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Page 41 of Soft Rebound (Mad City Moments #2)

Liz

A bout eighteen months later

It’s a Sunday in the middle of the football season, and the Minnesota Vikings are playing the Green Bay Packers. We are sitting around two joint tables at Hops & Curds, also known as the bar where Joe and I first met more than two years ago.

Joe, Bobby, and I wear the colors of Purple People Eaters and proudly represent Skol Nation here on enemy territory. The local Cheeseheads—Roxie, Trey, and Trey’s sister Taniyah—are here to cheer for the Packers.

Taniyah is a nurse and has a school-aged son.

She was widowed when the boy was very young.

She doesn’t have time to hang out with us very often, but today her mom is babysitting, so Taniyah is able to join us and let loose.

She looks a lot like Trey, tall and beautiful with glowing dark skin and long, graceful limbs.

She wears glasses and pulls her hair back in a tight bun, but the seriousness she cultivates cannot hide how gorgeous she really is.

She’s also an avid Packers fan and has a quick, biting wit, particularly hilarious when she’s got a couple of beers inside her. Like she does now.

Trey and Bobby aren’t together anymore. I was a bit heartbroken about it, probably more than either one of them, by all appearances.

They remain very good friends. I’m not really sure what happened, although I do have a theory or two, but Bobby keeps saying they agreed it’s for the best. I suppose he’ll tell me if and when he wants to.

Trey continues to be a great friend to Joe, and still the best-dressed man I’ve ever met. I don’t see him as much as I used to since he and Bobby split up, but Joe often regales me with tales of Trey’s work hijinks.

Bobby works at the service center associated with a large car dealership here in town.

He makes good money, has his own place, and seems quite content.

He’s almost fully reverted to a wardrobe of jeans, flannels, and trucker hats, but with an occasional flare of style.

He’s made new friends and goes out all the time, but I still see him about once a week, which makes me happy.

Mom and Dad have since come around—well, sort of—regarding Bobby’s sexual orientation, but, like me, Bobby’s never going back.

Mickey is the only one left working for Dad. He’s still not married to Emily.

Roxie is Roxie. She’s the best, most loyal friend anyone could have, and I love her to death, but sometimes wish she’d take herself more seriously, and make others take her seriously, too.

She certainly does that at work, but not in her personal life.

She got promoted to manager last year, and immediately bought a condo and not one, but two cats.

She took to decorating her place with the ferocity she pours into everything.

Joe and I are disgustingly happy.

We got engaged in August of last year, on the anniversary of our first meeting, which is also when he moved in with me into what was once Melanie’s place. Joe let Bobby take over his bachelor-pad lease.

We got married earlier this year, in May, in a small ceremony with Roxie as the maid of honor and Trey as the best man. Bobby, Taniyah, and a handful of people from work were in attendance. We went on a two-week honeymoon in Spain and bought a condo across the hall from Roxie.

Joe and I both still work at Qpik, but I’m also working on my Masters in Education part-time online. For now, I’m happy doing what I do, and plan to move into teaching in a few years’ time.

But before that, I think we’re both ready to try and have a baby. Joe’s been very patient, but I know he’s dying to be a dad.

Joe and I... It’s hard to describe. I couldn’t even imagine what true intimacy would feel like before us.

It’s like getting deeper and deeper into the subconscious mind, probing the crevices of all your fears and desires, only it’s not just you, there’s someone else there along for the ride, someone from whom you want to hide nothing, and he sees every piece, all of your broken, mismatched parts, and on this journey your connection grows stronger and harder to describe with each passing day.

All I can say is you’ll know it when you’ve got it, when the person is exactly right for you, and there will be no end, no limits to your joint truth. And if you’re unsure, it’s not the real thing.

The roars of excited Cheeseheads jolt me out of my thoughts. Damn it. The Packers scored a touchdown.

“This is my cue to go to the little ladies’ room,” I say and hop off the stool. As I turn to leave, Joe pinches my butt. No one sees it since we’re close to the wall, but I still swat him lightly, to which he grins.

****

O f course, there’s a line outside the women’s bathroom. I stand in the back and pull out my phone.

“Hey, wingwoman!” someone says.

I look up and see a familiar face. It takes me a second to place him. “Hey! Wyatt’s friend, was it?”

