At 7:30 Monday evening, I shut off my Mac and headed out of work to get my butt downtown to meet Steve. Descending into the subway, I blissfully found an open seat and sat down.
I pulled out my phone to see three texts from Dylan.
4:55 pm: How is your afternoon going?
6:18 pm: Just grabbed stuff to whip up lasagna for dinner, wish you were coming over to share.
7:25 pm: Look, I know you said you're not mad but that's not the vibe i'm getting.
My fingers hovered over the keypad, unsure of a response. Dylan hadn't bothered to contact me until almost 5 o'clock on Sunday night, which was nearly 24 hours of not talking. I don't know what his past relationships were like, but in my book that is not okay. When he finally did call, he said that he had left his phone at the hotel bar, and didn't have time to get it until after their seminar on Sunday. As much as he berated me for not trusting him, he was doing a pretty shitty job of trying to gain my trust. I really liked him but the more things went on, the more terrified I was that he was just going to hurt me.
Hey, sorry didn't have my phone. Lasagna sounds delicious, I wasn't aware your cooking skills went that far :)
His response came quickly.
Oh I have many skills you don't know about. Can I come up this weekend and show you? I miss you.
I thought ahead to my weekend, which was currently wide open. I debated punishing him and saying no, but realized that would just be a punishment for myself as well. Homegirl needed to get laid.
That would be great.
I realized we were at my stop so I dropped my phone back into my bag and hustled out of the subway. I hated being underground.
It was a short walk to the Starbucks where Steve and I were planning to meet. I scanned the mostly-empty room but saw no sign of him. Settling on an iced green tea, I sat down by the window to wait. I pulled out my phone again and saw that Dylan had sent me a screenshot of the Amtrak ticket he had just bought, which would get in Friday at 7:00. Cutting it a little close to my work schedule but I grinned involuntarily anyway, the butterflies in my stomach going crazy just at the thought of finally seeing him again.
Scrolling through my texts I clicked on my conversation with Nick from that morning. When I found him asleep Sunday morning on the couch, my mind went into overdrive trying to assemble the blurry details. I had a vague recollection of running into him at the bar (courtesy of Haley, who dumbly invited him). That was all I could remember.
Ashley had gone home with her Spanish prince (and not returned until 4 o'clock the next day). So waking up Nick was my only option for answers. I knew nothing had happened, even drunk Dani wouldn't do that to Dylan, but I was endlessly curious about why he was on my couch.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I had asked, standing over his shirtless body.
"Morning sunshine," he had grumbled, rubbing his eyes and stretching.
"Nick, why are you here?"
"You really were toasted weren't you?" he had said with a smug grin. I ignored the fact that my instinct wanted to curl up next to him on the couch.
"Are you going to make me ask a third time?" I had gotten frustrated with his charming charade.
"Fine, fine, and here I thought you used to be a morning person," he had laughed, sitting up on the couch and patting the space next to him. I knew I shouldn't have sat down, but my hangover had turned the simple act of standing into an arduous task. I curled up in the corner of the couch and gulped down my water.
"I just came back to see your place, and by then it was like 3 a.m. so I didn't want to go all the way home," he shrugged.
I had narrowed my eyes at him, "You didn't try anything?"
"No, you made it very clear you have a boyfriend. In fact, you mentioned him to me about 83 times, even though he clearly ignores your calls," he had said flatly. It was about that time that I kicked him out.
"Hey," I heard Steve's voice and looked up. I was so busy reliving Sunday morning that I hadn't seen him arrive.
"Hey!" I replied, standing and tossing my arms around him. I hadn't realized it until just then, but I missed having him around. He returned the embrace and then took a seat across from me, looking nervous.
"Do you want to get anything?" I asked, gesturing to the counter.
"I'm good," he said, absentmindedly playing with a stray sugar packet on the table.
"So how have you been?" I asked, trying to diffuse the palpable tension. Whatever he was about to say had to be big, or else he wouldn't be fidgeting so much.
"Good... great, actually," he replied, not meeting my gaze.
"That's great, I'm glad to hear it. We miss having you around though! Not sure if you heard, but Ash and I just moved down this way," I rambled.
Steve nodded, "Yeah I heard through friends. That's great."
