So flocked brunch bros b.., p.27
So Flocked (Brunch Bros Book 2), page 27
“Our flight from Mexico diverted because of a mechanical issue,” he said. “So we have to clear customs here before we can go back to Seattle.”
“We?” Annie frowned, then noticed some movement on his left side. A shorter woman with blonde hair and a nice smile was holding his hand. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
The other woman laughed. “It’s fine. Are you Annie Annie? The one whose stuff is at his apartment?”
Annie nodded. “I am.” She looked at Jake. “And I swear I’m getting it really soon. Like this month soon.” She looked back at the other woman. “I’m sorry, I missed your name.”
“I’m Jamie.” She held up her left hand. A sparkling diamond ring was seated on her fourth finger. Jamie was so happy she was vibrating. “I’m his fiancée.”
“Fiancée,” Annie repeated like she’d never heard the word before. Jake had become very interested in the flags on the wall. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”
“Really? We started dating in March. Well, we went on our first date in March.”
March. Six months. Jake had met someone and gotten engaged in six months.
“I was going to tell you,” Jake interjected, having the good sense to look a little ashamed of himself. “The timing was kind of weird, and then you went to Peru… This saves me a phone call, though. I didn’t want you finding out through the grapevine.”
“This is definitely not the grapevine,” Annie said with a forced smile. “How did you two meet?”
“I’m a nurse,” Jamie began, and looked up at Jake, “and he rounded on one of my patients.”
“And when was that?” Annie asked.
Jamie thought. “December? Yes, because the dancing Santa kept scaring the crap out of me. It was December. But it took him until March to finally ask me out on a date.” She bumped his shoulder with hers playfully.
Annie relaxed. They’d been broken up by December. Jake hadn’t cheated on her. He’d just moved on quickly.
Jamie was a sweetheart who had almost no filter and talked a mile a minute. They talked the entire time they stood in line, trading Jake stories like kids traded baseball cards. Before Annie stepped forward to the CBP officer, Jamie gave her a tight hug and told her to watch for a wedding invitation. Jake nodded, though his face was unsure. Annie couldn’t wait to see what his face looked like when she brought Jordy Taylor as her date.
As soon as she was through the sliding doors, she called Eloise.
“Hey, I’m almost out. Where are you?”
“Circling hell,” Eloise answered. “I’m by Terminal Two, so it’ll be a minute until I get to you.”
“You are never going to believe who was standing behind me in customs.”
“Madonna,” Eloise tossed out.
“Jake.”
“No.”
“Yes. And it gets better.” Annie adjusted her overstuffed backpack. “He’s engaged.”
“How is that better?” Eloise screeched, and then laid on her horn. “Assholes. No one can drive in this city.”
“I mean, it’s interesting.” Annie weaved through the clusters of people waiting for arrivals. “Her name is Jamie, she’s a nurse, and they started dating in March.”
“Six months? Seriously?!”
“Eloise, I think you’re having a harder time with this than I am. I’m happy for him. I really am. She’s a sweetheart. It’s actually really comforting because it confirmed that I don’t have any romantic feelings left for him. Once I found out he hadn’t been cheating on me, the whole thing was great.” Annie stepped outside to watch for Eloise.
“If you say so. I’m going to call Graham and give him an update on our ETA.”
“And to tell him about Jake?” Annie ventured, grinning.
“Of course to tell him about Jake. You’re not freaking out about this enough.”
“And you think Graham is going to freak out?”
“He might. He never liked Jake. Okay, I’m going to call him. Watch for a black Volvo.”
There were a lot of black cars circling LAX. And a strange number of them were Volvos. Should she have given Eloise a better description of where she was standing?
A black Volvo pulled up to the curb, and the passenger window rolled down.
“Dr. Price?” Eloise said from inside.
Annie loaded her luggage quickly, then dove inside, squeezing Eloise tightly around her neck.
