Faking It with My Bossy Ex (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

14. Dylan

Chapter 14

Dylan

Eight Years Ago

Where is my jacket? I know I left it in the room somewhere. Amy is already waiting for me at the campus library, and I’m fifteen minutes late as it is. I stumble across the room as someone knocks on the door. She must have come back to see what’s going on.

Instead of Amy, Jake stands in the doorway. He’s angry, not surprising. He’s always been surface level polite. Tyler is much more of a pal sort.

“What’s up? I’m kind of on my way out.” I lean against the doorway, trying my hardest to look intimidating. There’s nothing that intimidates Jake. He’s the definition of intimidation.

“Really? On your way out? We need to talk.” Jake scowls and pushes past me into my room. Rude.

“What’s this about?” I think I would remember if I’d done something specific to tick Jake off.

“It’s about you and Amy. Tell me you didn’t know she’s turning down Europe to get an apartment near you while you finish up your second degree.” He crosses his arms across his chest and stares me down, demanding an answer.

“Europe? I don't know what you’re talking about.” I feel like she would have mentioned Europe to me. It’s a big thing.

“Yes, Europe.” His expression softens a bit, and he pulls a crumpled pamphlet from his pocket and shoves it at me.

‘You’ve been accepted into our exclusive painter apprenticeship program. Join us in Europe for the next calendar year …’ My eyes drop down the rest of the pamphlet, taking in bits of information.

This is everything Amy’s ever dreamed of. Why did Jake say she was turning it down?

“If you let her give up Europe so she can stay with you, you’ll be killing her dream before it even starts, understand?”

My throat goes dry. I understand a little too well.

“Maybe if I talk to her, we could do long distance …”

“She’d never do that. It’s probably the reason she didn’t tell you in the first place. She loves you, so she thinks that she has to be here for you.” Jake's gaze is sad more than anything. “If you want her to go, you’ll have to make her go.”

“Are you saying I have to break up with her?” A pit settles in my stomach.

“I’m saying you have to decide what’s more important, you or what Amy has worked for and dreamed about since she was three.” He shakes his head.

“It’s in your court, Dylan.” Jake walks back to the door after snatching the pamphlet back. “By the way, don’t mention that I was here.”

I stand in the middle of my room, my hands dangling by my side. Angry arguments from my childhood scream through my head.

“I left everything behind for you! Do you get that? I would have been more than this!” My mom’s face contorted as tears streamed down her face, her voice rising as she yelled at my dad.

“For me? I didn't ask you to do anything.” He glares at her with none of the warmth he used to have for her.

“You didn’t have to ask.”

It’s history repeating itself. Amy and I, no longer looking into each other’s eyes like we want to be there with one another forever, instead with anger, hurt, and blame.

No. I have to do something about it. I won’t let that happen. Amy knows what she wants, and she should get it, no matter what the cost is.

***

Dylan

Present Day

The temperature in the library just dropped below zero and I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with their heating system. Jake avoids my gaze, ashamed. He sort of should be.

Tyler, on the other hand, looks like he’s ready to choke me out with his bare hands and string me up outside the library, execution style.

“So, how was the trip?” I ask, extending my hand and shaking Jake’s hand. I hold my hand out in front of Tyler for a solid ten seconds before dropping it. He looks at me like I’m a bit of gum on the bottom of his shoe that he has the inconvenience of scraping off.

“Fine.” Jake bites the word out.

“None of your business.” Tyler takes a step forward and shields me from Amy. Man, he would be one unhappy camper if he knew how much time we’ve been spending together these past few days.

“We’re, um, getting something at Laura’s bakery. Can we meet up later?” Amy’s voice is brittle. Is she worried about her brother’s hurting me? She’s adorable.

She wraps her arm around Tyler’s and leads him out. He’s like a hopping mad rooster, almost doubling back to give me a piece of his mind or, more probably, his fist.

“Jake, can I talk to you for a second?” I had no idea her brothers would show up, but it’s perfect. There’s something I need to clear the air with Jake about.

He hesitates, glancing toward Amy and Tyler, who are almost out the front door of the library.

“It’ll only take a second.” I step closer, motioning to one of the study rooms we’ve been using for the fundraiser. He crosses his arms, his jaw ticking with frustration and probably a bit of discomfort.

Good. I hope he’s as uncomfortable as he’s made me, indirectly, but still.

“I want to tell Amy the truth.” There. The words are out there. He can blow his top now.

“Why? It’s not like you want to get back together with her …” His shoulders deflate. “You do, don’t you?”

“I do.” Saying it makes it that much more real. “I messed up, letting her go back then. You told me some things that scared me so bad I reacted without thinking. Now that time has passed, and we’ve … well, found each other again, I want to know where that would take us.”

