Love Realized (17 page)

Gillian almost spit out her coffee. Even after almost two decades as friends, Allie could still surprise her with her brashness. “No, I haven’t ‘let that go.’ Jeez, I didn’t wax just for my husband, although he reaped the benefits of it. Besides, I won’t be showing Mike the ‘hardwood floors’ tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Come on, Allie, my marriage
just
ended, and I don’t think jumping on the first guy to show an interest in me is the smartest thing to do. Besides, I’ve only ever been with Logan—you know that. I'm going to need a bit more confidence before I take that step.”

“But he’s
oh so dreamy
,” Allie said while mimicking a lovesick teenager, clutching her hands to her chest and heaving an exaggerated sigh. “I bet he kisses great, too, with those perfect lips of his.”

His lips? Dreamy?
Facebook stalking must have paid off. Smiling, Gillian said, “I take it you must have found him on Facebook?”

“Of course I did. Did you doubt my ninja stalking abilities? It was a piece of cake. Do you want the 4-1-1 on him?”

Did she?
Isn’t that what the first date was for—getting to know a new person? Gillian decided she wanted to go into this without the benefit of the electronic revolution. She knew that the guy must appear to be a stand-up citizen if Allie was allowing him to date her. “No, I don’t want to know. I assume you approve, so I will just find out what I want to know by talking to him. Besides, he was really easy to talk with.” She finished her remark with a smile on her face.

“Okay, well time is wasting, and we have a full day planned. Where are the kids … all their beds are empty?”

“Dylan is with Ryan at Jake’s parents’ and both Madison and Jonathan stayed at their friends’ houses. They will all be with Logan tonight.”

“Great. No need to find someone to watch them. Get up and get in the shower. I want to stop and get some bagels on the way.” With that, Allie promptly got up and bounced out of the room. Knowing it was best to do as she was told because there was no stopping Allie when she had a plan, Gillian climbed out of bed and started the process of getting ready. All the while the anticipation for an evening of firsts for her grew rapidly.

After her shower, Gillian came out to find Allie once again perched on the bed, tapping away at the keys on her phone with what could only be described as an evil grin.

“I know that look … what are you up to over there?” Gillian asked.

“Not a darn thing. Quit worrying about me and get dressed. Just throw your hair up in a messy bun or something, cause I will be working on it later. No sense in over treating it today.” She looked in the mirror and debated whether or not to listen to her friend. “Just put it up Gillian, not many people can rock the messy bun like you do.”

Allie said all of this while still tapping away at her phone, but she knew Gillian well enough to know exactly what she was thinking. Well, Allie knew what was best when it came to hair, so she piled it all up on top of her head and did what she was told. She went into her closet, pulled on her jeans, and had just pulled a tank over her head when Allie appeared and started perusing the clothes.

“Any idea what you’re wearing tonight?” Allie asked. Considering her friend already planned her day out, she knew what she was asking. So Gillian wasn’t going to fight it.

“No not yet, but that’s because we haven’t gone shopping for you to tell me what I will be wearing.”

Allie turned to her and smiled a big smile before leaning in to hug her. “I love it when you see things my way, Gillian! Let’s get going.” She grabbed her hand and dragged her from the closet. Yep, this was gonna be a busy day, because when Allie was excited like this, it was full steam ahead.

Allie tossed Gillian the keys to her SUV and said, “You drive, I’ve already driven close to two hours today, and I have some catching up to do on my phone.”

“Just remember that when you’re tired of making that drive, you can come back home to all of us.”

Allie looked up with a sad expression and nodded. “I know that, Gilly, I know.” Then she turned and made her way out the front door. Feeling that she said all that she should about the subject of Allie moving back down to San Diego, she followed her best friend out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jake was just finishing his workout when his phone vibrated. The notification that he’d received a text filled him with anticipation, hoping it was Gillian. Even though it was only nine in the morning, and he knew it was her day off and would probably be sleeping in … he hoped she was awake. He had decided to try and spend some time with her today, maybe put his plan in motion. But trying to wait ‘til his
self-imposed timeline of ten o’clock before calling her didn’t mean he wasn’t hopeful that she called first. The day was all planned out, and he was excited about it. He knew that her kids would be with Logan tonight and that Ryan was going to be with Dylan, so they were both without children for the next twenty-four hours.

He looked at his phone and saw that it was Allie who texted him. Although he loved talking to her, she was not the
her
he wanted to talk to.

Allie: Hey you! I’m in town…meet at Gillian’s house at 6:30 for dinner.

Jake: You here already?

Allie: Yep! Can’t you feel my awesomeness from there??

Jake: LOL, you with Gilly?

Allie: Of course, on way to get girly stuff done…want to come?

Jake: Will you make me get something waxed?

Allie: Hell yeah! Price of admission to hang with us…you game?

Jake: I’ll pass…have great day…see you at 6:30.

Allie: Later Little Bitch =)

Gotta love Allie.
Well at the moment, he really didn’t. He had plans for Gillian today, and Allie had to come into town and screw them up. “Dammit!” he grumbled as he threw his water bottle across the garage before storming back inside the house. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? Spend the entire day sitting on his ass stewing over this? The night was already long enough; he didn’t know how he was going to do it all day, too. Standing there in the middle of his living room, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.

Working out was his usual vice when angry or frustrated, but since he already worked out, that was out. He could always go for a run … or have sex. Sex would take care of it for sure, which of course brings us back to the original problem. Wanting to be with Gillian.
And hello erection … this is ridiculous!
Just a quick thought of Gillian had his dick up and ready to play. Jake was set in his path; he didn’t want any other woman, and he wasn’t that kind of guy to begin with. He wanted Gillian. No … he needed Gillian. It was becoming more and more painful as the days went on. But he knew what he was going to do now—he just needed a little more patience.