“Can’t. Breathe.” Eloise tapped her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Annie said, releasing her and settling back in her seat to buckle her seatbelt. “I missed you. A lot.”
“I missed you too. I told Graham that we couldn’t all come pick you up because I wanted you to myself for a little bit.” She reached across the console and took Annie’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “Tell me all about Peru!”
Annie glossed over the technical bits and hit the highlights, like the food and visiting Machu Picchu. Eloise turned on her windshield wipers as traffic slowed to a crawl.
“I know I shouldn’t judge because no one in Oregon can merge, but it’s just rain. We don’t need to stop.” She sighed and drummed her fingers on her steering wheel. The car stereo screen lit up with Graham’s name. Eloise hit answer. “Hey, babe. Sorry. We’re stuck in traffic. Maps says we’re almost to the exit, though.”
Graham’s shuddering breath would haunt Annie’s nightmares for months.
“Um,” he began, his voice shaking, “we can’t go to dinner. Sam and I are on the way to the hospital. Jordy was in an accident.”
Annie’s heart lost its regular rhythm, caught between stopping and racing. “What do you mean? What happened? Is he okay?”
“I—I don’t know. A nurse called Sam and said that Jordy was struck by a car on his motorcycle. The ambulance just got there so they’re still assessing his injuries.”
“Which hospital?” Eloise asked. “We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
The only parking spot Eloise could find was wedged between two cars that had both parked on the line. Annie didn’t care if she dented the car next to her as she wiggled out of the Volvo. She took off at a sprint for the building, vaguely hearing Eloise shout behind her. One shoe, and then the other, flew off her feet as she ran for the sliding doors.
Hospitals were strangely serene places from the lobby. Everything was cream, beige, and a primary color to promote a sense of calm.
Annie slapped her hands on the front desk, the momentum of her body nearly carrying her over the top.
“Jordy. Taylor.”
“Is a football player,” the secretary said. “Can I help you?”
“I need Jordy Taylor’s room number please,” Annie said, each word punctuated by a gasp as she caught her breath.
The secretary stared at her for a moment. “You think if Jordy Taylor was here, I would give you his room number? The woman who ran in here like a bat out of hell with no shoes on.”
“Please. It’s incredibly important,” Annie begged, clasping her hands together.
“Are you on a deadline?”
“Annie!” Eloise shouted as she strolled through the automatic doors, Annie’s shoes in one hand, her phone pressed to her ear with the other. “Graham was waiting for us down by Emergency. This is the wrong entrance.” She handed Annie her shoes and smiled sweetly at the secretary. “I’m sorry. She’s a bit panicked right now. Can you point us toward the Emergency Department, please?”
A security guard escorted them down a few hallways. It reminded Annie of lab rat experiments, except she was the rat and this was the maze. They turned the last corner, and there was Graham. His eyelashes were still damp, but Annie’s heart rate calmed a little because he didn’t looked scared.
“They said they could only take back two at a time.” He opened his arms, and Eloise stepped into them, resting her head on his shoulder. “Annie, I thought you’d want to go back. Sam is already with him.”
Annie nodded, fighting back tears. Graham vouched for her with the gatekeeper in the emergency department, and then the security guard walked her back to Jordy.
She was expecting him to look terrible, like they did on TV. But Jordy looked almost normal, except for the hospital gown, the monitors, and his left arm in a sling. He was even awake, but standing in the doorway listening to him chatter to Sam, she could tell he wasn’t lucid.
“Issa…issa…” He tried to snap his fingers and was surprised by the oximeter. “What’s that?”
“Don’t touch it,” Sam commanded, looking as drained as she felt. His eyes met hers. “He’s trying to tell me about a bird.”
Jordy turned—more like flopped—his head in her direction. His goofy smile melted some of her worries. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hi.” She floated to his bedside, barely tethered to her own body. “What about a bird?”
