Page 40 of I Love You, So What?

Dragging myself off the bar, I rest my chin on my palm and look at him. “How can they make it easier if they complicate things?”

“What do you like about Troy?”

I’m not sure where he’s going with this. “Umm. The sex is good.”

He frowns. “There must be more than that if it led to that conversation the three of us had earlier.”

“Fine. He’s not intimidated by me, and his flirtiness matches mine. It’s fun. He’s easy to talk to in a way that doesn’t make me hate talking about stuff. He’s spontaneous. He’s a great tipper. You know how I feel about that,” I say with a pointed look.

“I do.” He laughs. “It’s similar for me. There’s so much to love about Maci, she makes it easy. She’s easy to talk to. She’s fun. She loves me back. She’s proud of me for chasing my dreams. We like a lot of the same things. We have great sex.”

“I’m failing to see your point.”

“What do you not like about Troy?” he asks as he pulls the trash bag out of the can and knots it before setting it on the ground.

“Umm…” I try to think of something.

“I think you’re worrying about things that haven’t happened and might never. You’re acting like he’s already done something to prove your view on relationships right when he’s only done the opposite from the sound of it.”

“But it might not always be like that.”

“True. But it also might. All those things you like about him, don’t they make your life more enjoyable?”

“Yeah…”

“The things I love about Maci are the reason I want a future with her. My days are better with her because of all the little things I listed and more–things I found out over time because I took a risk on starting a relationship with her. Unfortunately the only way to know if someone is worth it is if you give them a chance.”

“You’re making this sound easy, like it’s just a decision.”

“That’s all anything is. One decision after another. You end up in a good place when you lean into things that make you happy. It’s not much more complicated than that, Lex. You deserve to be happy, and it can exist for you.” His supportive energy falters for a second before it comes back. “Not that I’ve spent a lot of time around him, but Troy seems pretty great. And Maci obviously agrees to some extent too. Both of us have pretty good taste in people if you ask me.” He grins. “You should probably talk to him. He must be making an effort because he believes you make his life better, and you’re not making it easy on him. You need to decide if he makes your life better too.”

“Ugh, I know. I didn’t mean to disregard his feelings. I’m just scared of my own.”

“We’ve all been there. What matters is what you do now that you’ve realized it.”

“I should probably tell him I’m sorry, huh?”

He puts a hand on each of my shoulders and waits until I meet his eyes. “Actions speak louder than words, Lex. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

“I won’t.” I make a promise I hope I can keep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

LEXY

AsIpullintothe space in front of my apartment, my phone vibrates against the cup holder. I pick it up hoping to see Troy’s name even though I know I won’t. The notification brings a smile to my face nonetheless.

Maci:Hey.

I haven’t talked to her recently because she’s been busy traveling. There was a little tension in our conversation last night because I got defensive on Mack’s behalf. Hearing Maci talk about being in Costa Rica with her ex, Dean, and her indecision about choosing between them made me feel like I needed to choose sides. But Maci means just as much to me as Mack does, and her happiness matters more than wanting my best friends to be together if that isn’t what’s right for them.

Me:Hey! Isn’t it late there?

Maci:Yeah. I was reading. Then I couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry I abandoned our convo last night and that I have been bad about checking in in general. I haven’t been great at focusing on anything outside of my bubble, and I’ve been worried you’ll hate me or feel like I’m betraying Mack by staying in Costa Rica a little longer. I swear it was never my intention to get into this situation.

I’ve been feeling a little guilty about our conversation last night too.

Me:I know it wasn’t. I get it. I’m sorry I was a little snippy about Mack and everything too. Things aren’t always black and white.

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