Chapter 19

 

I drove home with the box of cameras strapped into the front seat of the car.

I thought someone would be waiting for me, but I expected maybe Teagan’s car or Christy’s SUV, not Joey’s bright work truck or for the guy to be sitting on the front porch swing.

What the hell could he want? Was he going to try to get back with me now that Jordan was gone? Ugh. This was not what I wanted to deal with.

Walking up the front steps to the porch, I saw the curtains in the picture window move to the side and Mom’s head appear with a quizzical look on her face.

I nodded in her direction before looking down at the guy rocking back and forth on the porch swing.

Joey always stood out as a cocky SOB, but today, he looked forlorn for the first time ever. Well, in as long as I could remember at least.

He didn’t always hang around our crowd, and then freshman year of high school, he joined the football team and over the summer grew a foot. Christy dubbed him a ‘regulation hottie,’ and they went to freshman homecoming together. After that, he was officially part of our group.

Our group.

The group of friends I thought I’d be best friends with forever.

That was before my friends started going behind my back and sleeping around.

“Hey, Abs,” Joey said, his voice hoarse as he looked up, the dark circles evident under his brown eyes.

Instead of his usually gelled back hair, it stuck up every which way like he’d been raking his hands through it forever.

“Joey,” I said tentatively, stopping a few feet away from him.

“Uh, you wanna sit down?” he asked, scooting over in the seat.

“I guess I can do that. It is my porch swing, after all. Well, technically my mom’s. But still mine,” I rambled, scooting as far as I could from him as I sat down.

He let out a deep breath. “Wow. I had this all planned what I was going to say and now that I’m sitting here, staring at you, I’m at a complete loss for words.”

I snorted. “That’s a first.”

He smirked. “I expected Jordan to be with you, too. I guess this makes it easier that it’s just you.”

“Jordan left for New York,” I muttered, wondering why the hell I even told him.

“Really? Wow. I thought y’all were going together.”

“Yeah. We both thought a lot of things.” I sighed, feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders, and I had no idea how to get it off.

“Jordan’s a good guy, you know?”

I turned to face Joey fully and raised an eyebrow. “This? Coming from the guy who was all too happy to turn on him?”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Well, I had to have something on the guy. Do you know how hard it’s been to compete with a ghost for so damn long?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

Joey let out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. He then leaned back with his long legs stretched out in front of him. “Abs, I’ve had a crush on you since like elementary school. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

“Um, definitely wasn’t.”

He smiled. “I like tall brunettes. But, you know, obviously, no girl gave me the time of day until I went through puberty and Christy took notice. All of a sudden, I went from the chubby short kid with acne to part of the popular crowd, and I got in way over my head.”

“Yeah, I think we all did in high school,” I muttered.

He shook his head. “Not just high school. In everything. I thought I was untouchable and when I thought I’d ask you out sophomore year after Christy had decided older guys were more attractive, that was when Jordan showed up, and you were off the market. Then he left you heartbroken. Then everyone left, and it was just you and me. I thought I’d finally get the girl of my dreams, but I also knew you weren’t that into me, so I played it cool.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Maybe I would have been into you if you’d actually tried.”

He blew out a big breath. “Like I said, way over my head. And then Teagan, of course, came into the picture.”

“Yeah, and how long were you screwing my best friend exactly?”

He shrugged. “It sort of happened. Not because I wanted it to, but you and I, well, we never said we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I wanted to be; trust me, I wanted that more than anything. But I knew I couldn’t be the guy you needed. You’d stay with me, and we’d both be in Friendship forever. I’d take over the landscaping business, and you’d be taking school photos forever. We’d both be content in our lives, which would be fine with me as long as I had you, but I couldn’t hold you back. And I think Teagan flirting with me Christmas break and asking me to drive her home was my way out. The attention of the hot redhead from high school also helped that one.”

“You’re not making any sense.” I shook my head.

Joey licked his lips and scooted forward. “Look, Abs. I’ve always liked you, and that’s why I’m telling you that you’re too good for this town. Too good for me. Too good as a friend and a girlfriend. You deserve to be happy, and you deserve to leave this town and go to New York. Go follow around a famous photographer. Eat pizza from a cart on the street. Go find your happiness. You deserve every bit of that.”

I found tears springing to my eyes again and sniffed to push them back. “Why couldn’t you say all of these sweet things when we were dating?”

He smiled. “Then we wouldn’t be where we’re supposed to be.”

Joey took my hand and squeezed it. “Go to New York, Abs. Don’t let Jordan’s mistake in not telling you something that didn’t matter change things. You and I, we were just passing the time. We weren’t anything real. You and Jordan, that’s real right there. Don’t lose it because he didn’t want to hurt you.”

I didn’t know what to say. How was I supposed to respond to this new wash of knowledge? I just nodded and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Joe.”

He smiled. “If you need anything. A ride to the airport. A chance to kick me in the balls. Maybe another coffee to throw at Teagan …”

I opened my mouth to ask how he knew when he laughed. “News travels fast, Abs. And she definitely deserved it. I probably do too. But I’d be happier to see you happy.”

“Thanks again, Joey.”

He stood, putting his hands in his pockets, and headed to the steps. “See you around, Abs.”

“See you around, Joe,” I said, waving as he walked out to his truck and started down the gravel drive for probably the last time ever.

The screen door creaked behind me, and I didn’t need to look up to know Mom stepped onto the front porch then sit down on the swing next to me.

“How much of that did you hear?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mom smiled. “Enough.”

I swallowed. “So I guess you figured out everything that happened?”

“Most of it. The thing that stuck out the most was that Jordan left for New York, and you didn’t go with him.”

“Yeah. There’s that …” I said, rocking my feet back and forth on the wooden porch.

Mom reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a few sheets of paper, setting them on my lap. I raised an eyebrow and unfolded them. “What’s this?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you’d do it yourself, so I called your dad. Turns out that photographer friend of Missy’s would still love you for an internship, and his friend still has space at his Airbnb, but it’s only available for the next two weeks.”

I looked through the sheets of paper with different reservations Mom had printed out, my hands trembling as I fully understood what she was doing.

“The flight leaves tomorrow at seven. I can take you to the airport on the way to work. It’s only a one-way ticket, so you’ll either have to buy your own ticket back once the two weeks is up on the rental, or you stay there permanently. What you choose is ultimately up to you.”

My hands shook as I looked at Mom over the papers. “How …? When …? Why …?”

Mom smiled. “Like Joey said, and I can’t believe those words just left my mouth, everybody deserves their happy ending. Yours might not be with Jordan or in New York, but you’ll never know if you don’t go there, Abbey. Go find your one that got away.”