Page 46 of Aisle Come Back to You

Growing up, I was always the socially awkward kid who struggled to connect with others, but everything changed when I moved to Evergreen Grove in fifth grade. Blair and Ronnie immediately embraced me, offering their friendship, and accepting me for exactly who I was. I can still remember that first day of school when some punk decided to make fun of me and my glasses, but Blair immediately came to my rescue. She confidently declared to everyone on the playground that she thought my glasses were cool and even asked if she could try them on. From that day on, not a single person made fun of me.

A lot of people have given me crap over the years for constantly going along with Blair and Ronnie’s crazy plans, but I’d follow those women anywhere—I trust them with my life. Sure, there’s a good chance I’d be following them straight into a jail cell, but that’s a chance I’ve always been willing to take.

“Oh, hush. I’m not that great,” she jokes, a smile playing at her lips as she lifts her coffee for another sip.

“I respectfully disagree,” I say, the jarring sound of my phone alarm interrupting our moment from my pocket, reminding me I need to leave immediately if I plan to make it to work on time. “Unfortunately, that means I have to leave for school now, but you’re more than welcome to stay here for as long as you want or need, or if you want to hurry and get dressed, I can take you home first.”

She twists her lips as she takes a moment to think about it. “I think I may go back to sleep for a little longer,” she decides. “I’ll have Miles come and pick me up in a bit, or I’ll just walk to his garage.”

The mere thought of her brother picking her up and knowing what we did last night is terrifying, but I try to push those ridiculous thoughts aside. We’re twenty-eight year old adults. We’re free to sleep with whomever we want, and I plan to sleep with her whenever she’ll allow.

“Alright, in that case, I’ll see you later,” I tell her, leaning down for one final kiss before sending her off with a wave. It should feel surreal to leave a naked Blair behind in my bed, but instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, as if this is how it was always meant to be.

24

Blair

Just as I toldFord, I stayed in bed for a while, enjoying the luxury of scrolling through my social media and indulging in the scrumptious breakfast that Ford had surprised me with. As much as I was tempted to go back to sleep, especially after our long night of fun, the lingering scent of Ford in his bed made it impossible to lull myself back into a sleepy state.

Once I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and slipped into the T-shirt that carried even more of his familiar scent, I couldn’t resist indulging in a bit of snooping. Just call me Sherlock Holmes.

In so many ways, he’s still that silly and adorable Ford that I’ve always known and loved. However, after not speaking for over two years, there are parts of him I don’t fully recognize anymore.

For my sanity and well-being, I can’t deny that I made the correct choice to remove him from my life when he married Jenny. However, now that there’s a chance for him to becompletely mine, I feel the need to rediscover every detail about Ford Hastings that I can.

I can’t say that my snooping helps me discover all that much, but as I spot the discarded note he’d started to write before I woke up, I decide to write him my own little message.

Ford-

Thanks for breakfast! 10/10

Yours truly, Blair bear

P.S. Sex was an infinity/10. Will definitely try again :)

Laughing to myself, I stick it on his fridge, choosing not to dwell on the fact that it’s probably not all that funny and that my lack of sleep is finally catching up to me.

As I finish my snooping, I consider calling Miles for a ride, but given that he’s likely already at work and at his garage for the day, I decide to just head over there. Although there are numerous things to complain about when it comes to Evergreen Grove, one of the few positives is the unrestricted ability to get anywhere you want on foot.

Before changing back into my walk-of-shame clothes from the night before, I snap a quick selfie of myself in Ford’s shirt and send it his way before getting dressed.

Stopping in the doorway, I give his place one final glance, praying that this won’t be my last night here. I know it was me holding us back, but after last night, there’s no way I’m willing to let this be a one-and-done type of thing. He’s officially done it—he won me over.

After a short ten-minute walk to Miles’ place, it’s clear he’s less than pleased as I walk in wearing the same clothes from the night before.

“I’d ask if you had a good night, but honestly, I don’t want to know,” he says, doing his best not to look up from behind his desk as he sits at a computer, likely doing some of the admin work.

With a father who had a well-known reputation for being the town drunk, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride in seeing my brother’s success. He has shown everyone that we aren’t the trash that so many people thought we’d turn out to be, and he not only get to works at a job he loves, he’s fucking owns the place like the badass he is.

With his love for cars and exceptional problem-solving skills, he has always excelled at identifying and resolving issues quickly. While he does still enjoy doing the dirty work, he now has the luxury of delegating the physical labor to others whenever he needs to, while he handles the administrative stuff in the office.

“Would it make you feel any better if I let you know that I ended up at Ford’s last night, and not with some random stranger or some other person that you probably hate from this town?” I ask, a teasing grin on my face as I take a seat on the hard metal chair across from his desk. Would it kill this guy to invest in some comfortable furniture?

“Maybe, but not by much,” he admits, choosing not to look at me as he continues typing. “For the first time, I think I’d actually prefer it if you'd somehow ended up at Veronica’s.”

“Wow, are you finally having a change of heart about my best friend?” I tease, my mouth dropping open in excitement.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he scoffs. “In this case, with you being my sister, it just feels like the lesser of the two evils.”

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