Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

CAMMIE

I figured my parents would meet Chase and his parents for like, five minutes, and then we would go out for lunch and they would ask me questions about them, and then Essie would make me go shopping and try to persuade me to add pastels to my wardrobe.

I did not expect to end up in a private room at some fancy restaurant—which I am sorely underdressed for—with our parents congregated at one end of the table and all the university students and siblings at the other. I ordered a ginger ale because I don’t think caffeine is a good idea when I’ve already sweat through my underpants thanks to the anxiety of all these freaking people.

“I’m going to grab another plate,” Tristan says for the third time. “You want anything else, Bea?”

“I’m good for now, thanks, babe.” She smiles up at him.

He does this thing with his enormous mitt of a hand that sort of makes it look like he’s holding her throat, but then he brushes his nose over hers. She sighs. I look away, because I feel like I’m an interloper on a private moment even though we’re in a restaurant .

Essie pulls her lip gloss out for the seven hundredth time in two hours.

During brunch there has been a lot of talk about Tristan and Rix’s upcoming wedding, hockey (this is not a surprise), and how we’re enjoying university. I mostly listen, fascinated by how obviously obsessed Tristan is with Rix. He’s always touching her. And the diamond on her finger is enormous. Just like Tristan’s hands. I’m also fascinated by Brody’s middle brother. He’s quiet, and broody, and ridiculously attractive. But the number of times I’ve seen him blush in the past two hours is a record breaker. I can’t wait to talk about this with Chase. When our parents go back to their hotel rooms tonight.

Tristan drops back in his chair with a heaping plate of food. “Look, Bea, they have cucumber salad.” He’s the only person who seems to call her this. Maybe it’s his little term of endearment.

Rix props her chin on her fingers and smiles at him. “You’ll have to tell me if the dressing is as good as mine.”

Essie’s fork clatters to her plate. Her eyes go wide and she slaps her chest. Her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.

“Ess? Are you okay?” I push my chair back.

She grabs at her throat.

“Oh my God!” Rix shoves her chair back. “She’s choking!”

Tristan and Nate both push their chairs back at the same time and rise. But Nate bolts around the table and shoves his older brother out of the way. “I got you.” He picks my sister up like she weighs nothing, turns her away from the table, and performs the Heimlich maneuver while Essie claws at her throat.

Everyone is freaking out.

A maraschino cherry shoots across the room and rolls behind a plant.

Essie sucks in gasping breaths. Nate sets her down and turns her around, his hands on her shoulders. And then he’s cupping her face. I swear they have a moment. And then Essie bursts out laughing. It quickly dissolves into tears.

Rix starts crying too, and then the two of them are howling with laughter.

“What the hell is going on?” Chase asks.

“They’re always like this,” I explain. I love their friendship. Envy it even.

No one else chokes during lunch. Tristan insists on paying for the whole bill.

As predicted, Essie declares it a girls’ afternoon and we split up, all the moms and girls head to the mall for manicures and shopping, and the dads and guys go do whatever it is guys do when they’re together. Probably something sporty with this crew. If so, I feel bad for my dad because he’s like me and considers reading a sport.

The moms are currently being treated to pedicures, so it’s just me, Rix, and Essie. My sister has fully recovered from her choking incident.

“So how serious is this thing with Chase? It seems pretty serious,” Essie says as we get our nails prepped for our manicures. “And his mom and our mom are getting along like a house on fire.”

I glance over at them. They’re bonding like besties. It’s super cute. I turn back to my sister. “I think it’s pretty serious.”

“He seems really into you.” Rix sips her cucumber water, takes a selfie while smirking, and sends it to someone. Probably Tristan.

“He brings me flowers and stuff.” Mostly from the garden behind res, but he brought me real flowers from a store after I went to his game and stood up to the mean girls. It even came with a note card telling me how proud he was of me in his own semi-legible scrawl.

Essie drops her voice. “And he takes care of your needs—first. ”

“Oh yeah.” I nod while my face starts to turn red. “He’s very doting.”

“He seems like he would be,” Rix says approvingly.

I wish I could get used to how open these two are about sex. I used to eavesdrop when they were in their late teens. The things I learned…

“Hockey boys have great stamina,” Rix sighs dreamily.

I nod my agreement while turning seventeen shades of red.

“Have those girls backed off?” Essie asks.

“What girls?” Rix’s shoulders roll back.

