Tabitha
“Okay, slut. Dish.” Veronica doesn’t waste time with pleasantries when I show up for lunch the next day. That’s not her style, and it’s one of the things I love about her.
“Lex came back,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I gathered that from your text and your five days of radio silence. What gives?”
I quickly fill her in on everything that’s happened: my bad date with Daniel, the surprise reunion with Lex, his seduction, his Domming, and our visit to therapy with Piper.
“Holy dragons,” she says, taking a sip of her beer. “So basically, your entire world has turned upside down.”
“Not in a bad way.”
“Obviously. You’re fucking glowing.”
“Am I?”
She just raises an eyebrow and waits for me to say something. That’s how Veronica works. She’ll wait until I’m good and ready to speak, and then she’ll tell me she told me so. That’s how she does it.
“It’s really great, okay?” I tell her. “You might not know this, but I never stopped loving Lex.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“What?”
“Come on, Tabby,” Veronica rolls her eyes. “Why do you think I flip you so much crap about it? It’s super obvious that you’re in love with him. You don’t have eyes for anyone else but Lex. You guys have worked through your issues since the divorce and you’ve both grown up. A lot. It’s obvious you wanted to try again.”
“How did you know all of this?” I ask her, shocked. “I didn’t even know this until he got home.”
“Because it’s not my first rodeo,” Veronica says. “And it’s not my first day as your very best friend. Look,” she leans forward, elbows on the little table at the café. We’re sitting outdoors, enjoying the sunshine and good weather, sipping our beers. We shouldn’t day drink, really, especially when we both have jobs, but it’s been a long week. I think a beer is deserved.
Or, you know, three beers.
“You love Lex,” Veronica says. “And you’ve got a history there. You’ve got kids. You’ve got bad memories, but you’ve got totally amazing ones, too. You’ve been to hell and back together, honey, and now you have something that most of us only ever dream about. You have a second chance with a great guy. Let’s be honest: I’ve never heard you trash talk him. For someone who went through such a nasty divorce, you’ve never said anything mean about Lex.”
“I have said plenty of mean things, I’m sure.”
“Nope. You haven’t. All you ever say is how great he is, but how you weren’t meant to be together. That’s not trash talk, sweetheart, no matter how you slice it.”
“We have a lot going against us.”
“Everyone does. That doesn’t mean he’s not worth fighting for.”
“I think he’s worth fighting for. He’s totally worth fighting for. It’s just happening really fast.”
“Sometimes the best things in life happen fast, Tabitha. Sometimes the best things happen when we’re busy and focused on other things and don’t have time to slow down. Sometimes the good things happen when we think it’s impossible, when we think we don’t deserve them.”
I let her words sink in for a minute. Is she right? Is Veronica right? Maybe she is. I’d like to think that she is. I don’t want to give up on this thing with Lex just because it’s been a whirlwind or because it’s been fast. I don’t want to give up. I like having him around the house again. I’ve missed him. I’ve missed the little things, like how he leaves his shoes out of the basket and how he folds towels. I’ve missed how he eats ice cream and the way he groans with pleasure when he takes his first bite of dinner. I’ve missed so many little things about Lex and now that he’s back, everything feels right again.
Everything feels complete.
“You don’t think I’m crazy,” I say, realizing this is what I’m worried about the most. I shouldn’t give a shit what other people think, and for most people, I don’t. This is Veronica, though. This is my girl. She keeps me grounded when I’m going crazy. She keeps me complete. She keeps me put together. She’s got my back.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Always.”
“I think you’d be crazy not to give it a chance just because love looks differently than you expect. You have this idea that you’re going to find a replacement guy because your relationship with Lex is ancient history. Well, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but your relationship is current events and he’s on Channel 12. I say you go home, fuck his damn brains out, and then drag his sweet ass to Anchored so I can watch you two play together.”
“Hey!” Veronica has seen me play with plenty of people at the club, but this is different. This is Lex. And I have a feeling that when we do play together, things are going to get very intense very quickly.
“Don’t go all shy on me,” Veronica finishes her beer and sets down her empty glass with a smile. “I know what you’ve got, girl. I’ve seen all the dress rehearsals. I’m ready for the live show. I’m ready to see you shine, beautiful. I’m ready to see you be a star.”