Page 71 of The First Time

Last weekend, after we agreed to tell him, I told Josh that I would set up a dinner at their place. Charlotte agreed to do it under the guise that she wants to hear more stories from our time in Italy.

“You ready for this?” I ask him as he taps the steering wheel with his thumbs mindlessly.

“I just want to get it over with. The anticipation is what’skilling me.”

I reach over and rub the back of his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension he’s feeling.

“Do you want to tell him right away or have dinner first?” I ask.

“I don’t want to sit through an entire dinner without telling him, but what if we tell him right away, and it ruins the evening?”

“Well, to be honest, if he reacts that poorly, then I don’t want to spend the rest of the evening with him.”

I really don’t think he’ll be angry. I mean, sure, it might be kind of weird for a while, but let’s not forget about the fact that he is with my best friend, and I didn’t get angry about it. I’m sure he’ll be able to see that.

We pull into the driveway, and he puts the truck into the park and then turns to me. “Before we go in, I just want you to know that no matter what anyone says about us, I want to be with you. Nothing will change how I feel about you. I’m done letting what other people think keep me away from you.”

His hands cup my face. He leans in and gently presses his lips to mine. It’s the kind of kiss that always leaves me feeling dazed as his lips move over mine so softly and slowly. When he pulls away, every part of me wants to dive back in and forget about going inside.

But I know we need to get this over with. We open our car doors, and Josh grabs the groceries for me as we walk to the front door. Before I knock, Charlotte opens the door with a bright smile.

“Hi guys!” she exclaims. “Come on in.”

We walk through the door to find Asher hanging out on the back deck with a beer. Charlotte leads us out there to join him.

Asher stands. “Hey, man.” He shakes hands with Josh.

I look around for Brie but see no sign of her. “Where’s my niece?”

“She’s spending the night at Mom and Dad’s,” Asher replies. “We figured if she were here, there’d be minimal adult conversation being had.”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “Brie is good at being the center of attention. What do you think she will do when the baby gets here?”

“We’ve been talking to her about the things that will change when the baby gets here,” Charlotte says as she absentmindedly runs a hand over her growing belly. “I’m sure it will be an adjustment, but she’ll be fine. She’s a sweetheart.”

“Are you guys going to find out the sex of the baby?” Josh asks, taking a beer from Asher as we all sit down.

Asher looks over at Charlotte. “Yes. We actually get to find out in three weeks.”

“I can’t believe you are already that far along. This pregnancy is going to fly by,” I tell them.

“I know. It’s already close to the halfway mark. It’s unbelievable,” Charlotte agrees.

Josh looks at me from his chair, his eyebrows raised in anticipation. I think we need to do this before he loses his mind. I don’t think he can focus on anything else until we get this out in the open.

“Well, before I get started in the kitchen, Josh and I had something we wanted to tell you guys,” I start, including Charlotte in this so Asher doesn’t realize I’ve alreadytold her.

“What’s that?” Asher looks at me strangely.

“Well, when Josh and I were in Italy,” I say, clearing my throat and looking over at Josh. “We actually kind of discovered that there might be something more than just friendship between us.”

Asher’s eyes shift between mine and Josh’s. “You mean you would’ve called yourself friends before the trip?”

Josh smiles at me. “Fine,” I laugh. “We realized underneath the anger between us were feelings,” I pause. “Romantic feelings.”

Asher’s head falls forward as he lets out what seems like a bitter laugh while he shakes his head. Josh sits up straight while we all stare at Asher. I honestly can’t tell if he’s pissed or not. Charlotte shrugs her shoulders at me. Even she doesn’t have a clue what the hell this reaction is.

Asher lifts his head and wipes his mouth with his hand. “You mean it took Italy to make you two idiots see that?”

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