“You’re going on a guy’s trip? Two weeks before our wedding?” I asked as Dylan slid on a backpack and zipped up his duffle bag before gripping the straps in his fist.
A few days had passed and though we were semi back to normal, things hadn’t been the same. Something was off, and I couldn’t place what. I think a part of me was just honestly too afraid to ask.
“Yeah, it’s a last-minute thing,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s a surprise bachelor getaway. The guys have apparently been planning it for a while now, but they couldn’t exactly tell me because it would have ruined the surprise. But they told me some details because they had to get me on the plane somehow.”
“You’re leaving?” It was the only thing running through my mind.
“Well, yeah.” He shrugged again.
I sighed and crossed my arms, irritated with his flippantness.
“Why are you angry about this?” He asked, brows drawing together in confusion.
I uncrossed my arms, wondering the same thing.
I was being paranoid. I knew I was. I was turning into the type of person I always swore I’d never be. I needed to get over this, whatever it was. Maybe a weekend apart was exactly what we needed.
“It’s been a long week,” I weakly supplied. “But enjoy your trip. Be safe, okay?”
He checked his phone before sliding it into his front pocket.
“I will.” He smiled, gently gripping my chin between his fingertips. “I love you, Jade. I’ll see you Sunday night, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded, not sure what else to do.
“I know things have been rough between us and I’m sorry for that,” he said softly in a low voice. “But I do love you. That won’t ever change. You’re my soulmate.”
“You’re my soulmate,” I repeated. My heart felt like it was back on solid ground and not on the seesaw it had been on for the several days.
His words brought me home, and home was where I wanted to be—where I needed to be.
“I’ll see you in a couple of days, okay?” He presses a quick kiss to my lips before leaving.
I watched him go, the uneasiness returning as I heard the car drive away. Something had shifted between us. The love was still there, but it felt off. I could have been reading too much into things, but I hoped when he returned that we could figure it out together. This isn’t the way things were supposed to be, and I had no one to blame but myself.
All I could do was wait, wait and hope that when he came back our actions would match our words, that our love could conquer this. It had to, otherwise … I didn’t want to think about the other half of that sentence. We’d get through it. We had to. But the more those words played out in my mind, the less I believed them.
* * *
“A bee-ef-ef night is exactly what we needed, Jade,” Becca sang, lifting her arms above her head as her body swayed to the music pounding throughout the club we were in.
I just smile, mimicking her movements, not really in the mood to be at a club when I felt like my world was on the verge of falling apart.
“Come on, Jade, what’s the deal?” She asked, head tilting to the side in confusion. “Is this about Dylan and his boy’s trip? It’s his last hurrah before the big day, it’s not like he left forever.”
“I’m just not in the mood to dance at a club with a lukewarm, watered down drink in my hand,” I stated, placed the half-full cup on a nearby table.
For a Friday night, the scene was pretty tame, but in a few hours, it’d be damn near difficult to move or even breathe in this place. I hoped we left before that happened.
“We’re twenty-four, Jade,” Becca stressed. “This is what we should be doing, enjoying our lives and experiencing a night out on the town.”
“I’m just not in the right headspace right now, Becca,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
She looked at me with a sadness in her eyes. “You’re probably going to cringe at me for this, but what do you think Dylan’s doing right now? Do you even know where he went?”
“No,” I said honestly. “But to be fair, I didn’t ask.”
“Well judging from where he checked in on social media, it isn’t sitting in a hotel room, playing cards with his buddies,” she said bluntly. “Ever since Tian came back into your life you’ve been acting like a sixteen-year-old clueless girl, and that’s not who you are. You’ve come such a long way from who you were before, don’t let this blip on a radar ruin the life you’ve built with Dylan.”
“What if it already has?” I asked, feeling helpless.
“Then you’ll work through it, but there’s nothing you can do about it now, so let’s have fun and put those worries aside,” she said with a smile. “I promise they’ll still be there for you to deal with at the end of the night.”
She had a point. I was worrying myself, causing the ache in my chest all on my own. I needed to let go and live, if even for a few hours. I wasn’t the person I was even a week ago, and that bugged me. I was letting one person dictate my life in a negative way, just like I had before.
That stopped now.
I needed to make a decision, and I needed to not let said decision affect my relationship with Dylan.
He had gone on a weekend trip with friends. There wasn’t any crime in that. And usually I wouldn’t have paid it much mind, but the Tian situation had me all twisted and wrecked.
I needed to get my stuff together. My behavior wasn’t acceptable.
Would I ever learn? Probably not. But I was a glutton for punishment, apparently.
“Fine,” I conceded. “Let’s make the night ours.”
“Woo!” She pulled me into a hug. “Also, I’m really proud of us for having a heart-to-heart conversation in the middle of a club while the music is blasting.”
