Someone Someday (All in Good Time Book 2) (6 page)

Chapter 8

A few days later, my friend Maddie came to my apartment. She sent me a text first to make sure I was home. I told her I was headed to the gym before long, but that I'd be home for a little while, and she replied saying she'd be right over. It wasn't like her to pop by when she knew it was one of my workout nights, so I figured she must have something on her mind.

My suspicion was confirmed when I opened the door to find her standing there in tears. "What happened?" I asked as she stepped into the apartment. I put a hand on her shoulder, and inspected her face, trying to see if I could figure out what was going on.

"I'm okay," she said. "I'm good with all these changes. It just sucks when it comes to saying goodbye to people like you. It's so hard to leave the people you love. It makes me doubt my decision, you know?"

"What decision, Maddie?" I asked, totally confused. "What are you talking about?"

She crossed my small living room and took a seat on the couch. I followed and sat down next to her. It took her a second to start talking, and the whole time I just stared at her with a curious expression, anxiously waiting for her to explain.

She took a deep, calming breath before beginning. "A few days ago I had a big argument with my general manager," she said.

She'd already told me about that and I nodded letting her know I remembered.

"I didn't quit or anything, but I really wanted to. It's so awkward being around him now."

"What are you gonna do?" I asked, thinking about how this conversation began with her saying something about leaving.

"Andy happened to call me the day after that happened," she said with the hint of a smile.

I was starting to see where this was going.

"We talked for a really long time. He said how much he missed me and how badly he wanted me to move over there." She sighed. "I guess it was just the right timing, because before I knew what I was doing, I agreed to pack up and move to New York."

"Seriously?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Do you regret it?" I asked. "Because Andy's a reasonable guy. If you explained, he would understand that you were in a bad spot that day when you agreed to—"

"I want to go," she said, cutting me off. "I don't regret telling him I'd go." She smiled sheepishly at me and sighed again. "I hate the thought of leaving you guys, but something feels right about it, you know?"

"Are you sure it's not just because of everything that went down with your job?"

"I'm sure," she said sincerely. "I've thought about it constantly for the past two days, and I'm really happy with my decision."

We stared at each other for a few long seconds. It would be hard to say goodbye to Maddie, but I was happy for her and thought New York would suit her. "I've always wanted to visit New York," I said.

Maddie's face broke into a huge grin and I could tell she was relieved that I understood. I was sure some of her family might not have been so supportive with her decision.

"Obviously I'm gonna miss you a ton," I said, "but I'm really excited for Andy. I know he's super stoked."

She smiled. "I am too! I didn't realize how much I missed him till we talked the other day." She touched her chest. "He asked me to come to him, and my heart just couldn't say no."

I leaned in to hug her and she squeezed me back. "I'm so happy for you," I said.

I could feel her chest begin to shake, and I could tell she was crying. It made me cry too.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for understanding. My family's not quite as supportive, and that makes everything harder than it already is."

We both sniffled. "It shouldn't be hard," I said. "It's a happy time—a new adventure. And who knows, you and Andy might move back here one day."

She sniffled again and wiped at her eyes as she nodded. "I love you, Lexi," she said. "I want you to know that I'm really gonna miss you."

I'd been barely crying, but her sincere words produced new tears that just wanted to spill out. I squinted at her. "Don't say such sweet things," I said, making us both laugh a little through the tears. "We'll do all that gushy stuff once it's time for you to leave."

She put her face in her hands and let out a long wail.

"What Maddie?" I asked, shaking her shoulder.

"I'm leaving tomorroooow," she said, sobbing.

"Really?" I asked.

She still had her face in her hands, but she nodded at my question.

"Why so soon?" I asked, feeling shocked.

She looked at me, her blood shot eyes sincere and regretful. "Andy's got a fall formal at work. He doesn't think I'll be there, but I decided earlier today to fly out and surprise him for it." She paused. "I didn't see any reason to delay once I made up my mind that I was going. I thought I might as well make it like a band-aid, you know? My mom's shipping my things."

"So Andy knows you're coming, but he doesn't know when?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, he thinks I'm coming next week."

I stared at her for a second, trying to let everything sink in. "I can't believe you're surprising him for a formal," I said. "That's so romantic."

A smile crossed her tear-stained face. "You think so?"

"It's like a movie," I said. "What's your plan? Are you gonna get dressed up and show up at the formal unannounced, or are you gonna hook up with him first and get dressed at his place. What dress are you wearing? Do you even know where the event is? How are you gonna get around?"

She squealed and put her hands over her face at all my questions. "I'm packing everything I need for a few days including the things I need to get dressed for the event. I'm borrowing one of my little sister's prom dresses—the black sequin one with the low back. Have you seen it?" I shook my head, and she continued. "Well, it's really cute and it fits me good. Anyway, I called his office to get the details about the event before I ever had a plan and his assistant got really excited about helping me surprise him. She's arranging my ride from the airport and said I could get dressed at her house and ride with her and her boyfriend to the formal."

"So Andy's just going dateless?" I asked. It was the first thing that came to my mind, but her expression fell, indicating that the thought never even crossed her mind.

"I guess he is. Surely his assistant wouldn't let me make all these plans if he had another date, right?"

I swiped my hand through the air as if the thought of him having another date was a ridiculous notion in the first place. "He's gonna be so excited to see you," I said. "I'm proud of you for having the guts to make a move like this, Maddie. I think you're gonna be really happy."

