
“I’m not…trying to reprimand you, or be condescending or?—”
“No,” Mae interrupted. “This is good. Thank you, for talking to me seriously about it.”
“Of course. It could work out just fine. I just…please, Mae, don’t let your heart get broken, okay? I know you say you’re fine after what happened with Eden, but…you deserve something really, really good, Mae, and…I saw you and Dell together. Not just at Moonie’s, as hot as that sexual tension was, but…from the moment I saw you two in Greyfin Bay. I know your heart’s already involved here.”
“Yeah.” A whisper this time, before she cleared her throat. “I’m going to be careful, Vik. I have so much to do with the store to distract me, and…it’ll be okay. Either way.”
And she realized, as she said it, that it would be.
It would hurt. In the case that…no, no matter what happened, someone would likely hurt, somehow, at some point.
But maybe that was always the risk with love.
And even if she never got to touch Dell McCleary again for the rest of her days, Mae had already experienced an abundance of love in her life. Jodi and Felix. Becks. Jesus. Vik. Others, too: the people who flitted in and out, the intense bursts of friendship, the mentors and the teachers, the relationships and nights that were brief but warm. Maybe you experienced a multitude of loves in your life, and Mae had already experienced her fair share. Maybe anything from here on out was a bonus. This store, Jesus’s inheritance, the little house in the woods she’d been able to fall asleep in every night for the last month and a half, the ocean, pounding steadily behind her: all of this, clearly, was a bonus.
She’d cherish every drop she could.
“I should go.” She wiped at her suddenly damp face. “I have a lot to do. Thank you so much for listening, Vik. It was…so good to see you this week.”