I laughed, returning her hug. “Right? Look at us all grown up.”
We spend the next hour sipping on fruity drinks, dancing, and people watching. There was the occasional brush off when men tried to create conversation with us, but once my sparkling ring was spotted, they backed off quicker than a scared cat. It was hysterical, and at some point, Becca had turned it into a game, testing out how quickly each one would back away after catching sight of my left ring finger.
I loved it.
“Who knew your ring would provide so much entertainment tonight?” She mused, laughing out loud. “Remind me to thank Dylan when he comes back, yeah?”
I laughed along with her before realizing that he hadn’t tried to contact me once that day. Not a text to let me know he had gotten there safely or a call to say he missed my voice. Nothing. I had learned from Becca, who refused to let me stalk social media for what he was up to, that he was in Las Vegas. When I asked if it looked like he was having a good time—to, ya know, gather more information—she said yes. Nothing more, nothing less. Which was why I needed to skip away to the bathroom or call it an early night. Either way, I needed to give my man a call, and I couldn’t do that there.
“Jade?” Becca questioned, trying to get my attention.
I looked at her, an instinctual smile pulling at my lips. “Yeah?”
“Everything is going to be okay,” she said softly. “I promise.”
And because best friends knew best, I resisted the urge to check my phone and leave, instead enjoying the rest of my night.
That comfort disappeared when I fell onto the cold, empty bed that Dylan and I shared. Even while we slept beside each other, I still felt a million miles away from the person I claimed as home.
I pulled out my phone, disappoint settling in when the I saw the blank notification screen. So, I dialed his number. It was nearing one in the morning, but I knew that if he was with Jake—that’s right, he had chosen the jerk as his best man, and no, he hadn’t matured much—and his other close friends that he was definitely awake.
It rang a few times, and when I was sure he wasn’t going to pick up, he did.
“Hey, gorgeous girl,” Dylan’s voice slid through the phone.
I sunk into our sheets, a feeling of contentment taking root in my body. “Hi.”
“How was your night?” He asked, sounding calm as ever. “Becca told me you two went out tonight. I hope she didn’t force you into anything too crazy.”
I laughed. “She didn’t, but how did you know we went out?”
“Come on, Jade, you really thought I’d leave for the weekend without checking up on my girl?” I could hear his smile through the phone.
“Your girl?” I repeated. “I thought you were mad at me, that this trip was just the perfect excuse for us to take some time apart.”
“No,” he said gently. “The boys really did have a surprise planned. Did you really think that?”
“Well, yeah,” I told him honestly. “I mean, I haven’t heard from you since you left this morning. I’d be lying if I said your silence didn’t worry me.”
He sighed, and I could picture him shaking his head at me. “Jade, I was giving you your space today because I thought that would be best, not because I was angry with you.”
“How are you even real?” I asked, in awe of his compassion and understanding.
“My parents raised me right.” Dylan chuckled. “But Jade? You and me? We’re good. You’re my soulmate.”
My heart raced at his words. They’re what I needed to hear.
I repeated them back and felt a weight lift. “You’re my soulmate.”
He was silent for a few beats. “You’re not going to like what I have to say next, but I need to say it.”
“Okay,” I whispered, unsure of where this was going.
“I need you to figure out this thing with Tian,” he said gently. “I need you to close that part of your life, Jade. I don’t like where my head went when you told me he had contacted you—had kissed you.”
“Dylan—” I tried, dreading where this was headed.
“Just hear me out, okay?” His voice was steady and calm, a direct contrast to the swarm of emotions I was feeling. “I’m not angry. I mean, I was hurt when you first told me, but he was an important person in your life. At some point, he was your whole life.”
“You’re my whole life, Dylan.”
“I know, I do, but I’m not sure you’ve gotten the closure you were searching for yet. I’m not sure if he’s here to stay or if you two are going to be the best of friends now or what but I need you to figure it.” He wasn’t saying this to be cruel, but it still felt like a knife was slicing through my heart. “Take this weekend to get that closure, okay? Figure some things out. I’ll still be here, Jade, always. We can talk about it when I get back, okay?”
“I hate that you’re right,” I grumbled. “I don’t want to see him again, but you’re right, I haven’t gotten the closure I need. I thought I had, but having him randomly pop up was confusing, to say the least.”
“I’ll see you in two days, alright?”
“Alright.”
“But, Jade? If his lips go anywhere near yours again, I’m going to have to confront the dude,” he said sternly, and I knew he meant that.
Though, honestly, Tian didn’t stand a chance against Dylan. He embodied everything a real man should: strength, compassion, heart, honesty. He was the very definition of a gentle man. I wasn’t even sure I deserved him, but I was going to fight like hell to keep him, that was for damn sure, even if that meant meeting with Tian to figure out … well, everything.