by Erin Noelle
She slapped my shoulder, but was laughing as well. “I did not make googoo eyes at him. I was just admiring his overall hotness. Now what’s his name and why didn’t you introduce me?
“His name is Max and I didn’t introduce you because I had a weird feeling that y’all already knew each other. I thought that was the reason for the eyes.”
“Shut up about the eyes!” she yelled, her face was pink from the blush that had crept up her neck. “Tell me more about him!”
I couldn’t help but crack up at her attempt to deny the faces she was making at him all night. When I finally stopped laughing, I told her a little bit about Max… all I could without bringing up Evie. She also made me promise to introduce her the next time he was there, which I agreed to do. Even after what had happened with Scarlett, if there was any guy that I would’ve picked for Andi to hang out with, it would be Max, and it appeared that in a few short months, they would be the only ones still in town. I felt I could trust him to watch over her when I was gone, even if he still wasn’t ready for any type of romantic relationship.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next several weeks flew by quickly. Part of me was eager to get back to Austin ~ to my friends there and to making music; I couldn’t wait to get Jobu’s Rum up and going again. I had so much music that I had written while I was gone, and I couldn’t wait to hear it all put together. However, there was a part of me that was a little sad about leaving. Andi had proven to be a great roommate, but an even better friend. She truly was like a little sister to me. I had only had one night since being out of rehab that I was really tempted to drink, and she sat and talked me through it for hours. She didn’t leave my side until I was asleep in my bed.
I had introduced her to Max as promised just days after our first conversation about him. I knew that she was crushing on him hard, but she played it cool when she was around him. I knew he had really taken a liking to her too, but it was hard for him. I had asked him to keep an eye on her and the apartment while I was gone, and he was more than eager to comply. She was still reluctant to talk about her family much, but I didn’t press the issue. I knew that she would when she was good and ready. In addition, I wasn’t sure she knew about the Evie situation either. I didn’t say a word about it; that was Max’s story to tell when he felt it was necessary. I realized I wasn’t the only one that noticed their flirting when one night up at Empty’s, I overheard Mina tell Max, “Just fuck her already, y’all are making me throw up in my mouth with that sweet shit.” I laughed to myself because not only did I agree, but Mina always had such an eloquent way with words.
Scarlett became a regular up at the bar again ever since she started singing with the band. Ash would come with her on the weekends, but during the week she would always come with Max. We still continued to text occasionally, and the times she was there without Ash we would sit and talk about everything, much like we did during her center visits. When he was with her, she never ignored me or anything like that, but I understood why he wouldn’t be cool with her just coming over to hang out with me. Shit, I wouldn’t want her talking to me at all if I was him, but that was just the possessive asshole in me, I guessed. I did try to be mindful and not overtly flirt with her or make her uncomfortable in any way. I was quickly learning that respect was a two way street; I needed to give to receive, and there was a way to respect yourself without being selfish.
I also continued to see Heather twice a week during the six weeks after my release. She was an incredible therapist, and I was a bit worried about what I was going to do without her. I tried many times to talk her into setting up a practice in Austin; I begged, pleaded, and even used bribery tactics. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t budge. I did schedule a monthly appointment to drive in and see her, just to keep her up to speed with everything that was going on, and well, because I just liked her.
One day when I was leaving her office, I thought to myself, “I am great friends with three absolutely gorgeous women, and I’m not having sex with any of them.” As a matter of fact, I wasn’t having sex at all! It had been close to four months since I had been with anyone, and even though my hand was getting pretty damn tired of taking care of business, I didn’t have much desire. I wasn’t attracted to the idea of a quick fuck in the back of the bar like I used to do regularly, I didn’t feel comfortable bringing home some strange girl to the apartment with Andi there, and since I knew I wasn’t staying, I wasn’t interested in looking for anyone to date regularly. Wow, what a three-sixty my life had taken in the matter of just a year.
