One and Only

Sophie

Things with Boyd have gotten more serious than I ever expected. I assumed, like everyone else I’ve dated, we’d either come to the mutual conclusion that we weren’t right for each other, or I’d discover some glaring flaw in his personality or intentions. Neither of those things have happened. It has been weighing so heavily on me that, at some point, I’m going to have to break the news to Henry.

Ever since meeting with Caleb nearly a month ago, it feels as though Boyd has erected some tall walls, and I’m afraid I’ve done the same. We see each other a few times a week. We talk every day. I go by the café often, and I’ve spent more time with Monica and Phoenix.

On the surface, things appear fine. But in my gut, I have a nagging feeling that things have shifted. I keep trying to tell myself it’s just because he’s doing his work placement now, and he’s mentally drained.

I need some girl talk. No offence to Celeste, but she’s been out of the dating scene for a long time, and I’m not sure she’s the right person for the job. So I text Ashlyn an S.O.S. message, which she responds to immediately. She’s just finishing her morning training session, then she’ll be right over.

The fact she needs to specify morning, afternoon, and evening training sessions is enough to make me want to take a nap.

Thirty minutes later, Ashlyn walks in carrying a massive Starbucks tumbler—which feels like sacrilege—and a paper bag. Wilson jumps up to greet her, but quickly takes a detour to my bedroom when he realizes who it is.

I raise an eyebrow at my muscular friend. “You realize that my dog, who loves everyone, high-tailed it out of here the second he saw you?”

“Listen, if I’m rubbing anyone’s butt, it better be someone who can repay the favour.”

I laugh as I take the bag from her hands to let her remove her shoes. “How was training?”

“Meh.” She slips off her sneakers and walks with me to the kitchen. “Jim had me doing burpees to muscle-ups, and I thought I was going to die.”

I have no idea what that means, but I pretend I do by giving her a sympathetic smile. “Well, you’ve earned sustenance.” I take the Styrofoam takeout containers out of the bag, opening all three, realizing they’re from the same place I took Caleb and Boyd to.

“We can go grab you something else. I just thought—”

“No.” I spin to grab plates from the cupboard. “The food is fine.” I explain to her about Caleb and Boyd meeting at the small bistro and the subsequent change in mine and Boyd’s relationship.

“Well, first of all, I’m offended. Hot brother made time to go out with Boyd, but he hasn’t made the same effort with me. Rude.” She scoops a healthy portion of some sweet potato chickpea medley, chicken breast, and mixed vegetables before she continues. “Second, you know I don’t conform to typical gender roles, either, so I’m all for your independent ways, but what was the big deal about him walking you back to work?”

Yeah, I skipped the real reason why I didn’t want him to walk me. So I decide to fully confide in my best friend, hoping she won’t judge me for my choices. “He’s made a mortal enemy out of Henry. Before we ever went on a date, Boyd told Henry off, and you know that’s never being forgiven.”

Ashlyn’s lips turn up into a mischievous grin. “And you’re just telling me this now? You and your brother are both withholding the goods from me.” She takes a hardy bite of veggies and starts speaking around her food. “So he told the old bastard off. It’s about time someone did.” She swallows, then asks, “So what now?”

What now? I have no idea. “I thought he’d be like everyone else. That we’d fizzle out before it got serious. But I lied to him and he was angry about it… then I wanted to redeem myself. It never occurred to me I’d end up this deep.” I take a bite of my food, coughing at the cardboard flavour of it.

Caleb may have had a valid point. He has a lot of them, honestly.

“I am in deep, though. He’s so different from anyone I’ve ever met before. Sounds weird, but he kind of reminds me of my grandpa.”

“Yes, that is weird. That will be our little secret. Don’t tell Boyd that.”

I chuckle, not wanting to explain how he reminds me of my grandpa. The man who spent his career as a firefighter, running into danger when everyone else ran out. A man who values right and wrong and won’t compromise on that for anything. A man who loves with his whole heart and treats people with respect.

They say women usually choose men like their fathers, but for my mother, she couldn’t have been more off the mark. I hope the same will be true for me.

Ashlyn starts clapping out of nowhere. “Here’s the plan. You’re coming to my competition in Boston.”

I try to argue, but she holds her hand up and gives me her best this is non-negotiable look.

“You’re coming. And you’re going to bring Boyd. A weekend away will help you two decide if you want to pursue things or call it off. Somewhere away from Henry. He clouds your judgement and you can’t make a decision with him lingering in the background.”

It’s actually a good idea. Whether I can convince Boyd to take time off is a different story. But it’s worth a try. Plus, I’d like to see Ashlyn in action and see what the fuss is all about. She’s worked so hard, I want to support her.

“Okay. I’ll ask him.”

She resumes clapping and adds on a few whooping cheers, drawing Wilson out of my bedroom. He walks up to me and nudges my leg dangling from the stool. It’s almost like he understands I said I’d make arrangements to leave for a weekend, knowing he can’t come along. I feed him a piece of chicken to ease both of our sad expressions. It works for him, but it doesn’t have the same effect on me.

What if our decision by the end of the weekend is to end things? How will I recover from that? Because like it or not, Boyd has burrowed himself into my heart and if he leaves, there will be nothing but a gaping hole.

I checked with Celeste to make sure she’d be okay watching Wilson for the weekend if I go away. Of course, she said yes. She actually seemed excited about it because Wilson has never slept over before. It’s nearly three weeks from now, but I already feel guilty. I know people leave their pets to go on vacation all the time, but with my work schedule and the time I’ve been spending with Boyd, I feel like a terrible dog mom.

But Ashlyn is right. This opportunity could be good for Boyd and me to see where we stand. His world has been marked by drama and strained family relationships the past few weeks. Not to mention his work schedule that makes mine seem like a cakewalk. He deserves some time away. The more I think about it, the more I find the potential positives. Even though I’ll be absolutely heartbroken if things go south, at least I’ll know. Right? That’s the better option than stringing each other along and ending on a note of resentment and hatred like he did with Maggie. I don’t want him to associate my name with misery and betrayal. Ever.

So I’ll brace myself for whatever comes from our time together.

First, I need to convince him to come with me.