Page 20 of This Changes Everything

Zoë wrapped her arms around my waist. “Don’t be a dick, Benjamin.” She squeezed me. “Besides, it doesn’t matter how long it took for your childhood sweetheart to see you naked. It took Ethan one bath, which is quite the exceptional magic trick, if you ask me.”

“It wasn’t Ethan. It was the alcohol.” I mined my purse and started applying lipstick. My hands cramped in the cold. “And I took off my clothes with Rory long before we actually got naked together. My mom was there. It was a thing,” I mumbled, hoping no one was listening. They were. All faces were showing repulsion, but no one asked questions.

“Are you going to keep seeing Ethan at your internship?” Ben swiftly moved the topic away from Rory.

“Yup. Definitely. Big lesson for your girl. Do not date your coworkers. It will never happen again.” The idea of seeing Ethan and picturing his floating dick and balls while he walked past my desk made me ill.

“I don’t want to love this, but I do.” Zoë giggled.

“He’s Justin’s producing partner’s assistant. I can’t get away from him. We have a good banter at the office, too. I don’t know what happened,” I shuddered, then grabbed a water bottle from my bag and took a sip.

“You didn’t realize you were on a date. I’m fairly sure that’s what happened,” Ben quipped.

“Story of my life,” I sighed.

“Happens to the best of us.” Lucas jumped up and down to warm himself up. “I once tried to have a rebound after Louise and I broke up, but she accidentally turned into my girlfriend because I stayed too long and ended up watching TV on her couch. Then she invited me to a rugby game that afternoon, and I thought, ‘Why not?’ Her parents were in the box, and somehow, four months later, we were on the phone, and I was sitting on the toilet, just needing to shit, but having to hold it in because she was crying.”

Ben, Zoë, and I laughed at Lucas’s poker-faced delivery.

“Oh no.” I giggled, then handed Zoë my water. “How did you break up?”

“Also on the phone. I was at a crêperie and had to keep pausing the breakup to make sure they got my order right.”

“Jesus, Lucas. Remind me never to sleep with you,” Zoë said, sneering. She took a sip from my water bottle, and Lucas stilled. He looked at Zoë pointedly, and she choked on her water. Her cough attack came in hard. It almost sounded like she was gagging. She pointed to her throat and rasped, “Sorry, choking.”

Lucas grinned, then opened his hands to his crotch and said, “How’s that possible? My dick’s down here.”

I scream-laughed, and Zoë had instant tears as her coughing transitioned to laughter. Ben bent at the waist and had to hold his chest from laughing so hard. Lucas’s filthy comeback was so lightning fast that no one saw it coming.

“You’re the worst.” Zoë leveled her eyes at Lucas, then turned back to me. “Is your boss letting you take some time off so you can go home for the break?” Zoë handed me back my water.

“Yeah, I’m going back for eight days. Christmas Eve to New Year’s.” I stepped backward to Ben’s body for warmth, and he wrapped his arms around me. I was nervous to go back to Vancouver, but other than my family and the Griffins, I hadn’t told anyone I was coming home. No one needed to know. Kara, Jacob, and Hannah were sworn to secrecy.

“Oh, Ellie! I forgot to tell you!” Ben squeezed me from behind. “I saw your lottery commercial on the TV in the back of a cab.”

“You did?” I beamed.

“If Anne Hathaway had lighter hair, alien-size eyes, too many teeth, and no distinctive personality, I would definitely think you sort of reminded me of Anne Hathaway,” Ben teased. I smacked his thighs with my fist.

“So, what’s the plan here? How am I getting into this bar?” I asked Lucas. We were getting closer to the front of the line, and I needed to prepare.

“I’m going to teach you five French phrases. When the bouncer asks for your ID, look at me like you’re confused. I’ll ‘translate,’ then you act like you forgot your wallet and repeat the phrases over and over like you have a fever.” Lucas pulled his beanie down to cover his ears.

We got to the front of the line and kicked it into high gear. “My girlfriend forgot her passport at the hotel. I’m sorry. Hold on.” Lucas turned to me and spoke in a flurry of French. When our back-and-forth turned heated, loud, and utterly incomprehensible, the bouncer waved me through, unwilling to put up with us any longer.

“I can’t believe that worked. Kara would die!” I exclaimed as I looped my arm through Lucas’s. We made our way to the bar for our first round of drinks. Key One Lounge was loud and overcrowded. My body squished as I leaned against the bar. Ben once again stood behind me. He placed both arms protectively around me as he held on to the railing, trapping me.

“Two whiskey sours,” Ben said to the bartender, already knowing my order, while Zoë looked over the cocktail menu.

Lucas turned to me as I stood half hidden inside Ben’s arms. “When do we meet this little Canadian best friend of yours?”

“My twenty-first birthday is in March. My sister and Kara are both coming out for it.”

“I can’t wait!” Zoë said giddily.

“What are they like?” Lucas asked.

“Hannah is studying psychology and is the beacon of light and hope for our family.” Hannah and I were close, closer than we had been as kids, and I knew now, as an adult, how lucky I was to have a sister like her. We couldn’t have been more different, and yet somehow, we had only grown closer the farther away I moved. “And Kara can be unpredictable. She’s not sure what she wants to do or who she wants to be yet, so she tries everything. She can pick up any sport within a day, and she doesn’t back down from a fight.”