Honey on Your Mind (33 page)

He shook his head. “Wow, I did not see that one coming.”

“You and me both. Wendy is the epitome of the boy-crazy girly girl. With her stiff, poufy hair and pancake makeup, it’s like she’s single-handedly trying to bring back the fifties.”

“Just goes to show that you never know.”

I nodded. “That’s definitely been the theme of the year around here. You want some more hot chocolate?”

“Sure.”

I stood up and walked to the kitchen, dreading the inevitable next phase of our conversation. “So you had a nice flight?” I said over my shoulder.

“Yeah, uneventful. People tend to be mellow on New Year’s Day. It’s like the whole world is operating in first gear.”

“I definitely feel in first gear today, if not neutral. I’m exhausted.” My hands shook as I ripped open the hot chocolate packet.

Please don’t break my heart please don’t break my heart please don’t break my heart.

“So the show went well last night?”

I half-cringed at the memory. “I think so. Um, I haven’t seen it yet.” I knew he hadn’t either because of his flight, thank God.

“My mom saw it,” he said.

I froze.

“She did?”

“Yep. She called me about it, actually. Left a message when I was on the plane.”

I slowly walked out of the kitchen holding two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. I handed him one and sat down next to him.

“What did she say?”

“She asked if I’d broken the news to you yet.”

I dropped my mug. Hot chocolate splashed everywhere.

“Damn it!”

Jake jumped up. “Are you OK?”

Suddenly I started to cry.

“Did you burn yourself?”

I shook my head through the tears and ran into the kitchen. “Let me clean that up before it sets.” I grabbed a few rags and held them under the faucet, then rushed back to the living room to sop up the mess. I was still crying.

“Waverly, are you sure you’re OK?”

“Will you get a few rags and help? They’re under the sink.”

“Sure.” He stood up and backed into to the kitchen. “It’s just hot chocolate. It will come out.”

I was still crying.

If he didn’t think I was crazy before, this ought to do it
.

He returned from the kitchen and helped me mop up the rest of the hot chocolate in silence. Tears were still streaming down my face.

“Did we get it all?” he finally asked.

I nodded and stood up, my arms falling to my sides. “I think so.”

He looked up at me. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

I walked into the kitchen without replying. I just couldn’t face him.

“Waverly?”

I stood at the sink, my back to him. Suddenly I started crying again,
really
crying. I put both hands on the sink, my shoulders shaking.

Soon he was standing right behind me.

“Waverly, what’s going on?”

He turned me around to face him.

“Waverly, please talk to me.”

Finally, I raised my eyes to his.

“Why are you here, Jake?”

He looked surprised. “What?”

“Why are you here? You said you wanted to talk to me, so why don’t you just give me your…
news
?” I was surprised by the harsh tone of my voice.

He didn’t answer.

“You said we needed to talk, so let’s get it over with.” I walked past him into the living room, but this time I intentionally sat on the love seat.

He looked at me for a moment, and then slowly sat on the dry part of the couch.

I held my hands up. “I’m listening.”

“You sure you’re OK?”

I wiped a tear from my eye. “Why
wouldn’t
I be OK? Is it not OK that I want to give my business a chance? Is it not OK that I didn’t want to throw away my career for a future that may not even happen?” The emotions from the last few days, weeks, months were too much to hold in any longer.

He gave me a strange look. “OK…I don’t know where all that is coming from, but yes, I did want to talk to you about some news.”

“So talk.”

He paused for a moment.

“It’s just that, well, something unexpected has happened.”

I nodded.

“I’ve been offered a job as head of physical therapy and conditioning for the Lakers…the
Los Angeles
Lakers.”

I nodded again. “I know.”

“You know?” He looked surprised.

“So I guess you’re moving to California?” I didn’t mean to be cold, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Well, um, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

I didn’t reply.

This is it
.

He cleared his throat. “When I first met you, I never thought too much about geography, or where our jobs would take us, because none of that seemed important. At the time, I was more concerned about getting to know you than where you lived and what your career plans were.”

I shifted in my seat. Not knowing if he was going to ask me to go with him was agonizing.

“And then when you moved to New York for the TV show, I thought it would be easier for us because you’d be closer to Atlanta. And while I think that’s been the case, you can’t say it’s been…easy.”

I nodded.

He glanced at the wall for a moment, then at me.

He sighed, clearly sensing the tension between us. “I know things are just taking off for you now, and it’s not fair to ask you to uproot all that to be closer to me. I wouldn’t
want
you to do that. Plus, you’ve made it clear that you don’t want to move anywhere for a while.”

I nodded again.
But ask me anyway! Ask me anyway!

“So I’m not going to ask you to move.”

The blood in my veins went cold.

I clenched my hands in my lap and stared at them. Was he really OK with
increasing
the distance between us?

He spoke again. “But the thing is…” His voice trailed off.

I looked up at him, full of hope. “The thing is what?”

This time, he was the one who didn’t reply.

“The thing is
what,
Jake?”

“I just think that…at least for me, the distance thing isn’t going to work anymore.”

Oh my God.

My head started to hurt.

No!

Not again.

The tears started streaming down my face again. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

Don’t do this. Please don’t do this.

He glanced at the wall again. “You know how much I love the outdoors, right? How much I love having a backyard and fresh air and being surrounded by things that are, well,
green
?”