“If you tell her, she’s going to hate me.” He sounds resigned more than anything, and for a moment, I wonder if I’m in the wrong for asking if I can tell her.

“So it’s better that she hates me? There’s no way she’ll give me another chance if she doesn’t know the truth, Jake. Amy’s the one for me, Jake. I don’t know how else to put it. I might have spent years lying to myself that wasn’t true, but she is. I need her in my life.”

Jake's shoulders drop. “All right. Do what you have to do. I care more about Amy being happy than I do about how she’ll see me, but seriously, if you get her back, you’d better not hurt her again … This is the only warning you’re getting.” Jake’s expression turns serious, deadly even.

“Hurting her is the last thing I want to do. Thanks for being cool about telling her.”

“No problem. I’m going to go catch up to them.” Jake shakes my hand again. “Nice seeing you again, Dylan.”

He hurries out of the library, leaving me staring after him.

I never told Amy about Jake, or that I knew about Europe. She would have convinced me we could do it. I know she would have.

Now, looking back, honesty should have been my policy. Instead, I took things into my own hands out of fear, a gut reaction. But now, we’re not in college anymore, and maybe, just maybe, the past can be repaired. Our story can be different.

I have to do it in the right way, or it will mean nothing.

An idea starts to take hold and I leave the library behind and head to an old shop I hope still exists.

***

I’m leaning against the light post outside of Laura’s bakery when Amy finally says goodbye to her brothers and follows them out with Laura at her side.

Tyler nearly tackled me when he saw me, but Jake stopped him and pulled him away. I guess he really is open to Amy being happy, even if it is with me. The smile on Amy’s face turns to surprise when she spots me.

“Dylan, what are you doing here? Laura was going to give me a ride.” Laura looks between us.

“I figured we’d walk back together, so I waited.” A heavy cloth bag hangs over my shoulder, full of the surprise I prepared while she was visiting with her brothers.

“I’m not sure …”

“Go ahead. It’ll save me the trip.” Laura winks and Amy reaches for her as if to beg for her to stay, but she’s already slipping back to the bakery.

“Miss me?” I tease.

“No. I didn’t miss you,” she laughs. “If you must know, Jake and Tyler are great company.”

She shakes her head and scrunches her nose at the snowshoes I’ve brought her. She slips them on like a pro before standing and starting down the street. It doesn't take long to get to our shortcut, but I lead off to the left.

“Where are you going?” She asks, pausing at the entrance of the woods.

“Just a little detour.” I stop, clutching the bag. I reach my hand out and take hers, pulling her close. She opens her mouth to protest, then closes it again. “I wanted to take you somewhere special.”

“My brothers wouldn’t like this. For a moment, I thought you wouldn’t leave the library alive.” She shakes her head, uncertainty tugging at her expression.

“You’re cute when you worry,” I chuckle. “Your brothers wouldn't hurt me.”

“Are you sure about that? I’m not sure you know my brothers as well as you think you do.”

It didn’t take long to find the spot I was looking for. I’d walked up here earlier to make sure it was still the same. It’s a little pond, about thirty feet in diameter. There’s a city light pole erected at the edge, casting a warm glow over the ice.

“Dylan, what are we doing here …” She looks up at me, a puzzled expression in her eye. This pond isn’t just any old place. It's our spot. We’ve been here for our first date in the spring and other dates along the way.

“What do you say?” I pull the two pairs of ice skates from the bag and hold them up, my pulse picking up when her eyes go wide for a second. My chest feels tight, worried she’ll say no. That she’s buried the past so deep, there’s no chance of digging it up again.

“You want to skate now ?”

“Yup, just like old times. I got your size, eight and a half. They say skating is like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it.” Okay, that might be an exaggeration.

“I don’t know. It’s probably a bad idea.” She frowns, taking a step back, nearly tripping on her snowshoes.

I reach out and wrap an arm around her waist, stepping in close. I can smell cinnamon on her hair from being in Laura’s bakery. It makes my heart flip. My eyes drop to her lips and my mind races with the words she sent to Leo.

“One last skate, like old times?” My voice soft.

Her gaze drops to the skates, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. It’s like she’s letting herself remember, even just for a second.

“All right. Let’s do this.” A smile fills her face. Back in the day, she used to come to check the pond every day once winter started to see if we could skate yet.

She takes the skates from my hands and hurries over to a nearby bench. During some evenings, they hold skating events and everyone breaks out their skates and has a moment on the pond. The town invested in a couple of benches to make it easier.

She gets her skates on about the same time as I do and we both race toward the pond.

Her laughter echoes around us, hitting me right in the gut. In this moment, it’s like nothing’s changed. It’s just us, like it used to be—back when we thought we were untouchable, and loving her was as natural as breathing.

I hope we aren't too broken to fix.