“The…the…that one…the picture…”
“Iron-billed wooflespoof,” Annie answered, gingerly sitting on the edge of his bed. She looked at Sam. “Is he okay?”
“Considering he was a human cannonball? Yeah, he’s great.” Sam ran a hand down his face. “Uh, something something, medical jargon, broken collarbone, a few busted ribs, some stitches in his thigh. Oh, and they pumped him full of the good drugs, but I think you’ve figured that one out for yourself.”
“Hey. Hey.” Jordy patted her leg a few times to get her attention, then kept patting it even when she turned to look at him.
Annie brushed his hair back from his face. There was some bruising, presumably from the impact of his helmet hitting the pavement. “Yes, dear?”
“I love you.”
She would have wholeheartedly believed him if his eyes had been in focus.
“Tell me again later,” she said.
“No. I need to tell you now,” he insisted. “You can’t marry him. Marry me. Live with me. Pick me. I love you.”
His pulse and blood pressure picked up. Annie cupped his cheek.
“Who are you talking about?”
“You. Jake. You can’t marry him. He doesn’t love you like I do.”
“No, sweetie, he doesn’t love me like you do,” Annie agreed. “And I’m not going to marry him. Jamie is. She’s very nice and invited us to the wedding.”
“You’re not getting married?” Jordy repeated in the lilting, sing-song voice of the drugged. Annie shook her head. “Live with me. Move into my house. You can have allll my clothes you want. All of ’em.”
“Be careful what you say,” Annie warned. “I have a witness. You promised me all of your clothes.”
“So you’re staying?” he said hopefully.
“We’ll talk about this when you’re not high as a fucking kite.” She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Any residual terror drained out of her body as it recognized he was safe. Aware that Sam was still in the room, she whispered, “I love you too.”
“Annie, can I talk to you in the hall?” Sam asked, rising from his chair next to the bed.
“I’ll come back,” she promised, kissing Jordy one more time. All she got in return was a dopey smile. Whatever they’d given him, it was doing its job.
In the hallway, Annie tugged her airplane sweater closer around her body. “What’s up?”
“I—” Sam hesitated, pursing his lips and looking past her down the hallway. Annie checked over her shoulder. No one was there. “I don’t think my therapist would be happy that I’m doing this, but I need to know: do you really love him, or were you saying that so he wouldn’t get upset?”
She stared at him. “Of course I love him. Why would I say it if I don’t mean it?”
“People say shit…. I’ve said some shit…” Sam stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. “I just need you to tell me that you’re going to take care of him and treat him the way he deserves to be treated. Because he’s really special, Annie.”
“I’m going to do my best,” Annie promised. She squeezed his shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Sam.”
“No, I’m not.” Sam pulled out a set of keys. “I can stay here with him while he’s all doped up if you want. The nurse said they still need to run tests and it could be a while. You can take my car or get a ride with Graham and Eloise to his house, take a shower, get something to eat, sleep…”
Annie wanted to stay. After being apart from Jordy for months, leaving was the last thing she wanted to do. But as the adrenaline left her body, she was exhausted. She had been traveling all day. Her ex-boyfriend was engaged. The love of her life nearly died on her. A shower and a nap sounded like heaven.
“I’ll get a ride,” she said.
Sam removed a key from the ring. “This is my copy. I want it back after he makes you yours.”
“If anything changes, you’ll call me?”
“First person.” Sam paused. “You wouldn’t want to call his mom, would you?”
“That sounds more like a best friend thing. I’m just the girl he proposed to.”
TWENTY-NINE
Jordy woke up with a dry mouth and a pounding skull. His left shoulder felt like shit, it hurt to breathe, and his thigh was throbbing.
He felt like he’d been hit by a car.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Sam said from the uncomfortable-looking chair next to his bed.
Jordy hoped his back hurt.
“What are you doing here?” Jordy groaned.
“Despite what I said about not showing up after the paramedics scraped you off the pavement, here I am.” Sam sighed, tucking his phone into his pocket.