I nodded, dazed. Suddenly, I felt like I’d gone back in time, back to the day Aaron had appeared on my doorstep and announced that he didn’t love me…then called off our wedding. How could it be happening again? Hadn’t I already suffered enough heartbreak?

I wanted to scream.

Don’t do this! We can make it work!

But I was frozen.

I stared at the floor and tried to keep breathing.

Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke again.

“So…”

I kept staring at the floor.

“So…I guess what I’m trying to say is…that this job offer really got me thinking about things I hadn’t had to think about before. And while I’d prefer the green in my life come from
trees
, it looks like for now I’m going to have to settle for…
walls
.”

I looked up at him.

“What?”

He took a set of keys out of his pocket and looked around my apartment. “Various shades of green, actually. And some blue. I guess they’ll have to do. For now.”

“What are you…what are you saying?”

He stood up and touched the wall, then walked toward me. “I’m saying I turned the job down.”

My stomach flip-flopped.

“You turned it down?”

He nodded and gave me a sly smile. “I heard a rumor that the Brooklyn Nets might be hiring, so I made a few phone calls.”

The Brooklyn Nets?

He held up his set of keys to my apartment. “I thought maybe I could use these a little more often.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn’t find my voice.

Instead, I started crying again.

He put the keys back in his pocket, then reached for my hands and pulled me up to face him.

“Waverly? Are you OK?” He wiped a few tears from my cheeks. “Don’t cry.”

I coughed, and then tried to speak through my tears. “Are you saying…are you saying you want to move here to be closer to me?” It came out as a whisper.

He gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. The job here is mine if I want it. Assuming you want me to take it, that is.”

“But I thought…I thought you were moving to Los Angeles…without me.”

He shook his head, then put his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’m in
love
with you, Waverly. Don’t you know that by now?”

I nodded into his chest and could feel my heart rate calming down. “It’s slowly beginning to sink in.”

He laughed. “
Slowly beginning to sink in
?”

“Have you ever noticed that I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes?”

He smoothed my hair with one hand, the other still holding me close. “You’re a little crazy. Have I ever told you that?”

“A few times. I’m OK with it.” I smiled as my body began to relax against his.

We stood there holding each other, and soon my breathing returned to normal. He took a step back and looked down at me. “So how did you know about the Lakers job?”

I swallowed. “At your sister’s house on Christmas…I…I overheard your mom say something about a job in Los Angeles; and then the other day, Shane said something about an NBA rumor, but now I’m not sure which rumor he meant.”

“I bet he was referring to the job here in Brooklyn. Word travels fast in the NBA.”

“I guess so.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me about it?”

I shrugged and half-smiled. “Have you ever noticed that when it comes to love I tend to assume the worst?”

He touched my cheek. “We’ll work on that. So what did you say on the show last night that made my mom think I’d already told you about the Nets job?”

I swallowed. “I, um, I had a bit of a Waverly moment.”

“A what?”

“Let’s just say I acted like an idiot, and we can leave it at that.” I wiped the remaining tears from my face. “To be honest, I don’t really remember what I said, which is funny, because I think it was something about not forgetting. I thought you were going to break up with me, so I freaked out and over-shared, just like those people I hate on Facebook and Twitter.”

He smiled and tucked another loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“Waverly, I’m not going anywhere, OK?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

We stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. Then he slowly smiled and scratched his eyebrow. “So, I guess…I’m moving to Brooklyn?”

I grinned. “Apparently so.” I pressed my palms against my forehead. “I can’t believe I jumped to such a big conclusion. I was so…I was so…upset…” My voice trailed off again.

He leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Shhh, don’t be upset anymore.”

“I’m not upset anymore,” I whispered back. “I’m not afraid anymore.”

Then I hugged him tightly, determined not to let go.

I never realized how many people get married on Valentine’s Day.

Jake and I were sitting on a wooden bench in a hallway at Sacramento City Hall, surrounded by couples waiting to make it official. My dad and Betty were next in line, and Jake and I were the witnesses. They wanted to do something simple for the ceremony, so we were the only ones there. A few friends, mine included, were meeting us afterward for a late lunch and a small reception.

I leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Can you believe how many people are in here? I feel like we’re at a chapel in Las Vegas.”

“You think any of these people just met today?” He laughed and looked around. “I bet that’s how a lot of people end up getting married in Vegas.”

I nodded. “You’ve got to wonder what the average blood-alcohol level is at a twenty-four hour chapel.”

A moment later, my dad approached us. He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together.

“Looks like we’re up next. You kids ready? Betty’s touching up her makeup.”

I stood up and smoothed the skirt of my dress, then took a step toward my dad to adjust his tie. “Are
we
ready? Shouldn’t we be asking
you
that?”

He grinned. “Can you believe your old man is getting hitched?”

“Yes, I can, and it’s going to be great.” I finished his tie and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks, baby, I appreciate that.” He turned to Jake and held out his hand. “Thanks for making the trip out here. Mighty kind of you to come.”

Jake smiled. “I’m just happy I got the invite, Mr. Bryson. Your daughter’s a tough nut to crack.”

“Oh believe me, I know,” my dad said.

I pointed at both of them. “Hey now, no ganging up on me.”

Just then, Betty appeared from the ladies’ room. She was wearing a knee-length, cream-colored dress with a square neck and three-quarter-length sleeves, her blonde hair secured into a classic low bun. She could have been pulled straight from a Jackie-O photo collection.