“Desperate attention seekers who were giving Cammie a hard time,” she explains.

“It’s fine now.” That’s not entirely true. They glare at me every time they see me when I’m not with Chase. And more than once Barbie has flicked toothpaste water at me in the bathroom.

Could I take her down? Of course. She’s no match for me verbally or physically. But the more I ignore her, the more irritated she gets, which is gratifying in its own right.

“The fucking bunnies.” Rix rolls her eyes.

“How do you handle it? Especially when Tristan is on the road?” I ask.

They’re getting married next summer, so obviously they’ve figured out how to make it work and she’s not a pile of insecurity all day every day. “It’s not always easy. But Tristan and I talk every day and video call when he’s away. I have to choose to trust him and let it go. We’re honest with each other, and if I’m having a hard day, or there’s bunny shit online, he’s good about reassuring me. If Chase is the right guy for you, he’ll be understanding when you have those kinds of days, too.”

“Tristan’s super in love with you,” I say.

“He is. And I’m super in love with him. Every time I feel my fears creep in, I just remember that loving someone well is a choice, and I’m his just like he’s mine.” She bumps my sister’s shoulder. “Now we just need to find the right guy for Essie.”

Essie rolls her eyes. “I’ve found the right guy for me, like twenty times. They all just decide I’m not the right girl for them. I think I’m swearing off men for now.”

She always makes jokes about her relationship history. She’s married every single guy she’s dated. In her head. Half the reason she moved back from Vancouver was because she started dating another toxic guy and decided the best way to end it was to put a few thousand kilometers between them. Also, she missed home and wanted to be closer to family and Rix.

After girl bonding time and shopping, we head back to campus. My mom meets up with my dad at the hotel—ironically the same one that brought me and Chase together—and Rix and Essie come back to res with me so we can get ready for the hockey game tonight.

All of us are going. I’m excited and nervous.

Tally comes over to my dorm, too, and Essie does all of our makeup.

“Can I just say how much I love that you two found each other on a campus of twenty-five thousand students,” Essie says as she expertly gives me the cat eyes I always fail at.

“Right? It’s so cool! Like what were the chances?” Tally uses my curling wand on her ponytail.

“I love that our worlds are converging like this and that we all get to hang out together,” Rix says with a bright smile. Her phone buzzes and she digs it out of her pocket. “Tristan is asking for an ETA. Apparently, they’re at the rink already.”

“Of course they are.” Essie nudges me out of the chair and beckons Tally over. “Girl, your eyes are unreal.” She trades out the black liner for dark blue.

“Should I tell him we’ll be there in twenty?” Rix asks.

“If we leave in the next ten, we should be there in twenty.” Tally tips her head back and looks at the ceiling while Essie rims her eyes.

“Is the boyfriend coming tonight?” Rix asks Tally.

“He’s got a thing,” she replies. “Besides, my dad is super intense about boyfriends so it’s better that I keep him out of things tonight.”

Essie and Rix exchange a look. I say nothing.

Even with my limited knowledge, I know the boyfriend is kind of a dud.

“You know, Brody is a nice guy,” Rix says.

Tally shoots her a look. “I’m aware. I see him all the time in the café. Brody is super hung up on a girl he went to high school with.”

“Wait. What? How do you know this?” Rix asks.

“Because we met her before at the hockey game. Enid—remember the girl in the bathroom who wants to sit with us?”

“Of course! I haven’t seen her around since then.” What a wildly small world.

“Anyway, I overheard her talking to one of the other girls who works at the café. Apparently, she went to the same high school as Brody and she had a crush on him and something happened, but I have no idea what. Anyway, Brody always comes in with Gage and Mac. Gage and Mac always get in line, but Brody mobile orders and does the same hood thing you always do.” Tally points at me. “I think it’s because he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s staring at Enid with utter longing. So I know Brody is nice, but dude is pining hard. Plus, I’m not into guys my own age.”

“You’re dating a sophomore,” Rix points out.

“Yeah, but he took a gap year, so he’s at least a couple of years older.”

“Okay, your eyes are ready for the world.” Essie surveys her handiwork.

“Should we head to the arena?” Tally asks.

“Selfie first!” Rix hops up and we all crowd around her phone.

She takes a photo, tags us all with game ready! , and posts it to her social media .

Normally, I’d be nervous, but with Tally, Essie, and Rix flanking me, I feel pretty damn invincible. And like I belong.