“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to be here.”
“Goddammit, Jordan.” Sam hopped to his feet. “I’m here because I want to be here. I’m here because you are my best fucking friend and that was the worst phone call of my life and I swear to God if this ever happens again I will find the car that hit you and finish the job myself.” Sam took a shaky breath, his eyes brimming with tears. “I thought I was going to lose you without ever getting to say I was sorry.”
Staying mad at Sam was never something Jordy could do. It was probably why they were still friends. He patted the narrow space next to his not-as-injured leg. Sam filled it before he could change his mind.
“I’m sorry.” Sam wasted no time. “I was out of line in May. You were telling me something that you were excited about, and I found a way to make it about me and my feelings. I—” His voice caught and he paused, a sad smile forming. “I didn’t want to lose you the way I lost Graham.”
“You didn’t lose Graham,” Jordy reminded him. “He just lives somewhere else now. You built a cabin there.”
Sam shook his head. “It’s not the same. He has Eloise now, and she’s his priority—she should be his priority. But our friendship changed.” Sam laughed humorlessly. “I hate the idea of our friendship changing too. I like Annie. It’s so easy to tell that you love each other. But I selfishly wanted to keep being your person.” He twisted the rings on his fingers as he continued. “I realized a few days after the wedding that I had been the worst kind of asshole. That I’ve been an asshole since Graham left. So I’ve spent the whole summer in therapy trying not to be an asshole.”
“Did it work?”
“I’m still an asshole. But I’m an asshole that’s trying.”
Jordy pulled Sam’s hand away from his worrying hand and squeezed it. “I missed you all summer. You didn’t have to isolate yourself like that.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone else.”
“You not talking to me hurt. How the hell am I supposed to rub your face in your wrongness if you’re not around? Hm?” Jordy rested his head back against the one thin pillow on his bed. “Not that there’s a lot to be wrong about. Did you hear Annie’s engaged?”
Sam’s high-pitched “Ummm…” could have summoned dogs.
“What?”
“I think I’m going to let Annie tell you herself, but she might not be engaged to who you think she’s engaged to.”
“It’s not Jake? She met someone in Peru?”
“No, not Peru. Definitely someone she met between Jake and Peru.”
Jordy stared at him blankly. There wasn’t anyone between Jake and Peru. The only person she had any kind of relationship with between Jake and Peru was…him.
“You know what’s fun about you?” Sam said. “I can see the moment the lightbulb turns on.”
“So Annie being here wasn’t a dream?”
“No, no, that was real. Very, very real. Do you, uh, remember proposing? Several times. And begging her to pick you? Oh, and then you did bribe her to move in with you. With lots of ‘I love you’ sprinkled in for good measure.”
“Do you still want to hit me with that car?”
“Did you not mean it?”
“No, I meant it.” Jordy closed his eyes, trying to hide from the flood of embarrassment. “I didn’t want the first time I said ‘I love you’ to be when I was high and not wearing pants.”
“I know a lot of couples that started their relationships like that and were very happily married for a few months,” Sam said, barely able to keep a grin off his face.
The lights were on in his house when Sam pulled into Jordy’s driveway that night.
The hospital discharged him with instructions to follow up about his broken collarbone. It was a good break, they said, but he might want to put a plate in to stabilize it for the rest of the season. Every doctor and nurse that had stopped by his room when he was at the hospital made sure to let Jordy know that he was a walking miracle and thanked him for wearing his protective gear. His helmet had saved his life, and his clothes had saved his skin.
“I shouldn’t read into it that she didn’t pick me up from the hospital, right?” Jordy asked Sam, clutching the plastic hospital bag of his belongings.
“Again, I told her to stay here.” Sam was exasperated. Jordy had an entire summer’s worth of relationship angst built up, and it had all poured out in the last twelve hours. “She didn’t need to get a ride back to the hospital to then come straight back here.”