"Are you still in the old place?" I asked. Ashley hadn't mentioned Steve in weeks. Even though they had shared a dog, their weird custody agreement had gotten too stressful, and Steve took full ownership. His parent's lived a short drive away in Rumson so he left Murphy there a lot for weeks at a time. I personally didn't see how Ashley could be so okay with losing a dog and a boyfriend, but I never wanted to bring it up.
"Right now, yeah, but I'm actually moving soon," he said tensely.
"Okay Steve what is up? You're acting so nervous and it's making me nervous," I blurted out.
"Ugh," he dropped his face into his hands, and I immediately realized he wasn't here to ask my opinion on how to win Ashley back. The longer he took to respond, the further my imagination went. Cancer? He's moving to Guatemala? He gave Ashley some chronic disease?
"I'm engaged," he said, face still in hands. I froze.
"You're WHAT?!" I didn't even bother trying to hide my unabashed shock.
He moved his hands and looked me in the eye, his face a combination of relief and empathy.
"I know that it's fast.." he started.
"FAST? Steve, you and Ashley broke up TWO MONTHS AGO." I was yelling now, mad at him for doing this to Ashley, mad at him for making such a rash decision. He grabbed my arm and lead me out of the Starbucks since the few patrons were beginning to stare. I could care less if we were making a scene, but clearly he was uncomfortable.
Once out on the busy street he pulled me aside in front of an empty shop with "LEASE" in the window. Stepping up into the door frame, he leaned back.
"Who is she?" I asked, desperate for answers.
"Just a girl I met, you don't know her," he said.
"Did you know her when you and Ash were together?"
"I knew her, but nothing happened until after Ashley and I broke up. And believe me, I wanted things to work with Ash, but I realized I deserved more."
I agreed with him on that, seeing as Ash had a horrible habit of cheating. But still.
"Why so fast though?" I asked, trying to sound more gentle.
"We're in love, it's never felt like this. But she lives in Bogota, and she was going to go back. I needed to give her a reason to stay," he said.
"Wait... you're not marrying her to like, give her citizenship are you?" I asked, my mind suddenly turning his whole relationship into a scandal.
"No! Jesus Dani I'm not an idiot. She's American, but she's lived there for ten years," he said. "But she was only up here for a summer internship. And I couldn't stand the thought of her leaving."
"So you proposed marriage." I deadpanned.
"I proposed marriage."
"And she said yes," I said.
"Well if she hadn't we wouldn't be having this conversation," he gave me a small smile.
"I hope it's a long engagement," I said, softening a little now that the idea had time to sink in. I wanted the best for Steve, even if this was going to kill Ashley.
"We're thinking next Spring, so not too long. But long enough."
I took a deep breath. "So, how are you going to tell her?"
"Well, I was thinking, maybe you could help me?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh hell no," I replied, waving my hands back and forth. "I want no part of that. As roommate and best friend, I'll get the weeks-long aftermath. Telling her is on you."
"Fine, true, you have to get the weeks of her anger," he said with a small smile. We both knew about Ashley's temper.
"Just do it soon, okay?" I asked. "I don't want to have to keep this secret, and I don't want her to find out through someone else."
"I'll ask her to drinks Wednesday," he said.
"Just make sure it's somewhere with plastic ware," I grinned.
I pulled out my phone to see three texts from Dylan.
4:55 pm: How is your afternoon going?
6:18 pm: Just grabbed stuff to whip up lasagna for dinner, wish you were coming over to share.
7:25 pm: Look, I know you said you're not mad but that's not the vibe i'm getting.
My fingers hovered over the keypad, unsure of a response. Dylan hadn't bothered to contact me until almost 5 o'clock on Sunday night, which was nearly 24 hours of not talking. I don't know what his past relationships were like, but in my book that is not okay. When he finally did call, he said that he had left his phone at the hotel bar, and didn't have time to get it until after their seminar on Sunday. As much as he berated me for not trusting him, he was doing a pretty shitty job of trying to gain my trust. I really liked him but the more things went on, the more terrified I was that he was just going to hurt me.
Hey, sorry didn't have my phone. Lasagna sounds delicious, I wasn't aware your cooking skills went that far :)
His response came quickly.
Oh I have many skills you don't know about. Can I come up this weekend and show you? I miss you.