Before I knew it, it was the first weekend of April and it was time for me to go. Marcus and I had a nice talk prior to my leaving where he wished me the best and promised to make it up for one of my shows in Austin. Andi refused to let me get emotional as I hugged her tightly and told her that I promised to be back soon. She told me not to worry about her or the apartment and kissed me on the cheek as I left. Just before getting on my bike to make the three hour journey westward, I sent Scarlett two text message.
ME: Wise men say only fools rush in…I’d be your fool over and over again. Never regret.
ME: Don’t stop until you find your euphoria, Angel.
I didn’t wait to see if she would respond; I stuck my phone in my jacket pocket and took off down the road.
SCARLETT
I was having brunch with Ash and his mom when the goodbye texts from Mase came through on my phone. It took everything in me to not start crying, but I didn’t. I just put my phone back in my purse and forced myself to focus on the conversation we were having. I knew Robin still wasn’t completely over me up and leaving the Christmas dinner, even though Ash had assured me that she loved me and understood why I had done it. I would reply to him later.
I still couldn’t believe it was already April. Ash and I were set and ready to move over Memorial Day weekend the following month. The closer that it got, the more I excited I became. Not only had I had never lived in another state before, but Ash and I would officially be living together. Even though we spent many nights together already, we were still pretty strict in our weekday schedules at our own places so that we could focus on school and work. I had begun performing with 32 Leaves on a regular basis twice a week as well, so it gave me time to practice with them on our off days.
After the night Mase had told me that he was letting me go, Ash and I had yet another serious conversation about my relationship with him. I was honest as I could be about my feelings. I told him that I loved Mason, and would always have a special place in my heart, but he was my past and Ash was my future. Mase and I would continue to be friends; I had told him that I would be there for him if he ever needed me, but I would never do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Ash, and he knew that. Part of me thought that Ash just agreed with it because he knew that we would be going our separate ways soon enough and he wouldn’t have to worry about me seeing him anymore. Either way, I valued the last couple of months that I had with Mason before he moved. When we didn’t cloud our relationship with sex and the stress of outside forces, we were great friends. I was incredibly proud of him for taking control of his life and getting back on track. Heather was a huge reason for that, and I was so thankful that she had come in his life when she did. Honestly, there was a tiny sliver of worry in me about him regressing when he moved back to Austin, but I held strong to my faith in him.
When we got back in the car after leaving Robin’s condo, Ash grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “I know and it’s okay,” he said compassionately.
I turned to look at him and smiled. Sometimes it was creepy how in tune he was with my feelings. “You always know and I’ll be okay.”
“He’s right, ya know? You really are an angel.”
“Oh, hush,” I retorted. “I’m far from that.”
“You saved me from the path of misery that I was on. Before I met you, I just did a lot of things to make me feel good so that I didn’t have to deal with the demons inside of me. It’s the same thing
with him. We both want to be better people for you.”
I reached up and cupped his face with my hands, staring intently into his beautiful blue eyes. “I want you both to be better people for yourselves. Evie should’ve taught us all that we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. If I was no longer here, I want to know that you would both continue to be the best people that you can. That’s what I’m striving for now ~ to be the best me I can be. And when that happens, then everything else will fall in place.” I leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “I love you, Ash Walker, and I can’t wait to be the best us for the rest of our lives.”
His smile warmed my heart as he kissed me on the forehead before starting the car and heading home.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Come Away With Me ~ Norah Jones
Unbroken ~ Demi Lovato
ASH
Moving day was finally upon us. Excited couldn’t even begin to express how I felt when I woke up that morning. Thrilled… overjoyed… exhilarated… those didn’t do it justice either. I got out of bed almost an hour before the alarm clock ever went off; I just couldn’t lie there any longer. I had said my goodbyes to Jess and Meg the night before which had been both a cry fest and full of laughs. I was really going to miss those girls; they had been my roommates for over four years and I loved them like my sisters. They were going to continue to live in my house and pay the rent to my mom. My room was going to remain empty so when we did come back to visit, we had a place to stay.
