25. Worked It Out

25

WORKED IT OUT

“ I ’m so glad you’re back,” Liam said. “I’m not sure I’ve gone this long without seeing you since we’d go home for summer break.”

“Probably not,” he said.

Easton was at Liam and Nicole’s house. He’d gotten home by eleven and unpacked. Most of his clothes were clean since he’d done laundry before he picked Abe up at the airport.

The last thing he wanted to do was have to deal with chores when he walked in the door.

He’d run to the store and gotten food, then sat his ass on the couch and was thankful to be home.

He didn’t think he’d miss his condo as much as he had. It’d always just been a place to him.

But living in Abe’s house hadn’t felt like his either.

There was nothing worse than not being able to get comfortable.

Sure, he grew up in that house, but it wasn’t his childhood home anymore.

It was never really his.

It was only a place he stayed because no one else wanted him.

“It’s good to have you back,” Nicole said. “Though we’ve been in contact the entire time.”

He and Nicole would chat through work on things, or see each other on group meetings, but that was nothing more than what he always did.

When he was home, he went out with Liam a few times a month or they had him over for dinner.

“I’m glad to be back,” he said.

“Then why aren’t you smiling?” Liam asked.

He forced a smile on his face. “I’ve got to tell you guys something.”

“I hope it’s nothing with Rachelle,” Liam said.

“No,” he said. “But I’m seeing someone.”

“What?” Liam asked. “Why am I just hearing about this now? Don’t tell me it’s the neighbor you went on a date with.”

Nicole slapped her husband’s arm. “You didn’t tell me he went on a date.”

“Because last I knew it was one date. You haven’t said another word about it and I didn’t want to ask,” Liam said. “You told me she thought you were the owner of Cooke’s Landscaping and I just figured you’d set her straight or she wasn’t interested. If things didn’t work out, I didn’t want to bring it up.”

“Yeah, it’s her.”

“I’m hurt you never said a word about it,” Liam said.

Easton looked at his best friend and did see the hurt in his eyes. Guess he handled that badly too.

“So much has been happening. I don’t know if I’m coming or going half the time between work and filling in for Abe. We did get into it after the second date when she found out who I was. She didn’t believe it, but we worked it out.”

He told them a bit more about it.

“I like how she apologized,” Nicole said. “That takes a big person to do it.”

“She’s a great person,” he said. “Really, she is.”

“Look at his face when he says that,” Nicole said to Liam. “Are you in love?”

“Don’t answer that,” Liam said. “I know you. You don’t want to be questioned even if you feel it. Pretend she didn’t ask. Or what is it you say in court? Objection?”

“Overruled,” Nicole said.

“Sustained,” he said, smirking.

“Snot,” Nicole said.

“Things are going well. That is all you need to know. She’s coming here next weekend. The long-distance thing didn’t work well with Rachelle, so we will see how this goes.”

“Hold on,” Liam said. “Do not compare the two.”

“There isn’t anything to compare,” he said.

“Doesn’t sound it to me,” Nicole said.

“I just meant that not everyone likes to do a long-distance relationship.”

“Ninety minutes isn’t that far. That’s a day trip if you want.”

“She’s going to come down next weekend. Either Friday night, if she is out of work early enough, or early Saturday and will stay until Sunday sometime. We’ll take turns going back and forth.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a plan already,” Liam said. “Is she good with it?”

“She says she is. She’s only been at her job since the first of the year. She loves it.”

“What does she do?” Nicole asked.

“She’s the Plant Manager for Blossoms. She oversees the manufacturing plant.”

“That sounds like a big responsibility. Is she older than you?”

“A few years younger. Twenty-nine. She’s a bit of a contradiction.”

“What does that mean?” Liam asked.

“When you first see her you’re going to think one thing, but then when you talk to her or now that you know her job, it’s the complete opposite.”

“You’re going to have to explain more,” Nicole said.

“You might put her in the same category as Rachelle at first glance.”

“She’s prissy,” Nicole said. “I never expected you to do that again.”

“Not prissy. She’s very feminine. Does her hair and nails, accessories. She has more bottles of face shit than I’ve ever seen and she doesn’t need any of it. She barely wears makeup, at least to me she doesn’t, but she puts something on her face.”

Nicole was laughing. “That just means she knows what she is doing with it.”

“She knows what she is about and is very confident in it. But then she has a job where she is the boss and could get dirty. She’s not afraid to get on her hands and knees and fix a piece of machinery if she has to. She freaking fixed Abe’s dishwasher on one of our dates. I’m not sure I could have done it without gagging. And the first day we spent time together, she was hauling paving stones with me.” Nicole and Liam were looking back and forth at each other. “What?”

“I’m not saying it,” Liam said.

“I’m not either,” Nicole said. “Because then you’ll yell objection again.”

They were thinking he was in love.

He didn’t know what he was.

But he did know he felt more for Laurel in a short period of time than he had with Rachelle after a year.

“Let’s just table this for now,” he said. “You asked about her and I told you.”

“You didn’t say much,” Liam said. “Is she from that area? You said her job is somewhat new.”

“She’s from New Haven.” He figured he should fill them in completely. “She broke an engagement off about eight months ago or something. The guy was cheating on her with women he was getting on apps.”

“That’s the lowest form of sleaze there is,” Nicole said.

“You’d love this though,” he said. He told her what Laurel did when she found out.

“She put his engagement ring on his dirty plate?” Nicole asked.

“Right in the ketchup,” he said. “He hates to touch food with his fingers and that would force him to fish it out.”

“That’s hilarious,” Liam said.

“She has that warped sense of humor,” he said. “And then the dick showed up at her house the first day we met. That’s how I met her. I was outside and heard her giving him what for.”

He told them that story too.

“Your face,” Nicole said. “If you could see what we see when you’re talking about her.”

He didn’t need to see it. He felt it.

He wasn’t saying that though.

“Do you have what you need now?” he asked.

“I do,” Liam said. “How about a beer?”

“A beer sounds great,” he said. “I know we haven’t talked all that much.”

“And now we know why,” Liam said. “I thought it was odd you didn’t come home once in the past month. Not even for Easter.”

“I went to Laurel’s father’s house,” he said. “With her aunt too. Her aunt raised her with her father.”

There went the damn looks back and forth between his best friends. “That’s nice,” Liam said.

“What? No comment on us both being raised by an aunt?”

“Nope,” Liam said. “I’m going to drink my beer with my best friend while my wife makes dinner.”

“Maybe you should take turns and cook for your wife now and again,” he said.

“You tell him,” Nicole said, moving over and kissing him on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re home, but I’m not so sure you’re happy about it.”

He wasn’t either.