I thought ahead to my weekend, which was currently wide open. I debated punishing him and saying no, but realized that would just be a punishment for myself as well. Homegirl needed to get laid.
That would be great.
I realized we were at my stop so I dropped my phone back into my bag and hustled out of the subway. I hated being underground.
It was a short walk to the Starbucks where Steve and I were planning to meet. I scanned the mostly-empty room but saw no sign of him. Settling on an iced green tea, I sat down by the window to wait. I pulled out my phone again and saw that Dylan had sent me a screenshot of the Amtrak ticket he had just bought, which would get in Friday at 7:00. Cutting it a little close to my work schedule but I grinned involuntarily anyway, the butterflies in my stomach going crazy just at the thought of finally seeing him again.
Scrolling through my texts I clicked on my conversation with Nick from that morning. When I found him asleep Sunday morning on the couch, my mind went into overdrive trying to assemble the blurry details. I had a vague recollection of running into him at the bar (courtesy of Haley, who dumbly invited him). That was all I could remember.
Ashley had gone home with her Spanish prince (and not returned until 4 o'clock the next day). So waking up Nick was my only option for answers. I knew nothing had happened, even drunk Dani wouldn't do that to Dylan, but I was endlessly curious about why he was on my couch.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I had asked, standing over his shirtless body.
"Morning sunshine," he had grumbled, rubbing his eyes and stretching.
"Nick, why are you here?"
"You really were toasted weren't you?" he had said with a smug grin. I ignored the fact that my instinct wanted to curl up next to him on the couch.
"Are you going to make me ask a third time?" I had gotten frustrated with his charming charade.
"Fine, fine, and here I thought you used to be a morning person," he had laughed, sitting up on the couch and patting the space next to him. I knew I shouldn't have sat down, but my hangover had turned the simple act of standing into an arduous task. I curled up in the corner of the couch and gulped down my water.
"I just came back to see your place, and by then it was like 3 a.m. so I didn't want to go all the way home," he shrugged.
I had narrowed my eyes at him, "You didn't try anything?"
"No, you made it very clear you have a boyfriend. In fact, you mentioned him to me about 83 times, even though he clearly ignores your calls," he had said flatly. It was about that time that I kicked him out.
"Hey," I heard Steve's voice and looked up. I was so busy reliving Sunday morning that I hadn't seen him arrive.
"Hey!" I replied, standing and tossing my arms around him. I hadn't realized it until just then, but I missed having him around. He returned the embrace and then took a seat across from me, looking nervous.
"Do you want to get anything?" I asked, gesturing to the counter.
"I'm good," he said, absentmindedly playing with a stray sugar packet on the table.
"So how have you been?" I asked, trying to diffuse the palpable tension. Whatever he was about to say had to be big, or else he wouldn't be fidgeting so much.
"Good... great, actually," he replied, not meeting my gaze.
"That's great, I'm glad to hear it. We miss having you around though! Not sure if you heard, but Ash and I just moved down this way," I rambled.
Steve nodded, "Yeah I heard through friends. That's great."
"Are you still in the old place?" I asked. Ashley hadn't mentioned Steve in weeks. Even though they had shared a dog, their weird custody agreement had gotten too stressful, and Steve took full ownership. His parent's lived a short drive away in Rumson so he left Murphy there a lot for weeks at a time. I personally didn't see how Ashley could be so okay with losing a dog and a boyfriend, but I never wanted to bring it up.
"Right now, yeah, but I'm actually moving soon," he said tensely.
"Okay Steve what is up? You're acting so nervous and it's making me nervous," I blurted out.
"Ugh," he dropped his face into his hands, and I immediately realized he wasn't here to ask my opinion on how to win Ashley back. The longer he took to respond, the further my imagination went. Cancer? He's moving to Guatemala? He gave Ashley some chronic disease?
"I'm engaged," he said, face still in hands. I froze.
"You're WHAT?!" I didn't even bother trying to hide my unabashed shock.
He moved his hands and looked me in the eye, his face a combination of relief and empathy.
"I know that it's fast.." he started.
"FAST? Steve, you and Ashley broke up TWO MONTHS AGO." I was yelling now, mad at him for doing this to Ashley, mad at him for making such a rash decision. He grabbed my arm and lead me out of the Starbucks since the few patrons were beginning to stare. I could care less if we were making a scene, but clearly he was uncomfortable.
