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“So call him.”
“I will,” she sniffled again. She had to. This distance between them, which was entirely Meegan’s fault, had gone on too long.
“Come here, you.” Meegan got off the bed and Xeni gave her a big hug. “Just give it a few hours to breathe. Sleep on it. If it’s still eating you up, talk to Olin again, but it really sounds like a bad thing happened that was no one’s fault and you two should be able to move on, ever the happy couple.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“And then tonight give Marcos a call. That man loves you too. You need a few more minutes?”
“No, I’m good. Let’s get back out there.”
She looked in the vanity mirror one more time to make sure her face wasn’t too red and then Meegan followed Xeni back out to the kitchen. They grabbed a couple more cookies and Meegan grabbed a soda. She didn’t need to be an emotional wreckandwine drunk. They headed back out to the backyard, where Shae and her husband, Aidan, had joined the poolside conversation along with little Rowan. He was looking between his redhead dad, Rafe, and the equally ginger, yet bespeckled Aidan, confused.
Meegan walked right into Olin’s arms and snuggled up to him. “You okay?” Olin whispered before he kissed her forehead.
“Yeah, Xeni told me a really sweet story about writing letters to Mason and I started crying.”
“What can I say?” Xeni shrugged as she leaned over to scoop a beer of her own out of the cooler. “Our love is so good, so pure, it’ll move you to tears.”
Olin snorted a little and Meegan couldn’t stop herself from pressing her lips to his chin and his cheek.
“Are you sure you’re not brothers?” Rowan asked his dad.
“I promise. I don’t have any brothers,” Rafe replied.
“Neither do I,” Aidan added, ruffling Rowan's hair.
“I think you’re twins like Addy and Avery. You’re twins,” Rowan said, his mind made up.
“I guess we’re twins then, man,” Rafe laughed. “Welcome to the family.”
The party wound down around five and everyone meticulously picked out the assortment of cookies they wanted to take home with them. Meegan’s personal favorites were Rafe’s sugar coated gingerbread snowmen, Shae’s cranberry cookies and Antonio’s lemon bars, which were not at all cookies, but he was so proud of himself for participating that everyone let it slide. Meegan made sure she grabbed one of her own red velvets for the road, too. She smiled at the to-go box that Olin made for himself, noticing his chocolate chip cookie selection. She made a mental note to make him some over Christmas break.
They ended up walking out at the same time as Keira and Daniel, who followed them to Olin’s Mercedes.
“I do want to apologize again,” Olin said. “If only for scaring you guys.”
“Really, man. You’re good,” Daniel replied. “Someone had a legit heart attack and died my second year there.”
“Oh god, I remember that,” Meegan gasped. “Poor Gary.”
“Needing to leave early, alive, is a best case scenario.”
“Fair enough.” Olin couldn’t really argue with that.
“We’ve had people faint, puke, have panic attacks. Just another day at Disneyland. We’re just glad you're okay.”
“And listen, I know alltismisn’t the same, but I melt down too,” Keira added. “Like, full blown adult temper tantrums with tears and everything. It doesn’t happen a lot. Mostly when I’m frustrated or angry, but it’s embarrassing as heck. I get how frustrating it can be, but you did the right thing and pulled yourself out. Anytime you wanna talk about it, I got you.”
“Thanks guys,” Olin said. There was no conversation about him revisiting The Club and for now that seemed like a good idea. Meegan felt like they still had some things to discuss. They said their goodnights and Meegan assured them she’d be over for moreMatch Made in Paradise.
As they pulled away from Sloan’s home, Meegan started thinking about the week ahead. She already had her overnight bag at Olin’s, so they were free to grab a little dinner even though she was so full of soda and cookies. Then they could do something fun and chill, like dry hump on Olin’s couch before they turned in for the night. It sounded like a good plan, but they weren’t even a block away from the dwindling party when that sick feeling settled back in her stomach. She needed to talk to Olin about The Club, about them and their future, but there was another conversation she needed to have first.
She unlocked her phone and went to her text conversations. The last few weeks she felt like had come so far. This new relationship with Olin. Daniel showing up to support them both. She even felt like she had some closure with Shep after really getting to spend some time with him and Claudia. She needed to call Marcos, but she knew now a phone call wouldn’t be enough.
She sent him a short text, praying he was around. He responded right away and told her to come to his house. And Olin, the amazing man that he was, didn’t blink twice when she told him what she needed to do. He just drove her straight to Marcos’s penthouse in West Hollywood. When she told him she’d get a Lyft back to his place when they were done talking, Olin wasn’t having it. Meegan was his girl and whenever she was ready, no matter how late, he would come back to get her and he would take her home.
twenty-three
