Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (22 page)

“
Hello?
 
It
’
s
us.
 
You know the drill.
 
Martini, please.
”

Jennifer looked up at the server and said,
“
Belvedere
martinis.
 
Two with a twist.
”
 
She winked at me.
 
“
And if you could, please make them as
smooth as silk and as cold as January.
”

“
Of course, Ms. Kent.
”

When the woman left, I said,
“
She doesn
’
t
even know what that means.
”

“
But we do.
”

“
I
’
m so glad that you were free.
”

“
As if I wouldn
’
t drop everything and make myself
free after what happened to you last night.
 
Is everything all right?
”

I told her what was waiting for me when Tank and I returned
to the apartment
—
the black rose and another note.

“
I
’
m so sorry.
 
You
must be terrified.
 
Is there
anything Alex and I can do?
 
What
’
s
going on?
”

I told her about how Tank was proceeding with the
situation, and how he
’
d met with Floral on Fifth that morning.
 
Then I got down to the more pressing,
recent situation at hand.
 
“
This
morning, he asked me to move in with him,
”
I said.

Her eyes widened at that.
 
“
He what?
”

“
That was pretty much how I felt.
”

“
It seems so fast.
”

“
Unofficially, we
’
ve been dating for months.
 
Officially, just over a month.
 
Which counts more?
”

“
As far as I
’
m concerned?
 
What counts is how you feel about
him.
 
Period.
 
That should drive your decision.
”

“
I told him that I needed to speak with you first.
 
I
’
ve committed to nothing.
”

“
I know you
’
re in love with him.
”

“
I am
—
insanely so.
”

“
I know how that feels.
 
But let me phrase it differently.
 
Is he the one?
”

“
Who knows?
 
I
think so, but who can be sure?
”

“
None of us can ever be sure.
 
But we can regret things later in life,
even if they don't turn out as well as we
’
d hoped.
 
Nothing is certain but the present and
how strongly you feel about the future.
 
At least, that
’
s how I feel about Alex.
”

“
When did you turn into Yoda?
”

She laughed at that.
 
“
Oh my God, I
’
ve missed you.
”

“
Don
’
t even start.
 
You
’
re the one who went to Singapore, not
me.
”

“
I kind of had no choice.
”

“
I
’
m just joking.
”

Our martinis arrived faster than I expected.
 
Jennifer and I touched glasses before we
sipped.
 
“
Well,
”
she said, lifting her
glass to mine so they touched.
 
“
To
the possibility of new beginnings.
”

“
And that
’
s the other thing we need to talk
about,
”
I
said.

“
You
’
re worried about moving out?
 
Is that it?
”

“
Of course I am.
 
I know that apartment belongs to you, but we moved into it
together.
 
I also know that you
’
re
not considering moving in with Alex until you get married in July.
”

“
Some things change.
”

“
What does that mean?
”

“
It means that I might be considering a move of my own,
especially after living with Alex on the island and being together in
Singapore, which was magical.
 
Alex
and I are so close now that I don
’
t want to be without him.
 
I thought that I
’
d
wait until we were married, but now I
’
m thinking that I could be
swayed.
 
Especially now, with your
news.
 
If you want to move in with
Tank, I say that you should do it because I know you wouldn
’
t
take that decision lightly.
 
If you
move in, you
’
ll be doing it for all the right reasons.
 
Should I move in with Alex before we
’
re
married, it
’
ll be my choice.
 
I
’
m free to change my mind.
 
And I
’
ll also be doing it
for the right reasons.
”

“
So, you
’
ve thought about this?
”

“
Are you kidding?
 
Alex has been nothing if not persistent in asking me to consider
it.
 
And even though I told him it
wouldn
’
t happen until we were married, I have to say that
—
while
I initially ruled it out
—
I might be reconsidering.
 
I can see myself living with him.
 
At this point, I actually would kind of
love living with him.
 
And after the
discussion we
’
re having?
 
I
might seriously consider it because I can see that this is something you might
want for yourself with Tank.
”

“
But how do we know if it
’
s the right thing to
do?
”

“
We don
’
t.
 
I guess we just go with our gut and hope
for the best.
 
What does your gut
tell you?
”

“
I
’
m not sure
—
he just asked me this morning.
 
It
’
s still all so new.
 
What about you?
 
Would you do it?
”

“
Would
I
do it?
 
Or are you asking me if
you
should do it?
”

“
I
’
m asking what
you
would do.
”

She sipped her martini.
 
“
Fair enough.
 
I think I
’
m ready.
”

“
Holy shit.
”

“
I know.
”

“
I suppose one of these days we
’
re
not going to be joined at the hip.
 
It
’
s already happening.
 
We
’
re spending less and less time together
—
and
I think that
’
s probably natural at this point in our lives.
 
But I
’
ll tell you the truth,
Jennifer
—
it makes me sad to think that we won
’
t
be together as we have been since we moved to New York.
”

“
You
’
re not alone.
”

“
A part of me doesn
’
t want to move on.
”

“
But a part of you does.
”

I looked at her, but didn
’
t answer.

“
Can I just lay it out on the table for you?
”
she asked.
 
“
At least from my point of view?
”

“
Of course.
”

“
I
’
ve probably been thinking about the inevitability of our
separation longer than you have because I
’
ve been with Alex longer than you
’
ve
been with Tank.
 
And I
’
m
engaged to him, which only fuels
—
oh, I don
’
t
know
—
everything!
 
I
’
ll be married soon.
 
That means that before long, I
’
ll
be moving out of our apartment, and out of your immediate life.
”

“
I understand that
—
I just wasn
’
t
expecting that option to be upon us so soon.
”

“
Nobody can predict when change will come.
 
And moving on doesn't mean that you
don't care about someone else anymore.
 
It just means that you
’
re realizing that the only person you
really have control over is yourself, and that the course of your life is in
your own hands.
 
Right?
 
Do you disagree?
 
Moving on to that next step in our lives
means that there
’
s a point when we must turn the page, and I think that
point might be upon us now.
 
It
could be time for us to embrace the magnificent past we
’
ve
enjoyed together and step into the next stage of our lives
—
but
not by forgetting all that we
’
ve had together.
 
Instead, we should celebrate what we
’
ve
had as best friends.
 
Lisa, if each
of us should decide that we want to live with our boyfriends, then we should
say cheers to that because both of us will be happy
—
and
one day, if we miss this chance, we might not be.
 
You know what my Uncle Vaughn used to
say to us when we went lobstering with him
—
we don
’
t just go through
life, we
grow
through life.
 
And he was right.
 
I
’
ve
held those words close to my heart since I first understood what they meant,
which unfortunately wasn
’
t until after he died.
 
But at least he passed it down to me
—
and
also to you.
”

“
You sound as if you have all of this figured out.
”

“
I
’
ve just had more time to process it.
 
You
’
ve barely had a few hours.
 
Obviously, I knew this day would come
—
so
did you.
 
And yes, as I
’
ve
said, I
’
ve given it some thought.
 
At some point, I knew we
’
d
have this conversation.
 
We
’
d
have to face that it was time for each of us to move on.
 
But I hope you heard me a moment
ago.
 
Our lives will only be
different in that we won
’
t be waking up with each other every
morning.
 
Otherwise, what
changes?
 
I go to work.
 
You go to work.
 
We meet up a few times each week for
shopping, lunch, dinner.
 
It is a
change, but is it that big of a change if we continue to work on our
relationship?
 
I
’
m
not sure that it is.
 
I see you in
my life forever.
 
So, here we
are.
 
What do you plan to do?
”