“Well since sex is clearly off the table, running it is.” Grabbing another water bottle from the fridge, Jake pulled his shirt off over his head, plugged his ear buds in, and out the door he went. Pounding the pavement a little harder than he needed to, since he had just worked out his legs, was probably going to make his legs feel like Jell-O when he was done. But he needed it. He needed to feel the physical exhaustion to help distract him from the ache he felt when he thought of Gillian. When he thought of taking that terrifying step and making her see that they could be together, the ache intensified. He knew it was a risk, but like Eddie said, it was time to take a chance or put out that torch.

Quickly modifying the plans he had spent last night coming up with in his attempt to making his intentions with Gillian known, he pushed through five miles and made it home before ten o’clock. Now he just had to find something to occupy his time for the rest of the day so he didn’t go crazy. After a quick call to his son to say good morning, he decided to head over to his brother’s to see what he was up to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Gillian spent the morning being waxed, buffed, and polished at the spa, she and Allie had lunch at the mall before hitting the stores to buy what Allie insisted was the perfect outfit. This was followed up with a root job, insisted upon by a more than determined Allie. Since Gillian loved the personal treatment she got from having a best friend who happened to be a beautician, she gave in.

Now, here she stood, in front of her mirror, staring at herself, trying to come to terms with the fact that she was about to go on a date with a man—a man that was not her husband—that she really didn’t know. It was slightly surreal and a bit overwhelming to realize where she was in her life. A separated, soon-to-be divorced, thirty-something year old going out on her first
first
date in roughly eighteen years.

The chain of her necklace felt tight as she fought the panic that started to rise in her system as her mind started to play the reel of
what-ifs
through her head.
What if he doesn’t like me? What if he only wants to get in my pants? What if I don’t like him? What if, what if, what if.
She closed her eyes and tried to take in a deep, calming breath. This was just the next step in moving forward. She knew this was the natural evolution of her personal life. She wasn’t someone who needed to be with someone, but it was very nice to have someone.
Calming breath my ass … I need a drink!

Just as she was about to turn and head out of her room to find one, Allie walked in. “Knock it off, Gillian. There is no reason why you shouldn’t relax and have a good night out. You look fabulous … thanks to me.” The modest person that Allie was took a bow as she accepted her own compliment before continuing, “So stop doing that internal freak-out thing you do. I can see it in your eyes. Why are you panicking?”

Trying to force her voice out past her tight throat, Gillian managed to squeak out, “I don’t think I can do this, Allie.”

“Of course you can, so stop worrying about it. You said that you were able to flirt with this guy, so there has to be chemistry there.” Gillian smiled a little as she recalled how she did enjoy flirting with Mike last night.

“I stalked him on Facebook and he appears to be an upstanding citizen.” Allie paused and came up to Gillian, turned her to face the mirror and wrapped her arms around her from behind. Then she made eye contact with her in the mirror. “But most importantly, it’s time to move on and be happy. You deserve to have someone who will treat you the way you should’ve been treated all along.” As Gillian began to speak up and repeat the same defense for Logan she had already done with Allie countless times, she was cut off.

“Yeah, yeah I know, it was the only mistake he made in your marriage. He was always good to you other than that … blah, blah, blah. You may have forgiven him Gillian, but that doesn’t mean I have. He’s my big brother, and I hold him to a higher standard than others. He wronged my best friend in a way that he never should have. So you can keep your defense for Logan stashed away for someone else.”

When she was sure that Allie had finished her little tirade, Gillian smiled at her. “You know you’re more than my best friend. You’re my sister … I love that you always have my back and would kick anyone’s ass for me if I asked.” She turned around and hugged her friend. “And I love that you knew just what I needed at that moment. Thanks Al, I am glad you came down for me today. I probably would’ve just cancelled it.”

“And
that
is the exact reason I kept you busy all day. Here, stand back; I want a picture of you and all your hotness. You’re totally a MILF.”

Gillian laughed out loud at that comment. “Yeah right,” she said while watching Allie once again tap out a message on her phone to someone.

“What, you don’t believe me? I’d totally do you.” That comment brought more of Gillian’s laughter out, making her realize that Allie had worked her magic. She was more relaxed and was feeling like she could do this … and then the doorbell rang.

Allie smiled big, and in a slightly mischievous manner, before smacking Gillian on the ass. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?” She tugged Gillian toward the front door where her “moving on” was waiting for her.

After finding every possible thing to do to kill time today, it was finally time for Jake to make his way over to Gillian’s. Even though he knew Allie was there, too, and they wouldn’t be alone, he just had this innate pull to be closer to her right now. It was almost like something was telling him to get over to her.
Very weird
. He was freshly showered and got dressed as quickly as he could. As he pulled a shirt over his head, he heard his phone chime in the bathroom where he had left it. Heading that way to finish doing his hair and other grooming, he saw he had a text from Allie.

Once again, he was slightly bummed it wasn’t Gillian; he pressed the button to access the message. When he spoke to Gillian earlier today, she had said that they had ‘done all the wonderfully female things that women liked to torture themselves with.’ Jake could only imagine what that meant. Some could be good and some could be
very
good … but he wasn’t gonna go there right now. Trying to maintain control of the southbound blood flow, he refocused on the message from Allie, instead of what Gillian could have had done at the spa today. A picture popped up on his screen and he felt his heart pick up its pace. On his phone was a picture of Gillian, completely done up to go out for the night. She was beautiful in a simple dress, which left her shoulders exposed, showed off her cleavage, and stopped a few inches above her knees. Her long brown hair flowed in waves over one of her shoulders, and she had a flower or clip just above her ear on the opposite side.