Page 97 of It's Complicated

“I’m sorry if I overstepped?—”

“No, not at all. I didn’t mean it like that,” I assured him. “I needed to hear it, all of it. It helped, I swear. It’s just a lot to process all at once.”

He smiled. “I probably could have found a less in-your-face way of saying it. I’m just glad it helped and didn’t make things worse.”

“It did,” I repeated. “You’re probably the only person I know who actually understands what I’m going through. I’m glad everything worked out for you and your ex.”

“Me too. Staying together wasn’t an option for us, but like I said, our situation was different. We weren’t compatible as romantic partners; we were just so young when we got married that we didn’t realize it until years later.”

I wanted to ask more about his marriage and past, but Zander was incredibly private, and the fact that he’d shared so much with me to help me work through my own crap was a huge show of trust.

He’d given me a lot to think about, but my mind kept circling back to what he’d said about me and Jamie working as romantic partners.

So far our relationship had been centered around sex and friendship. There were moments when hints of romance came through, like when we’d discovered cuddling and when he’d taken care of me after I talked to my dad. But other than that, we acted the same as we always did, only with orgasms.

“You look like you’re thinking really hard about something over there,” Zander’s voice was tinged with humor.

“Did I have my constipated thinking face on or my bewildered, smooth-brained one?” I asked. “Because you’re not wrong.”

“I have no idea what either of those would look like, so I’m going to go with a deep thought face.”

“I literally have no idea how to be romantic,” I confessed. “I’ve never been in a relationship, never dated anyone, and my parents hate each other and have never had a healthy relationship in their entire lives.”

Zander tilted his head curiously.

“My dad is a womanizer who’s finally settling down again at age sixty with a woman two years younger than me because he knocked her up. And my mom has a thing for married men and doesn’t care who she hurts or how many families she breaks up as long as she gets what she wants from her boyfriends.”

Zander’s jaw dropped like it had been unhinged.

“Like I said, I have zero frames of reference for how to be romantic outside of TV and movies. How am I supposed to show Jamie how I feel if I have no idea how to do it?”

“Romance means different things to different people. You know Jamie, you know what he likes and what sorts of things he enjoys. Try not to get hung up on what you think romance should look like, and just be yourself.”

“That’s usually the kind of advice that gets me in trouble.”

Zander laughed as my phone vibrated, the sound loud against the wooden surface of the table.

“I’ll let you check that.” Zander stood and gathered his papers from the table. “I should go find Nate.”

I grabbed my phone but didn’t check it. “Thanks, Zander. I mean it. I feel a lot better now, and I think I know what I need to do.”

He smiled and gave me a quick nod before heading into the shop.

Flipping my phone over, I opened my texts.

Jamie: holy shit I didn’t get fired

Isaac: really? That’s great!

Jamie: yeah, really great

Isaac: why do I feel like there’s a but coming?

Jamie: butt coming *snicker*

Isaac: I walked right into that one lol

Isaac: but are you okay fr?

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