Once out on the busy street he pulled me aside in front of an empty shop with "LEASE" in the window. Stepping up into the door frame, he leaned back.
"Who is she?" I asked, desperate for answers.
"Just a girl I met, you don't know her," he said.
"Did you know her when you and Ash were together?"
"I knew her, but nothing happened until after Ashley and I broke up. And believe me, I wanted things to work with Ash, but I realized I deserved more."
I agreed with him on that, seeing as Ash had a horrible habit of cheating. But still.
"Why so fast though?" I asked, trying to sound more gentle.
"We're in love, it's never felt like this. But she lives in Bogota, and she was going to go back. I needed to give her a reason to stay," he said.
"Wait... you're not marrying her to like, give her citizenship are you?" I asked, my mind suddenly turning his whole relationship into a scandal.
"No! Jesus Dani I'm not an idiot. She's American, but she's lived there for ten years," he said. "But she was only up here for a summer internship. And I couldn't stand the thought of her leaving."
"So you proposed marriage." I deadpanned.
"I proposed marriage."
"And she said yes," I said.
"Well if she hadn't we wouldn't be having this conversation," he gave me a small smile.
"I hope it's a long engagement," I said, softening a little now that the idea had time to sink in. I wanted the best for Steve, even if this was going to kill Ashley.
"We're thinking next Spring, so not too long. But long enough."
I took a deep breath. "So, how are you going to tell her?"
"Well, I was thinking, maybe you could help me?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh hell no," I replied, waving my hands back and forth. "I want no part of that. As roommate and best friend, I'll get the weeks-long aftermath. Telling her is on you."
"Fine, true, you have to get the weeks of her anger," he said with a small smile. We both knew about Ashley's temper.
"Just do it soon, okay?" I asked. "I don't want to have to keep this secret, and I don't want her to find out through someone else."
"I'll ask her to drinks Wednesday," he said.
"Just make sure it's somewhere with plastic ware," I grinned.
The Q&A post will be up on Monday morning. I got some great questions, but if you have any more just send them my way. Have a great weekend my dears! xoxo
Dani nor Ashley have any right to be angry that Steve is engaged. Ashley cheated repeatedly and quite frankly Steve deserved better. Why she would be upset is beyond me. She didn't want him, let him move on and be happy. Dani making a scene at Starbucks was childish. Look after your own relationship before judging. Dylan and his excuses are tiring. He's telling Dani what she wants to here and then coupling it with a weekend of sex. She needs to be extra cautious with him and not trust him as much.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, Steve was even still decent enough to break the news nicely and even agreeing to do it face to face with Ashley, she gave up a keeper.
DeleteI've been in a relationship for the last 5 years with 3 years being long distance (away for school and work) and neither me or my SO would make up such excuses. Communication is so important in such a relationship
hahaha serves Ashley right. she's going to flip shit.
ReplyDeleteUh oh. I agree that Ashley has no grounds to be super upset at anybody but herself. This is about to get really interesting I bet!! especially if Ashley finds out that Dani knew!
ReplyDeleteI don't trust Dani and Dylan together. Seems like trouble will brew somewhere. That said, I think Dani is a little demanding. Even when someone is your boyfriend, you still don't have to talk or text every day. At least at first. I like it when my boyfriend actually misses me which is hard to make happen if you're in constant contact.
ReplyDeleteGood for Steve!
Aww Steve is so great. And I have a feeling Nicks little sleepover is going to come back to haunt at some point.
ReplyDeleteWell that was a surprise! I'm a little nervous about how Ashley is going to take the news.
ReplyDeleteNew Beginning, New Adventures
I love the direction your story is taking! I'm also excited for the Q&A post. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy for Steve!! He's manning up to tell Ash!
ReplyDeleteI too think the Dylan story is great sex. I don't think neither can do a long distance relationship.
I would like her to meet someone new or Nick to wise up & beg her to come back. At least he told her the truth (coming from a guy who I am sure has been there) and the truth hurts. It isn't like she's moving out of Ny since she just signed a lease.
Wow Ashley is going to be upset but she was the one who cheated so idk.. Can't wait to see what happens!
ReplyDelete