Coming Home

  “Well, no. We had lunch.”

  Holly’s hand came down on the table, causing the plates and glasses to rattle. “Are you kidding me that you’re just telling us this now?”

  “You went on a date?” Robyn asked.

  “No, no,” Leah said quickly, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all. “We just decided to get something to eat. Spur of the moment. It was more out of convenience than anything else.”

  “And?”

  “And, we talked, and ate, and it was nice.”

  “So how did you leave it?” Robyn asked, and Leah pulled her brow together.

  “Well, I left, and that was it.”

  “Did you exchange numbers?” Holly asked.

  “He already had mine from the note I left when I lost the bracelet, and I have his from when he called to tell me he found it, so…” She trailed off with a shrug.

  “Did he ask to see you again?”

  Leah shook her head, reaching for her drink.

  The girls looked at each other quickly. “That’s okay,” Robyn said. “I mean, date or not, it was the first time you hung out with a guy alone in almost two years. And you admitted you thought he was attractive. Another huge step. I’m proud of you, girlie.”

  Leah smiled softly as she picked up her drink. “So,” she said deliberately, “are you getting excited about this weekend?”

  Holly laughed menacingly, and Robyn shot her a look. “I already told you guys, nothing too crazy.”

  “Robyn, you’re having your bachelorette party on New Year’s Eve. How do you think it’s not going to get crazy?”

  “It can get crazy, but can we just go easy with the penis paraphernalia?”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Holly said, holding up her hand. “You’re not being serious, are you? If so, I have a lot of schlongs to return before Saturday.”

  Leah choked on the sip she’d just taken, bringing her napkin to her mouth, and Robyn tried not to laugh as she said, “Can we at least come to an agreement that I don’t have to wear any of them?”

  “No promises,” Holly said, smiling innocently up at the waiter who had come to take their order.

  They spent the rest of the meal discussing last-minute details for Robyn’s party. The topic of Danny didn’t come up again, and Leah was grateful. She understood why the girls were so excited; she had been turning down every guy who showed interest, every offer to be set up, for the past two years, refusing to even entertain the idea of getting involved with anyone. And despite what Holly had said, it wasn’t because she thought all guys were like Scott. She knew that wasn’t true. It was just that she didn’t have the motivation to try and figure out which ones weren’t. And even if she did, it wasn’t like she could trust her own judgment anymore. Not when she spent the better part of three years thinking Scott was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  She found it somewhat ironic that overcoming her trust issues was a hundred times harder since the person she couldn’t trust was herself.

  Besides, they were making the Danny thing out to be a much bigger deal than it was. It wasn’t some romantic rendezvous—it was lunch. Plus, he hadn’t even asked to see her again, so rehashing it just seemed kind of pointless.

  By the time Leah got home, she was so tired and distracted, she almost missed the sound of her phone ringing. As she opened her front door, she pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the screen, tossing the bag down on a chair.

  Butterflies flooded her stomach.

  Incoming call from Danny.

  She had programmed him into her phone—like he’d told her to—just in case she ever had any car trouble and needed help.

  At least, that’s what she told herself.

  Leah closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, exhaling slowly before she hit the button to take the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s Danny.”

  Her smile faltered at the brusqueness of his voice.

  “What’s up?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

  “Gram just called me. She didn’t have your number. Why did you send her daffodils?”

  His tone made her stop in her tracks. It was almost…accusatory. It didn’t make any sense.

  “Um,” Leah answered, running her hand through her hair, “I just…I mean, I really appreciated what she did for me that day, so I wanted to do something nice for her.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said. “Why daffodils?”

  Leah closed her eyes as she rubbed circles over her temple with her fingertips. She couldn’t understand what was happening. Was he angry with her? For sending his grandmother flowers?

  “I don’t know. I saw that she had a bunch of them around her house. I assumed she liked them.” Her stomach dropped as she added, “Did I upset her or something?”

  Danny exhaled heavily into the phone, and it was several seconds before he spoke again. “No,” he said softly. “You didn’t upset her. She wanted me to thank you.”

  “Okay…” Leah said, trailing off.

  “Look, I’m at work, though. I gotta go.”

  She shook her head slightly. “Okay.”

  “Alright. Bye.”

  “Bye,” she managed.

  “Wait, Leah?” he said abruptly.

  “Yeah?”

  “I didn’t…I…” He exhaled again before he said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Okay,” she murmured, wishing she could come up with something else to say besides that stupid word.

  “Bye,” he said and ended the call.

  Leah pulled the phone from her ear and tossed it on the table before she walked through her living room, collapsing on the couch with a huff as she dropped her head back and blinked up at the ceiling.

  What the hell just happened?

  “Excuse me,” Robyn said, tapping the overweight bearded man on his shoulder. He turned, clearly amused as he looked her up and down. She was wearing a white tank top with the phrase “I’m the Bachelorette” scrawled in pink lettering across the front. On the back was the phrase “Grab my ass before it’s too late!” She wore a veil pinned into her blond curls, and much to her dismay, she was wearing a large penis necklace, a red strobe light flashing in its head.

