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Chapter Twenty-Five
Jaime
Me: Code Red! Emergency gathering at Beaver in 20 minutes!
The group text message, which includes all of my sisters, is sent before I’m even out of Ryan’s neighborhood. My hands are shaky as I grab the steering wheel and head towards one of our favorite hangouts.
My phone pings with responses, but I don’t look at them. I don’t have to. I know they’ll be there if they can. There’s something to be said for when a sister sends a code red message. Each one drops what they’re doing and comes running, if at all possible.
It doesn’t surprise me that I’m the first one to arrive. Snagging the round booth in back, I order a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and wait for my sisters to arrive. My leg taps nervously on the old, worn hardwood floor, anxiety has me wringing my hands together.
Abby is the first to arrive, which is no shocker since she lives only a few blocks away. She rushes in, hair wild in a high ponytail, and heads towards my reserved table. “Is everything okay?” she asks in a hurry, green eyes scanning me from head to toe as if checking for injuries or something.
“Can we wait until the others get here? I don’t want to go through this four more times,” I comment while pouring a strawberry margarita into one of the glasses left on the table.
Abby takes a tentative sip while we wait for the others. She’s never been a big drinker. In fact, Abby’s probably the most straight-laced, docile out of all of the Summer sisters.
Before I can make small talk with my youngest sister, Lexi and Meghan fly through the door at the same time. They’re both attempting to talk over the other as they head towards our table. “What did he do? I’ll kill him,” Lexi proclaims while dropping on the booth and sliding around to my other side.
“Can we wait until the others arrive?” I ask, her eyes narrowing into little slits.
Just as I complete the question, Payton and AJ hurry inside. Lexi takes it upon herself to pour the rest of the margaritas into the empty glasses, and as soon as the others are in the booth, everyone has a drink in hand.
“Okay, spill,” Payton instructs before she takes a sip.
“You all know that Ryan and I went away for the weekend,” I start, which results in collective acknowledgements from the table. “We had an amazing time, even though Grandma and Grandpa showed up at the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at.”
“Wait, what?!” AJ exclaims, wide eyed and mouth agape.
“Oh yeah, totally embarrassing, but I’ll get to that in a minute.” I take a hearty drink from my glass, the cold tequila burning my throat as it slides down. “Anyway, it was an amazing weekend, and when we got back, he asked me to move in with him.” The words fly from my lips in a huge rush of air and excitement.
“What?” is hollered across the table at the same time as “Are you kidding me?”
“Oh my God, Jaims! What did you do?” Meghan asks with a straw in her mouth.
“I, uh, freaked out,” I confess.
“I bet,” Payton snorts before guzzling her drink.
“Did you breakup with him?” Abby asks beside me, her mostly untouched drink still sitting on the tabletop.
“Breakup with him? Why would I break up with him?” I ask, abandoning my own glass.
“Why? Maybe because you’ve made it very clear that you’d never put yourself in a position to be hurt again. You’ve been adamant for the last six months that you’re going to be single until the day you die,” Meghan adds.
I recall saying each of those things, mostly while I was consuming alcoholic beverages. And I feel that way, at least I did. Before Ryan came along to prove to me why I wasn’t destined to live out my days lonely and afraid.
“I know I said those things,” I confess. “I also know I didn’t mean them, not really.”
“So you’re not freaking out right now?” AJ reiterates.
“No. Actually, it’s completely the opposite. I want to move in with him.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders.
“You do?” Lexi asks with a broad smile across her face.
“Yeah. I do.”
“But you’ve only known him a few weeks.” This from Abby, the ever-present voice of reason. She’s like the angel conscience sitting on your shoulder.