After quickly throwing on some khaki shorts, a t-shirt, and my flip flops, I grabbed the one suitcase that I was taking and headed out the door. I stopped and picked up doughnuts and coffee on my way to Scarlett’s apartment to help bribe her out of bed. I had no doubt that she was still snug and cozy under her covers. Letting myself in with my key, I wasn’t surprised at all to see Andi asleep on the couch. Ever since Mason had gone back to Austin, she had become a somewhat permanent fixture at Scarlett and Max’s apartment. She and Scarlett had become good friends and I wasn’t sure what was going on between her and Max. It was evident to everyone in the world that they were perfect for each other, but something kept holding them back. My guess was Max’s guilt over Evie, but anytime I tried bringing it up with him, he would quickly change the subject. Nonetheless, we had all taken her in to our circle because she was downright adorable and the sweetest thing.
Andi opened her eyes as I closed the door behind me. “Morning, Andi girl, I brought breakfast,” I greeted her.
She sat up with a big grin on her face. “Good morning, Ash. It smells delish, thank you. Are you all ready to go?”
I nodded as I walked her over a coffee. “You have no idea,” I said as I tousled her bed hair. “Not that I’m not gonna miss you guys… but you know what I mean.”
“Of course I do. I’d be excited too. Don’t worry about me and Max, we will just hold down the fort here on the Gulf Coast while all of our friends conquer the world.” She laughed softly as she took a long drink of her coffee.
“Alright, well I’d sure like it if you two held it down together,” I said lifting my eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes and shooed me away with her hand, but kept the smile on her face. “You just go wake up your pretty girlfriend. I’m doing just fine here in Andiland.”
Laughing as I walked away, I found Scarlett just as I had suspected, sound asleep in the middle of her bed. Sliding my feet out of my shoes, I slipped under the covers next to her, and pulled her tiny frame next to me. “Hey, sleepyhead, it’s time to get up,” I whispered in her ear. She groaned and rolled away from me. I grabbed her hips and pulled her back to me. “Scarlett MacGregor, you better get your pretty little ass up. We have a flight to catch to our new home.” Still refusing to open her eyes, she groaned and rolled away again. This time I climbed on top of her and was going to tickle her into waking up, but right before I did, her eyes flew open and she started cracking up laughing. Ugh! That little faker! Just for her little stunt I decided to tickle her anyways.
As she squirmed underneath me, trying to escape while laughing so hard that she couldn’t breathe, Max banged on the wall and yelled out, “Would you two please wait until you get to California to do that? I’m tired of listening to y’all having sex!” We both froze and looked at each other. Her mouth made an “o” shape as if she was shocked, and then we both started dying laughing again. Once we calmed down and caught our breath, we both went out to eat some breakfast.
Andi was still sitting on the couch, sipping her coffee and eating her doughnut, so we joined her and waited for grouchy Max to come out of his room. Sure enough, less than five minutes later, he came trudging down the hallway in his pajama pants and with his eyes half open.
“Hiya, Meaniehead Max,” Scarlett said, as he plopped on the couch between her and Andi.
He grumbled some sort of hello before Andi said, “Don’t you mean Masturbating Max?” Both she and Scarlett burst out in laughter immediately, and I tried really hard not to join them, but I couldn’t help it. That smart little mouth was one of the reasons we loved Andi so much.
Max just rolled his eyes and looked at her. “Get me some coffee, brat.”
“Get your own damn coffee, old man. You aren’t following the three F’s, so I don’t take orders from you,” she retorted smugly.
“Dare I ask what the three F’s are?” he asked hesitantly.
She gave him this over-the-top sweet smile and answered, “Feeding, Financing, and Fucking.”
