Natasha ~ Present
“WOW,” DRU SAID AS SHE looked around Millie’s now sparse living room. “I can’t believe you’re actually moving out.”
We’d spent the last few hours packing up Millie’s belongings, and were currently sitting on the floor, enjoying the generous spread Jericho had sent over from Prime Beef. There was a salad, a delicious roasted chicken, with asparagus and fingerling potatoes.
So much better than pizza, I thought with a smile.
“I know,” Millie said with a sigh as she picked up her asparagus and took a bite. “Tomorrow the movers will come and it will be official.” She looked around the room, then back at us and added, “You guys, I’ve never lived with a boy before. It’s going to be so weird.”
Dru chuckled and said, “Sexy weird. You’re going to love it.” Then she nodded her head toward me and asked, “What’s this one so happy about?”
Millie looked at me knowingly and replied, “She went to Jericho’s the other night, after the two of them disappeared from our party.”
“Sorry about that,” I said, feeling guilty for leaving her engagement party like that.
“Oh, stop, we’d already had the party for family, and you didn’t miss anything by ducking out early. What I want to know is, what happened between you and Jericho after you left?”
“You may as well just spill, Tash, you know how Millie gets when she wants information,” Dru said, then looked down at her food and added, “Although I’m guessing what ever happened was pretty good, since we’ve never gotten delivery from Prime Beef before.”
I took my time before answering, drawing the tension out a bit, since I never had any news to spill. It was always Millie and Dru with the good stuff.
“Well, I’d overheard him and Belinda at the party. Her mom had tried to set them up, but Jericho never called and he was letting Belinda down easy. Thinking I needed to give him the green light, I told him he should go for it, and he got really mad. I left in a bit of a snit and went back to my apartment, and a few seconds later he was pounding on the door. As soon as I opened it, he jumped me.”
“Ohhh, angry makeup sex, years in the making . . . tell us everything,” Dru said, leaning in as she popped chicken in her mouth as if it were popcorn.
I laughed, the memory making me blush as I thought of how desperate we’d been for each other.
“Anyway, yeah, it was hot. Sex between us had always been good, but that night, it was like . . . uber hot. But, as soon as we came down from the high, I was mortified. After a year of ignoring him and weeks of telling him we could only be friends, I’d hopped on him like a ride at Disney and threw caution to the wind.”
“Nice,” Millie whispered, fanning herself.
“I freaked and ran to the bathroom, needing a little space to get myself together, and when I came back out, he was gone.”
“Jeez, you guys are like a soap opera,” Dru said, laying down on her stomach and placing her chin in her hands. “What happens next?”
“Well, this time I followed him. I got his address from Jackson . . .”
“Which is how I knew,” Millie put in.
“Then took off after him. And, when I got there, you guys . . . his house. It was everything we’d ever talked about when we were together. Our dream home. He found it and has been living there, waiting for me to get my head out.”
“Really, that’s so sweet,” Millie gushed.
“Yeah, yeah, get back to the good stuff. What did he say when you showed up?” Dru asked.
I chuckled at my sister and said, “He was surprised, but let me in. He’d thought when I ran out that he’d been too aggressive, or had taken advantage of me. So, we talked it out.”
“You two are like Three’s Company. You need to talk your shit out,” Dru said wryly.
“So, what did you decide?” Millie asked, ignoring her twin.
“We decided to give it a try. Really, give it a go. He knows I’m nervous about losing myself, about turning out like Mom and giving him everything I have, only to have him leave me. But, that fact is, he’s never left me, I was the one who left. He said that he’s known I was it for him since we met in college and that there hasn’t been anyone else but me and never will be.”
“You mean, all these years?” Millie asked, then sighed dreamily. “Oh my God, that’s so sweet.”
“I know, and although my brain hears everything he says, and I know the proof is right there in front of me, he’s proven that his intentions are true. It’s just, in my heart . . . in my gut, I’m terrified. I mean, already today we were supposed to have lunch and I couldn’t, then he asked me to dinner, and I already had plans.”
“Did he get mad?” Dru asked.
“No, not at all, in fact, it was his idea to send us dinner, and he wants us to spend the night together. It’s not him, you guys, it’s me. I feel myself getting consumed by him already. I hated that I had to skip lunch, and that I couldn’t see him for dinner. I miss him, and I find myself wishing I didn’t have these other meetings and appointments getting in my way of spending time with him. This is just what I was worried about, what if I can’t find the balance in my life?”
“Oh, honey, that isn’t you not finding balance or being consumed by someone else. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend all of your time with Jericho. That’s love. I felt the same way about Jackson. Don’t you remember, you guys made fun of me for wanting to hire more people, so that I could free up time to be with him.”
I did remember, although I’d never compared it to my feelings for Jericho. Maybe they were right, and I was overreacting.
“Yeah,” Dru agreed. “You’re not in danger of being like Mom, you’re just a woman in love.”