She reached out to hug me and we sat there for a few minutes crying, and laughing, and doing our best to deny the fact that it was the last time we'd see each other—for a while at least.

She had other friends to visit and a lot to do before she left, so within 20 minutes of arriving, she was gone. I still had time to make it to my boxing class, but I almost didn't go. I almost used the excuse of Maddie moving to sit in my apartment and eat Ben and Jerry's. Laney had just come home from the hospital with my new nephew, and the possibility of staying home grew more and more tempting when I thought about them being right next door.

I made myself go to class. I only went twice a week and I hated to miss a day. Plus, I knew I would feel good afterwards. It was difficult, but I made myself get into the car and drive to the gym.

I barely made it to class on time. I was in a rush to wrap my hands, but I got it done and got out onto the mats in the knick of time. Jason Lane was at class, and he asked if I wanted to partner up. There were quite a few new faces in there, so I agreed to partner with Jason rather than get stuck with someone who had no idea what they were doing and needed instruction the whole time.

Chris from Miller's was doing a Jiu Jitsu class that evening and he peeked his head into the striking gym to see what we were doing. He caught sight of me and waved. "What? Is that your dad checking up on you?" Jason said when Chris was out of sight. He'd been keeping his flirting in check all this time, but his statement sounded frustrated and jealous, which made me look at him funny.

"Chris is my friend. You know that," I said.

He had the decency to look abashed. "I can't help it if I get a little jealous," he said. He reached out and gave my chin a casual fake punch. "You're my partner, ya know?"

I smiled somewhat awkwardly and ignored his statement, deciding I'd rather get to work. Thankfully, Jason took the hint, and we talked about nothing but boxing for the remainder of the class.

I was glad I made the decision to go to the gym that night. It was one of the best workouts I had ever done. Jason and I fell into sync so much so that Coach Josh used us as the example of good form and technique for the majority of the class. We were both dripping wet with sweat and utterly spent by the time class was over.

"I was thinking about sticking around for level two, but I don't think I have it in me," Jason said, taking off his gloves when we were done.

"I'm definitely not staying," I said. "I was debating on coming to this one in the first place."

"I'm glad you did," he said. "That was good."

I smiled at him. "It was good, wasn't it?"

He lifted his eyebrows and smirked. "I wouldn't want to be on the other end of your hook if I didn't have pads to catch it with." That sort of compliment made me excited. I loved hooks and felt like I was getting better at them. It made me happy to have him notice. "Really?" I asked. "I love hooks."

"I can tell," he said. "You tear 'em up, girl."

We unwrapped our hands and walked to the parking lot together. One of the coaches, a guy named Nick, was standing near a truck. It was brand new and fitted with every available custom feature. I'd never seen it in the parking lot before, and figured it was Nick's new ride. He was standing there with another guy, someone I noticed earlier when he and Nick came into boxing class to watch. It was pretty common for the coaches to come in with perspective students and watch for a few minutes. I wasn't really paying much attention, but it seemed like Nick and this guy had stayed for quite a while—maybe about half the class. I remember glancing over there several times to find that they were still there.

"Thanks for partnering with me," I said to Jason as we came close to my car.

He motioned toward his motorcycle. "Wanna take a ride? I have an extra helmet."

I shook my head, but before I could give voice to my refusal, Nick spoke from the place where he and the stranger were standing about five cars down.

"Hey Lexi, come here for a second, I wanted to introduce you to my friend," Nick called.

That seemed slightly out of character for him. Everyone at the gym was really nice, but Nick and I had never really gotten to know each other, so it was slightly odd for him to call me over like that.

Jason let out a groan like he was annoyed. "That guy," he said under his breath.

I looked at him with a curious expression.

"He thinks he's God's gift," he said, still mumbling where they couldn't hear.

"Who Nick?" I whispered.

"No, that other guy. Morgan Turner." Jason rolled his eyes. "He trains here about half the year. He sucks."

I sent him a surprised look for such an off the wall, rude comment. This guy Morgan happened to be extraordinarily handsome, and I figured Jason must feel threatened by him or something.

"I'm sure he doesn't
suck
," I whispered. I changed directions to head to where Nick was standing.

"He does suck," he said.

"Well, maybe you should help him out," I said. I continued walking over to the spot where Nick and Morgan were standing, and to my surprise Jason followed me.

I walked up to the two guys, and Jason came to stand right next to me. I knew I was covered in sweat and my face was red from exertion, but there was nothing I could do about it. I always French-braided my own hair for class, and I was sure after a workout like that, it was coming loose and I probably had little pieces of hair sticking out every which way. I usually didn't care what I looked like after a workout, but the closer I got to this guy Morgan, the more I became aware of my own disarray. As nonchalantly as I could, I ran a hand over my hair to check for stragglers.

Nick shot Jason a questioning, slightly annoyed glare before smiling at me. "Lexi this is Morgan," Nick said.

For some reason I got a little nervous when being introduced to him. I smiled and shook his hand, but I felt a little shaken, which was odd for me.

Jason cocked his chin up. "Whatsup Morgan," he said.

Morgan smiled. "Hey Jason, how's it going?"

We stood there not saying anything for a few heartbeats as Morgan looked back and forth from me to Jason. "Are you two together?" he asked.

"No," I said.

But at the exact same time that I said it, Jason said, "Yes."

My head whipped around and I pinned him with a disbelieving glare.