  Leah made a mental note to forbid Holly from planning any party of hers for the rest of their lives.

  “Clearly, I’m getting married soon,” Robyn said to the man, gesturing at herself with her half-empty drink. “And I’m a virgin bride. So I was just wondering if you could give me some pointers, or maybe tell me what to expect?”

  Leah bit her lip and looked down; as her shoulders began to shake with the force of her stifled laughter, she turned and walked back toward the table where the rest of the raucous bridal party sat.

  “Guys, this is so mean. Let’s cut her a break.”

  “No way,” Robyn’s sister said. “She did this to me at my bachelorette party. Payback’s a bitch.” She held up the list she was holding, scanning it intently. It was a bachelorette scavenger hunt of sorts. Robyn had to complete a bunch of tasks before the end of the night, one more humiliating than the next. Her sister took the pen out of her back pocket and removed the cap with her teeth, checking off the box next to number seven: “Pretend you’re a virgin and ask a random guy for advice re: the wedding night.”

  Leah sat down next to Holly, who held up her drink. She smiled, leaning over to clink her Cosmo against it before she drained the rest of it. On top of the shots they had taken earlier, she was slowly but surely making the transition from buzzed to drunk.

  Robyn approached the table, her quintessential inebriated smile in place.

  “Okay, so Herb,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder, “said not to be shy, and that I shouldn’t worry if it hurts because it will get better. Oh, and he also said I shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with the balls.”

  The entire table cracked up as Robyn shrugged, drinking the rest of her appletini before she sat down on Leah’s lap and rested her
head against Leah’s.

  “Uh oh! The bachelorette needs a drink! I’m on it,” said Robyn’s old college roommate, and she jumped up and made her way over to the bar.

  “Hey,” Holly said, leaning over to them. “Do you realize that in twenty minutes, it will be the year you’re getting married?”

  “Peace out, single life!” Robyn shouted, holding two fingers up and waving them in the face of a man who walked past them.

  “Peace out to the idea of her not puking tonight,” Holly said to Leah, and they both laughed.

  “Alright, girlies,” Robyn’s cousin sing-songed as she approached the table, “I brought us some goodies!”

  Leah looked up to see four young guys standing behind her.

  “Excellent!” Robyn’s sister said. “We can check off number twelve on the list.”

  Robyn sighed. “What do I have to do?”

  “You have to take a young man over your knee and spank him.”

  “I’ll do it,” two of the guys said in unison, and Holly burst out laughing.

  Robyn got off Leah’s lap and sat on a chair, crooking her finger at one of the guys. “Alright, let’s go, naughty boy,” she said, and he swiftly laid himself across her lap, beaming like he’d won the lottery.

  She spanked him as the girls counted them off, and in the midst of the shenanigans, Leah glanced up to see one of the other guys smiling at her.

  “Bobby,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “Leah,” she answered as she reached for it.

  “Well, Leah, I know this is going to sound like a line, but you’re the most beautiful girl in here tonight.”

  She smirked. “That does sound like a line.”

  “Well, that’s unfortunate, because it’s true.”

  “Thanks,” she said softly.

  “So, can I get you another drink?”

  “Oh. That’s okay. I’m good for right now. Thanks.”

  “Alright. Maybe later,” he said with a wink before turning back to his friends.

  Leah sat back in her seat to see Holly watching her, her brow lifted.

  “No good?” she asked, and Leah shrugged.

  “That’s okay,” Holly said. “I’m still so proud of you for your not-a-date the other day.”

  Her inhibitions having been completely washed away by her third Cosmo, Leah leaned over to Holly and said, “I think it’s because of my not-a-date that I’m not impressed by these guys.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I guess I’m just thinking about Danny,” she said, and Holly’s eyebrows shot into her hairline.

  The truth was, Leah had thought about him a lot that night. It had been four days since that bizarre phone call about the daffodils, and she hadn’t heard from him again. Not that she expected to. He’d given her no indication that he would call her after lunch that day, and that last phone call certainly didn’t leave her expecting to hear from him again, and yet tonight, she couldn’t get him out of her head. It seemed the more alcohol she consumed, the more thoughts of him would invade her mind.

  He was the perfect combination of cute, but sexy. Pretty, but rugged. Exuding a gentleness, but at the same time, radiating a raw sex appeal. But she’d met lots of attractive guys in the past few years, and none of them ever occupied her thoughts the way Danny did.

  He was such a mystery to her though, and maybe that was why she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Maybe she was just trying to figure him out.

  She could tell he was a good guy—the way he took care of Catherine, the way he was protective of her, proved that. And at lunch, they had gotten along so well. They were comfortable. They made each other laugh. He seemed to enjoy spending the afternoon with her.

  And then he left without even the tiniest indication that he wanted to see or talk to her again.

  Maybe he has a girlfriend, Leah thought. But then why would he have asked her to lunch in the first place? Unless he really was just trying to be a nice guy.

  But then there was that weird, angry phone call.