He literally growled at her, taking her coffee out of her hands. “You sleep in my apartment more than anywhere else, so I do finance you in a way.” He then grabbed a doughnut from the coffee table and stuck it in her mouth. “There, I just fed you.” In one sweeping motion, he threw her over his shoulder and marched to his bedroom with her. I heard him say, “When we come out of this bedroom, I fully expect you to get me a coffee, brat.” Then the door clicked shut.
For the second time in less than an hour, Scarlett and I just looked at each other stunned. “Well, I’m kinda sad we aren’t sticking around to see how this plays out,” she finally murmured. I nodded as I finished off my coffee, “Yes, I have a feeling it’s gonna get a little interesting.”
I stood up to throw my cup away and she followed. “I just need to shower and get dressed and I’ll be ready to go. Give me like forty five minutes.” I kissed her forehead and swatted her ass as she retreated to the bathroom.
As promised, a little less than an hour later, Scarlett came out of her room, dressed in a long black sundress and sandals. I took one look at her and was reminded of why I was so ecstatic about this move. I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. “You look beautiful, butterfly. Are you ready to do this?”
She chewed her bottom lip nervously. “Yes, but I kinda wanted to tell them bye before we left,” she said nodding her head towards Max’s bedroom door.
“Max is taking us to the airport, silly. Remember, so that Andi can keep the car.”
“Oh, right… sorry. I’ve just been so crazy making sure everything is ready for us when we get there, I completely forgot about the car and stuff.”
“Just knock on the door and tell them we are about ready to leave.”
Just a couple of minutes after she knocked, they both came out of his room, grinning like giddy adolescents.
“You crazy Californians ready for this?” he asked, his mood obviously improved.
“Yep, I just need to throw Scarlett’s suitcase in the trunk, and we are good to go.”
“Well, let’s do this,” he said, patting my back as he walked by me.
I honestly didn’t think they had just had sex, Max had more respect for Andi than that, but I did think it was leading there soon. I did notice that Andi had grabbed the leftover cup of coffee, warmed it up in the microwave, and handed it to Max before we all walked out the door. It appeared it was a day for new beginnings for all of us.
SCARLETT
Thankfully Ash and I had shipped
most of our stuff to his sister before we left, so all we had to take on the plane was one suitcase each with a couple changes of clothes and our toiletries. Our flight was direct from Houston to Oakland and from there we took a taxi to our new apartment. Crys and Will were there waiting for us with our boxes when we finally arrived early afternoon. They had both really been a godsend in helping coordinate the entire move. Even though they lived like four or five hours away, they had driven up the coast one weekend to apartment hunt for us. Pictures online could be very deceiving and we were also not familiar with the neighborhoods, so they had taken notes and pictures and sent them with their overall gut feelings on the different places. Once we chose a place and paid the deposit and rent, they spent another weekend furniture shopping. I didn’t want to get to our new home and sleep in a sleeping bag our first night, so again they had made the trip to get our place furnished.
When the taxi dropped us off in the parking lot of the apartment complex, Ash and I kind of stood there a minute just looking at each other. The moment was almost surreal, after all of the months of planning, we were about to walk into our new home in California! Then a voice broke through our moment, “Ash! Scarlett! We are up here!” We pulled our gaze from each other and up to where his sister and brother-in-law stood waving on a second floor balcony.
“Let’s go home, butterfly,” he said as we both began walking in their direction.
I had seen many photos that Crys had sent of the surrounding area as well as the apartment itself, but it just seemed different seeing it through my own eyes… better. As soon as we walked through the door, we were both engulfed in hugs and kisses by Crys. She squealed about how excited she was and how she hoped everything was perfect. Will, with his usual laid back disposition, waited for us to get into the apartment before saying hello and how happy he was that we were going to be closer.
Finally, I had a chance to look around at the place. I was instantly in love. Crys had done an amazing job of decorating and getting everything set up. The living room was very contemporary, a lot of straight edges and a ton of color, and I dug the vibrancy of it. The kitchen was an extension of the living room. Many of the smaller appliances were candy apple red and she had decorated with a splash of animal prints; again, I was very pleased.
