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Emma
I was eager to get home. The cab pulled up to the front door and I paid the driver and raced to the front door. I was happy to have my keys and I let myself into the lobby. I ran up the ten flights of stairs without missing a beat. I bolted to our door and fumbled with the keys, trying to catch my breath while the blood pumping through my veins made my hands shake. I couldn’t get the key in the lock. The door opened and Zach stood there, a scowl on his face that immediately softened.
“I thought you were Genie.”
He may have had more to say but I didn’t let him finish. “I love you. I want to go to New York with you. I’m sorry that we didn’t spend Christmas together and that I made you think you had to leave. I hate that I made you sleep on the sofa in your own apartment. And I really hate that we wasted all this time being apart. I don’t want you to be mad at me anymore. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please tell me you forgive me.”
He stared at me, burning a hole through my chest and piercing my heart. Panic set in. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Then in one swift action, he scooped me into his arms and I held onto him like I’d lose him if I let go.
“Let’s never do this again,” he said, kissing my cheek.
“Never, ever.”
“I missed you so much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said and kissed my lips.
“For the rest of this weekend I don’t want to talk about Dad or Genie or anyone else for that matter. I just want to be with you and no one else.”
“Sounds like the best weekend ever.”
#
I TOOK A LONG, HOT shower while Zach ordered pizzas. I got dressed and put on one of his Western sweatshirts and my favorite yoga pants. When I walked past Genie’s door, I noticed it was closed. Had Zach done that? I found him on the sofa surfing the television.
“Movie?” he asked. “A comedy?”
“The funniest one ever,” I said, climbing onto the sofa and wrapping my arms around his chest. He put one arm around me while he continued to surf.
“How about some classic comedy? Inspector Clouseau? Pink Panther?”
“Yes. I need entertainment.” Did I bring up Genie? Even though I said I didn’t want to talk about them, I was a glutton for punishment. “About Genie. Where is she?”
“I’m assuming at our parents’ house.”
“Is she’s coming back?”
“No. She’s definitely not coming back other than to get some of her shit. When the cleaning lady comes, I’ll ask her if she can pack up Genie’s things. I already took care of the bed sheets. Threw them in the laundry and poured a whole gallon of bleach on them. I should have just thrown them out.”
“The purple and pink sheets? With the flowers? You just threw bleach on them? Not in the compartment that says bleach?”
“There’s a compartment for bleach?”
I stifled a giggle. “When that load is done, you might want to throw out the sheets. Unless you like tie-dye.”
He fought a smile. “I ruined them, didn’t I?”
“Pretty much,” I said, kissing him. He was so adorable and completely inept at the same time.
“Are you sure you want to kiss me? Because I’ve been celibate the last few months.”
I grinned. “We should probably change that.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. He swept me up and carried me to our bedroom. He set me down on the bed and we couldn’t get out of our clothes fast enough. For a long time, we kissed, our bodies tangled up together. I missed this, our connection. His hands caressing my back, his lips brushing my neck. His intense gaze that made me feel like I was the only person in the entire world.
“Is that the buzzer?” I asked.
“Shit, the pizza guy,” Zach said, getting into his jeans and throwing on a shirt. The end to his celibacy would have to wait a little longer.
I stayed in a bed for a few minutes before getting dressed and meeting him in the dining room. He’d got some plates and napkins along with a few beers.
“Your pizza is better,” he said as we sat down to eat.
“This is pretty good too. They use actual cheese.”
“Actual cheese?”
“To cheap out, a lot of pizza joints and even the stuff at grocery stores use a modified cheese that’s heavily processed. It’s supposed to melt better, or something like that.”
“That’s really gross,”
“This is real cheese. I can tell by taste and consistency.”
“You know strange shit.”
I took a few bites. “How was your fishing trip?” I had to ask anything that would keep us clear of Genie and Dad.
“Boring. Listening to Brett talk about why he can’t find a girlfriend gets boring fast. Brett doesn’t get it. He creeps chicks out. That’s why he can’t land a decent girlfriend.”
“You think he might be gay?” I asked, popping a piece of pepperoni in my mouth.
“What?”
“There’s something about him. The way you talk about him, it’s like you’re his special friend,” I said, using air quotes. “Maybe he can’t come out and say how he really feels.”
Zach put down his pizza and wiped his fingers on a napkin. “Okay, what are you talking about? It’s getting weird.”
I laughed. Of course I wasn’t sure he was gay, but his attachment to Zach was obvious. “Brett is like your other girlfriend. A little clingy, wanting to know where you are all the time, jealous of me. I think he has a man crush on you.”
“I know you’re full of shit, but how am I going to look at him the same way again?”
I giggled some more and Zach rolled his eyes, trying to fight back a smile.
I picked more pepperoni from my pizza. “I’m really glad you came home today. I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t.”
“You would have been okay. Besides, your grandfather and Wendy were here.”
“But they aren’t you.”
“You still would have kept it together.”
I took a gulp of beer. “Did you suspect anything? Because I had no clue.”
“Not even a little bit.”
“Grandpa hinted that Dad was seeing someone.”
“I’m pretty sure this thing they have together is over. There’s no way my parents will allow it. Not that your dad isn’t a bad guy,” he said, scrambling to explain.
“It’s okay. I get what you’re saying. Genie and Dad are so fundamentally wrong.”
“Maybe one day we can laugh about this.”
“Not today or anytime soon.”
I grabbed my beer and took another long gulp. It was nice to be able to sit around and have pizza and beers with the man I loved, even if we were talking about his sister and my dad together.
“You’ve got to talk to your dad, you know.”
“I will. Eventually. I’m not sure what I’d say to him.”
“While you were gone, he called and texted your phone a million times. The texts are all there if you want to look at them later.”
“I’ll pass for now.” I grabbed another slice. “I had coffee with Meredith. And she came to see us in Pine Falls over the holidays. I didn’t tell you.” I felt a need to purge everything I’d kept from him and he didn’t seem to mind.
His face brightened in surprise. “That’s great. How did it go?”
“I thought I’d hate her, but I don’t. She’s not bad. I might even have some kind of relationship with her.”
Zach beamed. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“And I met with Bianca.”
The smile melted off his face. “Oh.”
“It wasn’t bad.”
“I’m sure she had nothing but wonderful things to say about me,” Zach said sarcastically.
“I know I can be naïve and I know that I’m always looking for the good in people, but I couldn’t believe that she was rotten to the core, just like I don’t think that about Jake. So I texted her and we met for coffee. We talked and I gave her the flash drive.”
Zach’s jaw dropped. “Shit.”
“She destroyed it.”
“She did?”
“What was she going to do with it? I figured she’d want it erased from the earth. Why would she keep it? So I gained some favor with her in the process.”
“And you trust her to leave you alone?”
“Yeah, we’re done. I saw a piece of her she probably doesn’t let many people see.”
“On so many levels I’m glad this is over. I know you’re probably wondering why I kept it so long. Honestly, Em, I forgot about it until she came back into my life through you.”
“It’s gone now. We don’t have to talk about it ever again. Agreed?”
“One hundred percent agreed.”
We finished up dinner and I put away the last of the pizza. I was tidying up the kitchen when Zach came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist and gently kissed my shoulder. “I never want us to be apart again.”
“Neither do I. And tomorrow we have to make a stop at the post office. I have a college application to mail off.”
He hugged me tighter. “New York will be amazing.”
But I still had unfinished business in Minnesota.