Exception (29 page)

“What are we doing tonight?” he asked, finally feeling a little better.

“J finally annoyed Zack enough for him to agree to introduce her to Mr. Darcy, so the plan is to go out for dinner,” Emily said.

After having the worst possible day and driving for two hours just to see Emily, the lack of invitation in her last sentence combined with the prospect of spending the rest of the night alone in his sister’s apartment made Taylor’s already sour mood take a deeper nosedive. Afraid he might say something he would later regret, he simply breathed heavily and allowed silence to stretch between them.

Misunderstanding his reaction, Emily sighed and spoke with a heavy heart. “Hey, but you had a pretty hard day. If you want to skip it and rest, we’ll understand.”

Her words were instant relief, improving his bad mood instantly, but also making him feel like an insecure idiot. “I can rest when I’m dead, Ems,” he stated a bit too eagerly, making her giggle. “After the day I had and a two hour drive, all I want to do tonight is be with you. I don’t even care what we do. As long as you’re by my side, I’ll be happy.”

Once again she was amazed at his ability to not only say the most heartwarming things, but to also say everything she was feeling. An overwhelming desire to hug him came over her, and she started counting down the minutes until she saw him again.

“Good, then we’re having dinner with the twins and their men.” Her tone was as joyful as her smile.

“Okay, at Old Joe’s like last week?”

“Nope, every last Friday is an off-day for J and Brad, so we usually do something different. Tonight we’re hitting a pizza place. Since the boys next door will probably be drinking, I told them they could ride with us—is that alright?”

“Of course. I’ll just have to stop at Poppy’s for a quick shower, and then I’ll head straight to your place,” Taylor told her as he floored the gas, eager to arrive at his destination.

In the two hours that followed, Emily filled her apartment with music and took a long and relaxing bath, followed by a nice shower to wash her hair. She danced and sang along with Adele as she went through her beauty ritual: blow-drying her hair, plucking her brows, moisturizing her skin and applying her make-up. A short, white lace dress, turquoise ballet flats and a few long silver necklaces with matching bangles completed her effortless boho-chic look.

She was applying the finishing touches to her make-up when she heard the front door lock rattle. “Fruitcake!” she yelled, kicking off her shoes and running towards the living room.

Due to a twenty-four hour shift and a necessary eight hour nap that afternoon, Zack and Emily hadn’t seen each other since Monday morning. Going from seeing each other twice a day, every day, to almost a week of having short phone calls as their only contact made them miss each other like crazy.

They met at the end of the hallway and, in one swift movement, Zack held Emily by the waist and swirled her around in the air, making her squeak and giggle like a schoolgirl. “Jeez, I missed you Cheesecake.”

“I did too, Z,” Emily admitted when he finally landed her back on her feet. The two friends gave each other their usual quick peck on the lips and, with Zack’s arm around Emily’s neck, they walked back to her bedroom. “I’ve got so much to tell you.”

“Then you better get on with it, because Toby will be here in about fifteen minutes.”

The two friends settled on Emily’s bed and she jumped right into it. Just like she did with Jody the night before during their dinner at Old Joe’s, Emily left no detail of her time in NYC out of the story.

She gave a detailed description of Taylor’s apartment and its incredible view, which left Zack as impressed as she’d been. Continuing, she mentioned eating Chang’s noodles on the carpet and running with him. By the time Emily told him about riding the motorcycle and the “follow the urges” conversation, Zack was swooning just like Jody had. Her story ended with the party and their eventful return home.

The information about Emily’s last night in the apartment definitely piqued Zack’s attention. “And was the
sleep
any good?”

Emily rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and emphasis on the word sleep. “Yes, I slept like a baby, Z. And stop being a smartass, you know me better than that.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame, Cheesecake. The man is hot as hell and I would bet some serious cash that he’s got some moves in the sack.”

“You and Jody are sick. Do you two ever think about anything other than sex?” Emily asked with mock disgust as she got up from the bed and walked towards her dresser to switch purses.

“Yes, but we avoid those thoughts like Satan avoids crosses and fire extinguishers,” Zack said in between laughs, making his friend giggle along with him. “Changing subjects, how did he react to the heads up?”

Zack watched Emily’s lips turn up in an adorable, shy smile. The sight removed a weight from his shoulders.

Leaning against the large white dresser, she looked into those big green eyes of his and shook her head before speaking. “He was worried, and asked what kinds of contact I could handle. I told him, and he stuck to the rules the entire night. He was kind of perfect, actually.”

“And he didn’t pry or ask questions?” Zack asked, wide-eyed.

“No, he was extremely respectful about it. But he said that, one day, he would like to know about it.”

Knowing her friend as well as she did, Emily could read the question in his eyes like a book, but she waited for it anyways.

“And will you tell him? The whole thing, I mean?”

“Yes, I will. He’s different, Z. I don’t even know how to explain, but he is. He makes me feel safe and calm and happy. With him I’m—” She hesitated for a moment and shook her head. The softness in Zack’s eyes gave her the strength to continue. “I feel like I’m—me again. The person I was before all the shit. I have some of that with you and J, but it’s different.”

That difficulty in expressing her feelings was something deeply connected to her tragic past. To voice just that little bit of insight was a huge step for her. However, it was also so personal that only someone who understood her as well as Zack could fully appreciate it.

Some people would have gotten sad or jealous, to have your best friend admit they had a deeper connection with someone else who they also considered just a friend, but Zack didn’t. He was deeply and genuinely happy.

“I get it. With Jody and me, we’re
we
, the one person as Brad says. But with Taylor, you’re just
you
.”