He grins. “That’s right. How’s it going?”

“Pretty great, actually. How about you? Did you get that girl? Wyatt’s ex?”

His face falls. “No.”

“Oh, no!” I briefly squeeze his upper arm in an attempt at support. “I’m so sorry. What happened? I thought you were going to clear the air with Wyatt?”

“I tried,” he says solemnly. “He stopped talking to me. And then she said she loved me, but she couldn’t deal with the guilt of coming between my best friend and me, so she skipped town. Just disappeared. After the damage had already been done.”

“So no friend and no girl?”

“No friend and no girl.”

I sigh. “That’s rough. Not to make light of your pain or anything, but you are a walking country song.”

He chuckles. “All I need is for someone to shoot my dog and steal my truck.”

“I’m glad you’re not feeling sorry for yourself.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I am.” He meets my eyes. “It’s really good to see you, you know. What’s your name again?”

“I’m Liz. You?”

“Zack.”

“Well, Zack, have you thought about going after your girl?”

He frowns. “Of course I have.”

“And?”

“I told you, I don’t know where she is.”

“Bullshit. I was a runaway girl myself not that long ago.” When his eyes widen, I nod, my expression one of exaggerated wisdom. “Yes, it’s true. I bet you could find her within a week if you wanted to. So what’s really stopping you?”

He looks at his feet, then up at me, and he shrugs.

“Come on, Zack, you can do better.”

“Yes, you can do better!” repeats a little old lady in a Packers jersey, standing next to me in line. She’s clearly overheard everything.

He rolls his eyes and sighs. “I can’t believe I’m getting shrinked in the line for the women’s toilet.”

“That’s the best place to get shrinked, I’ll have you know,” says the old lady.

“So what is it?” I ask. “I thought she was the one.”

“She is.”

“So?”

“But what if I’m not the one for her?” he finally says, his eyes filled with such naked despair, it’s hard to hold his gaze.

I take a deep breath and grab him by the shoulders.

“Look, Zack, obviously I don’t know you very well and I don’t know her at all, but you seem like a decent guy.

Based on my experience, if you really, truly, deeply feel she’s the one, there’s a good chance she feels the same.

She said she loved you, and she knew you two wouldn’t be able to stay away from each other.

She knew she had to leave so she wouldn’t be in the way of your friendship with Wyatt, because she knew how much that friendship meant to you and she cares about your happiness.

Of course, she might just be sick of the whole mess and wanting to start fresh, and I wouldn’t blame her at all.

But my guess is she feels the same way about you the way you do about her.

And maybe you two might have a proper chance somewhere away from Wyatt. ”

His face transforms like he’s been illuminated by the brightest sun. “Really?”

I nod. “Really.”

“Really,” adds the little old lady.

“Okay then,” he says. “Maybe I’ll go find her.” He looks me in the eye. “Take care, Liz.”

“Go get ‘er, Zack. We’re rooting for you.”

“We’re rooting for you!” the old lady chimes in.

Zack leaves, and the old lady and I high-five behind his back.

****

W hen I’m back at the table, Joe wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close.

“That must’ve been some line,” he says.

“Yeah,” I respond. “I also gave some romantic advice while I was waiting.”

“Oh? To whom?”

“A guy I briefly met ages ago.” When Joe’s eyebrow ticks up, I clarify. “We were both wingmen for Roxie and her would-be squeeze. Nice guy, though. Hung up on his friend’s ex.”

“Wow,” Joe says. “It’s amazing the stuff you learn by going to the restroom. So what did you advise him?”

“To go get her. Find her and get her.”

“Okay. Are you sure she wants to be found?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Why?”

“Because I see how he feels about her. And something tells me his feeling might be returned.”

He pulls me even closer. I’m standing between his spread thighs now, his hands on my hips. “And how does he feel about her?”

I smile and stroke his beard. “The way I feel about you.”

He brings his lips close to mine. “And how’s that?”

“Like my soul would’ve never found peace if I hadn’t met you.”

Joe growls low in his throat and brings me into a kiss—

The crowd goes wild.

I pull back, disoriented for a moment, but I chuckle when I see the screens. “It looks like the Vikings just scored a touchdown,” I say.

“Damn straight,” Joe mutters as he nuzzles my neck.

The End