Page 46 of Beautiful Crazy
After a while, Grace announces that dinner is done, so the three of us pile around my dining room table and dig in.
“This is so good, Grace,” I tell her.
“I know it’s nothing special,” she says. “But it should be easy enough on your stomach. The doctor said to eat bland foods for the first couple weeks.”
“Well, it’s delicious. Thank you.”
The truth is, as much as I truly do suck at accepting help when I need it, I appreciate having both of them here. Not just because Grace cooked us dinner, but because I could really use my girls. With my appendix damn near bursting earlier this week, I haven’t had a chance to tell any of them about what happened with Everett, and I’m dying to get it off my chest finally.
“So, I’ve got some… news,” I awkwardly say, not really sure how to start this conversation.
Pausing with her fork halfway to her mouth, Grace watches me across the table with raised eyebrows. “News? What news could you possibly have when you just got home from the hospital?”
“Well, this actually happenedbeforethat.” My cheeks heat. “I may or may not have asked Everett to be my friend with benefits.”
Charley’s mouth drops open as Grace’s eyesbulge. “What!” my sister squeaks. “And you’re justnowtelling us this? Do you hate us?”
Chucking, I take a drink from my sweet tea. “Hospital stay, remember?” I murmur. “And right before that, I knew you were stressed out about that huge order at the bakery. I planned to tell you guys the other day duringBachelornight, but that clearly never happened.”
“Okay, miss ma’am, I’m going to need you to start at the beginning,” Grace says. “I didn’t even know you were considering that. When did that happen?”
“Remember that day Beau came over to my house when Blakely was with Dad?” She nods. “Okay, well, later that night after I got home from dropping Beau off with you, I decided to text him and ask if he wanted to come over for some wine and hang out.”
Charley’s face lights up with a grin. “I’m loving that it was you who made the first move.”
“Well, calm down.” I breathe out a chuckle. “Nothing happened that night. Well, not really.”
Shimmying in her seat, Grace says, “Go on.”
“We drank a few glasses of wine, had really great conversation—like honestly, it flowed so easily, and it never felt awkward—and I had some music playing.” I feel my cheeks heat and the butterflies swarming in my stomach all over again, remembering the part that came next. “Then he asked me to dance with him.”
“Shut up!” Grace claps her hands in front of her, excitement permeating off of her. “Like, what kind of dance? Slow dance? Grinding?” She waggles her brows at the last one, making me laugh.
“Slow dance,” I reply. “‘Beautiful Crazy’ started playing,and I’m not kidding, you guys, he stood up, offered me his hand, and asked me to dance like we were in some sweet Hallmark movie.”
“Stop! I’m dying. That’s so cute.” My sister can hardly contain herself. “Then what happened? You fell in love, right? Because I would’ve fallen in love on the spot.”
Charley snorts. “You fall in love twice a week,” she says to Grace. “It doesn’t take much for you to fall in love.”
My sister’s nose scrunches as she takes in our friend. “Rude.”
“I mean, Charley’s not wrong.” I laugh.
“You’re both assholes,” she huffs. “What happened next?”
Smile tugging on my lips at the memory, the feeling of being so close to him that first time. “Sutton woke up,” I murmur with a laugh. “But before he did, there was a moment when I really thought he was going to kiss me, and it kind of took me by surprise how much I wanted him to do that. Like, I always figured my first time doinganythingafter Dylan, I’d freak out a little, but there was none of that. Yeah, I was a little nervous, but there wasn’t panic or a need to flee.”
Grace gets a tiny, empathetic smile on her face, the same one she gets any time we discuss Dylan or lifewithouthim. “Good,” she utters softly. “I’m glad you felt that desire. I know I’ve said this an umpteen number of times over the years, but I’m saying it again because I think you need to hear it: moving on, finding a way to be happy and fulfilled, even if that’s with somebody else, doesn’t mean you loved Dylan any less.
“It doesn’t mean you’re going to forget about him, orforget the times you shared, or the love you two had for one another. You will always love Dylan, he will always have a place in your heart, honey, but that doesn’t mean you can’t move on. It doesn’t mean you can’t be happy, or love again. He would want you to share your bright, beautiful love, and he would want you to be loved.”
“She’s right,” Charley adds, covering my hand on the table with hers. “I’m proud of you for taking this step, and for going at your own pace.”
Flipping my hand in her hold, I link my fingers with hers as I reach my other hand across the table to hold Grace’s. “I know you’re right,” I murmur, meeting my sister’s gaze. “But also, this isn’t love. We are friends; we both agreed. It’s no-strings, stress-relieving, orgasm-inducing fun. That’s it. So, don’t get ahead of yourselves.”
Grace and Charley share a look that I pretend not to see, because I know they think I’m full of shit. But I’m not. Two adults who are mutually attracted to one another and who are friendlycanhave no-strings-attached fun.
They can.