  Leah sighed, reaching to take Holly’s drink out of her hand before taking a sip. This was exactly the kind of thing she didn’t want to deal with. She didn’t want to be vulnerable, especially with someone who was so hard to read.

  She decided she should just celebrate her partial victory; she had allowed herself to have some interest in a guy. That was more than she had been capable of for a long time. It was a small step, but the girls were right: it was a step in the right direction. She didn’t have to pursue it for it to be significant. And she wasn’t going to pursue Danny.

  With that revelation she suddenly felt ten pounds lighter, smiling over at Holly, who was still staring at her with a shocked expression.

  “Do you like him?” she asked, and Leah waved her off.

  “It’s not like that. I’m just happy that I’m not completely broken. It makes me think that maybe one day I can have what you guys have,” she said, gesturing to her friends.

  Holly’s face contorted with sadness. “Of course you will, Leah. Of course you will.” She stood up and wrapped her arm around Leah’s shoulder, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Now give me back my drink, you bitch.”

  Leah laughed just as Robyn’s sister yelled, “Another round of shots, ladies!”

  Stupidly, she agreed.

  A few hours later, Leah and Holly were helping put Robyn into her fiancé’s car.

  “Here. The bartender thought this would be a good idea,” Holly said, handing Rich one of the plastic fishbowls the bar used to serve specialty drinks in.

  “Gee, thanks,” he said, leaning into the passenger seat and handing Robyn the empty bowl. She grinned up at him and slurred something unintelligible.

  “Absolutely, babe,” Rich said as he buckled her seat belt.

  “What did she say?” Leah asked.

  Rich closed the passenger door and turned toward them. “I have no fucking idea.”

  Leah and Holly burst out laughing as Rich pulled up the zipper of his jacket. “How are you girls getting home? Do you need a ride?”

  “No, Evan is coming to get us,” Holly said.

  “Alright, Happy New Year, ladies,” he said, giving them warning glances before he leaned over and kissed both their cheeks. “Be good.”

  Leah and Holly watched them pull away, blowing dramatic kisses until the taillights of Rich’s car were no longer visible.

  A few minutes later, Holly’s boyfriend pulled up to the curb, immediately rolling down the window. “Are you guys insane? Where the hell are your jackets?”

  The girls leaned into each other and broke into hysterics as if that were the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

  “Fantastic.” Evan sighed, getting out of the car and ushering them toward it. “Alright, let’s go.”

  Leah crawled into the back seat, and she and Holly spent the entire ride having disjointed conversations and laughing uncontrollably at anything and everything.

  “God, I need to go home,” Leah said when she had caught her breath, dropping her head back onto the seat and covering her face.

  “We’re almost there, Lee,” Evan said, glancing in the rearview. “You’re not gonna puke, are you?”

  “No, I’m not gonna puke, but I might pass out,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.

  “That’s okay,” Holly said. “Pass out. We’ll carry you.”

  Evan snorted. “You’re not carrying anyone. Maybe you should think about passing out for a bit.”

  Leah tried to stifle a laugh, and Holly held up both hands, flipping them off before she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her head back against the seat.

  By the time they pulled into Leah’s apartment complex, Holly was snoring lightly, her head lolled to the side, resting on her shoulder.

  Evan got out and helped Leah to the door, his hand firmly on her elbow as she wobbled on her heels. He watched until she was safely inside before jogging back down the path to his still-running car
and a passed-out Holly.

  Leah held on to the wall for balance, sloppily kicking off her heels and tripping over one as she walked down the hall. She still had enough presence of mind to stop in the kitchen and grab herself a bottle of water before she stumbled back toward her bedroom.

  She undid the button of her jeans and pulled them down to her knees before she fell back onto the bed, kicking awkwardly to free herself of them. Her arms flopped out to her sides as her eyes fell closed, and then she groaned, remembering she hadn’t texted her father.

  Leah sat up quickly; the room spun with the sudden movement, and she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the edge of the bed until the world righted itself. She leaned down, this time much more slowly, and fished through her purse on the floor until she came up with her phone.

  As she flopped back onto the bed, the room began to spin again, and she squinted one eye, sending him a text as quickly as she could. With a relieved huff, she flung the phone somewhere on the other side of the bed and scooted down, draping one leg over the side so she could keep her foot on the floor.

  Within seconds she passed out.

  Leah felt the horrid pounding in her head before she was even fully awake; it felt like an ice pick being slowly tapped into her brain.

  “Owwwwww,” she moaned, pressing her fingertips into her eyes. It was then she realized that the shrill ringing in her ears was not part of her horrific hangover.

  Her phone was ringing.

  She turned her head slowly and opened one eye. It was a quarter to seven.

  Why would someone be calling her so early?

  Leah flipped onto her side, grimacing as the pain in her head intensified with the movement, and she closed her eyes, running her hand over the mattress and feeling around blindly for her phone.

  “Make it stop,” she moaned just as her hand closed around it, and she tapped her thumb over the screen before dragging it to her ear.

  “Yeah?” she rasped.

  “Leah, I’m going to focus more on how happy I am to hear your voice, and not on how upset I am with you right now.”