— Tori —
My legs felt a little weak. I resumed my place on the couch, with my mind racing back and forth over what had just happened.
“Hey… everything okay?” I looked up to see Des approaching, with the same smirk she’d been wearing since she walked in with Maya, but moving a little slower than usual in her post-partum state.
I swallowed back the tears that were beginning to form. “Yeah,” I said as she sat down beside me. “What are you doing up?”
“I need to nurse Madi, girl my boobs feel like they’re about to pop. Nobody mentioned this part to me!” I laughed as I handed over the baby, who latched contentedly onto Des’s breast to nurse. Once they were settled, Des looked back at me. “So, I’m gonna ask again… is everything okay?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, Des. Madison is perfectly fine.”
“I’m not talking about Madison, I’m talking about you.” She pointed at something on the wall, and as soon as I saw the lenses built into the mobile that hung over Madison’s crib, I remembered Drew bragging about how he had modified the baby monitor to capture the whole room.
“You two should really be more careful if you’re gonna sneak around, and keep that shit out of my baby’s room, please! You’re lucky I was watching, and intercepted Maya. You almost got caught sucking each other’s faces off.”
Shit.
I pushed a hand through my hair, pressing my fingers into my scalp as I tried to figure out what to say. Should I apologize for not telling her? Should I pretend that was the first time it happened?
“Tell me everything.”
Okay. Decision made.
Des sat quietly, not making a single interruption as I, for the second time in a week, told someone the entire story of Avery and I, including where I was with my feelings now. Guilt. “Des, the last thing I want to do is mess things up for Avery and Maya. They’ve been going strong for like four months now, and I don’t want to get in the way of him being happy.”
“I don’t know that he is. Not really, you know? I mean… I think Maya is a little loopy or something, because that girl has been in a pissy mood since they got here! I feel bad for Avery, because I know he’s trying to make it work, so I’m sure he’s biting his tongue on some stuff. He wants this so bad. I kinda thought he was overcompensating for something, and diving into the thing with Maya really fast, but I couldn’t pinpoint why….” She resumed her smug little smile. “ Now, I suspect he was trying to get over you. Quite a few things make a lot more sense now.” She motioned for the bassinet , so I got and pushed it to her, watching as she gently laid baby Madi back to sleep, then gestured for me to follow her out of the room.
In the kitchen, we set ourselves up at the bar, but this time I made the tea, since she was still in recovery. “Des… I’m sorry for not telling you about Avery and me. There never seemed to be a right time.”
She shrugged. “After the talk we had after our little blow up in Chicago, I can say with certainty that if I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn’t have told me either, so no need to apologize. I just want to know what you’re going to do now.”
“What? I’m not gonna do anything, what do you mean?”
Des lifted an eyebrow, glaring at me over the rim of her cup as she took a sip. “You’re not gonna pursue him, try to get him back?”
“Hell no, Des. I told you, I’m not interfering with their relationship, not intentionally. If it’s meant for us to be together… we’ll find our way back to each other.”