Emily nodded her agreement. With the biggest smile he could manage, Zack patted the bed next to him, calling his friend to sit beside him. He watched as Emily took the few steps from her dresser to the bed and sat as instructed. He picked up the hand laid on her lap and held it between his.

“You just made me love that boy, Cheesecake.” His words were filled with the kindness and heart that described Zack. “And I look forward to spending as much time with the two of you as I can, because you are amazing as a part of
we
, but you as
you
, hell—that must be something else.”

He lifted their entwined hands to his lips and planted a soft, loving kiss on the back of hers. Emily’s eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed by her friend’s feelings for her, but she couldn’t make her lips form the words.

A knock on the door interrupted their moment.

Zack knew Emily wanted to speak but, for him, there was no need for it. He could see in her eyes every word she was struggling with. “That must be your Mr. Darcy,” she said, making him chuckle as he got up from the bed.

“Are you ever going to stop with the
Pride and Prejudice
thing?” he asked, reaching the bedroom door.

“Probably not,” she admitted cheerfully, but the line on her forehead announced that she was still deep in thought. “And, Lizzy.” Zach stopped at the threshold to look at her. She laughed at yet another silly nickname she’d given him. “You know, right?”

He knew exactly what she was referring to, and it made his eyes water. For reasons he didn’t know, saying the three little words was another of Emily’s blocks. With perhaps the exception of Charlie, Zack had never heard her say them to or about anyone. But he’d always known she loved him and now, in her own way, she was admitting it.

With a heart filled with joy he walked towards her and kissed her hair. “I know, and I do too, baby sister.”

Emily smiled at him. “Just so you know, Jane is the oldest.”

Another round of knocks sounded at the door, making Zack run towards the front door, laughing and towing Emily by the hand. “I do know that, but my Cheesecake is the youngest.”

The two friends were still laughing when Emily pulled the door open. To their great surprise, instead of seeing the tall, handsome blond that was Mr. Darcy, they were greeted by an equally tall and perhaps even more handsome brunet.

“It’s Mr. Bingley,” Zack announced, bowing his thin body, a small act of courtesy that resulted in a fit of giggles from his friend.

Joining Zack’s little game, Emily held the hem of her skirt, offering Taylor a courtesy, before speaking. “Good evening, Mr. Bingley. Please come into our humble home and make yourself comfortable.”

Emily had mentioned playing
Pride and Prejudice
with Zack’s boyfriend a few times. Taylor also knew that, to them, she was Jane, and even though he’d never read the book, he’d watched the movie and knew who the characters were. Because of that, being called Mr. Bingley put a large grin on his perfect lips.

“Thank you, ladies,” he played along, emphasizing his British accent and greeting them with a polite bow of his torso. “Elizabeth, it’s very good to see you and I look forward to meeting Mr. Darcy tonight. And you, my dear Jane, look lovelier than ever.”

A new wave of laughter and giggles came from the two friends. It was incredible what a perfect fit Taylor was to their little group. Even in the way he went along with the small silly things he was an exact match, not taking himself too seriously or being afraid and embarrassed by their silly behavior.

As the door closed behind them, Emily got on her tippy-toes and wrapped her arms around Taylor’s neck. With a smile that spread from ear to ear, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her feet from the floor, holding her flush against his chest. She squealed and giggled in his arms before resting her head on his shoulder.

Zack watched their exchange with curious eyes. That behavior was unlike Emily, which was probably the reason it was so hypnotic. He knew that, in that moment, he was witnessing, Emily being Emily in the way they had talked about just minutes before. And it was even more special than he’d thought it would be.

He watched them in silence until Emily’s feet touched the floor again. There was no doubt that, in their minds, they were alone, locked in their little bubble of whispers and tentative touches. The grin and glow marking their faces made Zack feel inappropriate by being there, which he quickly fixed by excusing himself to her bedroom to call Tobias and see where his boyfriend was.

Alone in the living room, they moved to Emily’s favorite seat, the little nook on the bay window. With their backs against opposing windows they stretched their legs on the bench, hers covering his as they faced each other and started talking. Emily told him about her lunch with Penelope and how much fun she’d had, and he told her about his work and the drive to New Haven. The few minutes they talked alone passed almost in slow motion, but still they were too short, and soon Zack came back to open the door for his boyfriend.

After the proper introductions were made, the four of them left Emily’s apartment and walked to Taylor’s car. It didn’t take long for Toby and Taylor to find things in common to talk about and, in the exact same way it had happened with the rest of the group, the two men were almost instant friends.

They arrived at the pizza place minutes later and joined Jody and Brad, who were already waiting at a table by the window. After greeting her friends and sitting down between the other woman and Taylor, Emily noticed that, even though Jody looked as beautiful as ever, there was something different about her. With the exception of being in a dress and high heels instead of her usual jeans and flats, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what that difference was.

Zack was visibly nervous as he introduced his boyfriend to his oldest friend, but to everyone’s surprise, Jody was weirdly coy and proper. As their dinner went on, they talked about various things, ranging from how the two couples met to Emily and Taylor’s week in NYC. They laughed and joked around, but never once did Jody’s candid and unfiltered side show.

To the two new additions to group, Jody’s change was imperceptible. For her two best friends, however, it was nearly unbearable. It was true that they often gave her grief over the “Jody Bombs”, but that was one of the things they loved the most about her. In a silent agreement, the two friends began to tease and provoke her in order to extract the real Jody out. They would say or do things that were practically invitations for her inappropriate side to come out and play, but still, she hung on, and behaved like a lady.

Being the only person aware of the battle of wills going on at the table, Brad had to cover his lips a few times in order to hide his smirk. Despite his awareness of his fiancée’s good intentions and how proud he felt that she was achieving her goal, the whole situation was still incredibly funny.