Page 77 of Meegan
“I’ll explain in the car. Come on.”
* * *
Olin started down the hill, just glad to have Meegan back with him. He had a feeling she hadn’t been completely honest about why she'd been crying at the cookie party, but he was glad she’d reached out to Marcos. His brain might have been on the brink of imploding the night before at The Club, but even he noticed the weight of their emotional reunion. She’d clearly needed to talk to him and Olin admired the way she didn’t put it off any longer. He was glad she had such good friends.
Meegan was quiet as they made their way down Robertson. He wanted to know what she was thinking and what she was feeling. He thought of all the space she’d given him to open up on his own time. It was nothing for him to return the favor.
As he drove, a text came through from his dad, reminding him that his favorite radio station was playing twenty-four hours of Christmas music. Olin switched over to 103.5, the KOST, and let the sound of “Jingle Bell Rock” fill the cabin. He caught a little smile on Meegan’s face, but she didn’t say anything.
“Are you hungry?” he finally asked.
“Yeah, did you eat?”
“Nah, I was waiting for you.”
“You wanna try the In-N-Out in Culver City? It’s on our side of town,” she suggested.
“Let’s do it.”
“Let’s find somewhere to park and talk too.”
A wave of dread rushed through him. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“What?! No.”
“Okay cool, ’cause I was gonna make you pay for your own food.”
“Wow,” she laughed. “Such a gentleman.”
“I’m kidding. I would still pay for your food. I just wanted to think about where I’d need to pull over and cry after I dropped you off.”
“I’m not breaking up with you, you donut. I love you.”
Olin felt himself frown. He was sure he was hallucinating. Surely he’d heard her wrong. “Say that again?”
“I love you.”
“Okay.” Olin spotted an empty meter and pulled over. “Let’s talk now.” He turned in his seat, giving Meegan his undivided attention. “You love me?”
Meegan nodded, fresh tears lining her eyes. “Like, a lot.”
“I love you, too.” Olin had never said that to anyone before. He almost forgot how to breathe when Meegan leaned over and kissed him. He kissed her back, her tears of joy—he hoped—slipping over both their lips. He leaned back and gently wiped her cheek with his thumb.
“Why are you crying?”
“I just have a lot of feelings.”
“I understand that.”
“I’m not sure I want to go back to The Club and, before you freak out and think it’s something you did wrong, I want to tell you why.”
“Okay.”
“Going to The Club is like going to my ex-girlfriend’s house. Daniel and Keira are doing a phenomenal job with it, but I spent almost ten years in that place, being dominated by a woman that I was very much in love with. Beyond that, though, now that she’s gone, I’m seeing that I still have all these amazing people in my life and I don’t need to go to The Club to see them. I don’t need to go to The Club to have really hot, sexy fun with them. And, I didn’t need to go to The Club to find you.”
“Aren’t you glad I was socially awkward and willing to pay?”
“Yes, I am,” Meegan laughed. “Of course, I want to go to Christmas parties and birthday parties and baby showers, but I also want to spend a Saturday night at home with you. Being with Evelyn was amazing, but I was always chasing something I knew she and Daniel and Marcos and Shep and Keira and everyone else couldn’t give me.”