Page 34 of Be My Reason

Nate’s face gets red and his fists ball up momentarily. Then he leans over and picks up two boxes.Two boxes that I know are really heavy because I had just packed some of Emma’s design books in them. His muscles are bulging as he is obviously struggling to carry them, being that they are probably heavier than he expected. It is almost comical watching him try to balance them. But he won’t put one down. He nods at Ryan to go down the stairs. Probably so that he can drop a box or two on his head.

He follows Ryan and yells, “Hey man, don’t put anything in my truck.”

“What was that?” I question Emma.

“That was a pissing match.” She laughs.

“No, not that.Why can’t we put anything in Nate’s truck?”

Emma’s eyes go wide and she looks over at Graham.

“Um . . . he is staying back to visit his niece over in Richmond Hill tonight,” Graham tells me. “You remember Candy the porn star, right?” He laughs.

“Oh.” I blush at the memory of their wedding night and how jealous I was over what turned out to be an adorable little girl.Jealous?I shake my head at the ridiculous thought.

Emma says, “We want to unpack right away and not have to wait for him to come back. So that’s why we can’t put stuff in his truck. Plus, he is a terrible driver and I don’t want my things spilled all over the Interstate.” She rambles on, “And maybe my insurance wouldn’t cover it if he m—”

“Emma, I’m sure Lyn doesn’t care about all that,” he interrupts, pulling her into the hallway. Probably to kiss her again. Their PDAs are reaching epic proportions. I grab a lamp and head downstairs so I don’t have to witness it.

Two hours later we have Graham’s large SUV and Emma’s BMW loaded up with boxes. I walk past Nate’s truck and see some boxes in the back so I guess they did decide to use it after all.

Graham gets pizza and beer for all of us and these poor guys have to sit around and listen to Emma and me as we laugh and cry at stories we tell about high school.

“Oh God, remember Homecoming? What was the guy’s name that you went with?” Emma asks.

“Jeremy Bender,” I say.

I notice how Nate perks up and leans closer to catch our conversation. I wonder if he knew Jeremy. I try to remember if they were friends.

“Right,” she says.“Fender Bender—that’s what everyone called him.” She starts laughing loudly. “Nobody would get in a car with him because he had totaled like four cars by the time he was a senior. But he insisted on driving to Homecoming. So Lyn had to ride with me and my date to dinner and the dance.”

We are practically rolling on the floor. My eyes are watering as we try to tell the story of Jeremy’s dancing.It was worse than his driving.

All of a sudden there is a loudcrack!We all turn to see that Nate has crushed a beer can with his hands. Why do I get the feeling that the beer can is a representation of poor Jeremy Bender? “Uh . . . sorry,” Nate mumbles, when he sees us all staring at him. “Anyone want another beer?” He gets up and goes to the kitchen without waiting for a response.

It wasn’t a real date. I only went to the dance to keep Emmacompany. Jeremy just happened to be the friend of her date. I didn’t go out with anyone after Nate. Until Michael, that is. But Nate doesn’t have to know that.

Later, after everyone is gone, I have a thought and text Ryan.

Me:What happened between you and Nate when he first got here today?

Ryan:He was surprised to see me there. Thinks we have something going on. I know how you feel about him so I told him to back off.

Me:Oh, hell. What did he say?

Ryan:He didn’t say anything. But I’m not afraid to tell you I feared for my life for a second before you and E showed up. Lyn, I kind of like the guy. Don’t be too hard on him.

Great, another one of my friends on his side. Well, at least Ryan told him to back off before he became his new BFF.

Maybethat is why Nate didn’t push me today. I figured since we wouldn’t be seeing each other anymore that he was really going to lay it on thick. But it was quite the opposite. He didn’t make a big deal when he left. He shook my hand, of course, and once again, my whole body tingled in response to his strong fingers touching my skin. But it was almost like saying goodbye to someone you would see every day.

Chapter Twelve

This morning, Derek and I are on our way to a catering job.It’s not a huge one, just a hundred or so pastries along with our mobile coffee and espresso bar.

Derek has been a life-saver now that we are catering.I was able to hire him with the extra funds Ryan invested. He is the perfect addition to Brooklyn’s. He loves to bake and he is the brawn we needed for all of the heavy catering equipment. Yes, he is gay. But he is also strong, funny and the customers love him.

We are going to some ground-breaking ceremony for a new building. The company that hired us, R.A.D., has us laughing in the van. We are trying to guess what it stands for. So far all I’ve come up with is that they are a skateboarding or surfing business. Derek thinks it is a marijuana manufacturer. Really Awesome Dope.

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