Our Love

Wade

I was standing in the driveway of Grant's apartment, feeling dumbfounded and giddy at the same time. Grant had called me over, wanting to talk about the night before and Quinn. I felt bad for having stormed out of there like a child and wanted to apologize for that as well. What I didn't expect was for Quinn to call me on my way over and demand to go on a date with me. I certainly wasn't complaining; she had the nerve to ask what I'd been a pussy about for too long.

"Honey, I'm home." When I entered, I didn't see any sign of Grant. I headed for the kitchen as usual and started to rummage through his refrigerator while waiting for him to appear. Just as I gathered the items to make a sandwich, he came waltzing in.

"Well, just make yourself at home."

"Want a sandwich too?"

"I'm good. So...we should talk, huh?" He leaned over onto the door frame, watching me.

Grant and I had been friends since college. We both played football and, of course, did the whole party scene together. We bonded instantly, and he quickly became my best friend. He wasn't lying when he mentioned our brief relationship with the same woman, it was odd at first, but we fell into a routine just before she ended up leaving. We never really mentioned it since. When we graduated, I immediately asked my Father to bring him on as well. Of course, he did, and well, here we are.

"Sure." I layered my sandwich fixings and shoved a big bite into my mouth.

"Quinn and I kissed last night." I nearly choked. I was not expecting that. I knew Quinn said they were going on a date, but I thought maybe she was trying to decide between us or something. "Well, she kissed me, and I kissed her back." Grant looked nervous, and the man was never nervous. All I could do was nod, a mouthful of food, and a wounded heart. "We're going on a date tonight." He continued his confession.

Swallowing the food and taking a breath, I gave him a half smile. "I know. She told me."

"She told you? When?"

"She called me earlier and asked me out on a date, sort of. She kind of demanded we go on a date tomorrow night. She said that you two were going on a date tonight, though." I laid the sandwich on a napkin, taking a quick gulp of water. Grant had shifted on his feet, leaning against the counter now.

"Wow. Ok." Grant ran his hand down his face as he laughed. "She's a little minx that one. What do we do?"

"We go on a date separately." Shrugging my shoulders, I finished up the sandwich and then led the way into his living room.

"This went from 0 to 100 pretty quickly." Grant paced the floor. I felt a bit nervous myself, seeing how worked up he was getting; he clearly wasn't playing around.

"You really like her?"

"I do. I don't want to cause issues with us, though, and I don't want to lose her as a friend or co-worker. I should cancel the date. I'll step back."

"You can't do that. This is crazy." Running my hands through my hair, I paced the floor with him. "We'll both go on the damn dates; hell, she demanded it." Shaking my head with a laugh. "Let her make a choice, how all of this will play out, I guess."

"This sounds oddly familiar." Grant slid into his seat with a huff.

"Never thought we'd discuss that shit again." I couldn't help but scoff.

"Last time we didn't discuss it, it all just sort of happened. That was college too. I think this time is different. I want to see...I think I want to...." Grant seemed stuck on his words, but I knew where he was going.

"You're ready for a long-term relationship," I spoke for him. He nodded as he slid down into his recliner. His face was full of emotion. "Well, let's take it one date at a time."

"One date at a time? You're okay with that?"

"I like her; I want to explore this. I want her to be treated right, and I know that we both can do that. There's a bit of jealousy, but I trust you; I trust you with her. For whatever fucked up reason, I do." Admitting that was hard, but it was the truth. The thought of Quinn with Grant gave me a few seconds of jealousy, but mostly, I knew she'd be cared for. I saw how he had looked at her, and hearing him confess feelings I'd never heard from him before; I knew he would treat her the way that she deserved. I couldn't stand in the way of that.

"Looks like I've got a date then, eh?" He smiled as if he'd just won the lottery. "Any suggestions on what we should do?" He smirked.

"Nope. Not going to help ya out there. That's between you two. I've got my own ideas."

*

I left Grant to get ready for his date with Quinn. I was oddly comfortable with the whole idea, which had me questioning everything at the same time. I headed back to the house, despite wanting to talk with Carrie about everything immediately. Halfway home, my phone rang; seeing my Father's name pop up on the dash didn't excite me in the slightest.

"Hello."

"Christopher." His professional tone was annoying, and the fact that he refused to call me by the name I'd gone by the majority of my life only added to the frustration.

"Wade. It's Wade. What's up?"

"Sorry. Um, Wade." I could hear the uncomfortable feeling in his voice. "I signed all the paperwork with Scholts this morning. It seems Denise was pleased with whatever went on between the two of you. I just wanted to extend my gratitude."

"I appreciate that. I'm glad it's done. Now, you can leave me alone about any business dealings. I have no interest in it, nor will I participate in anything related to it again." I did my best to hide the bitterness in my voice.

"Understood." The pause in conversation was awkward; I felt like he wanted to say more but didn't know how. "Again, Thank you. Have a good day." He ended the call before I could respond. I shook my head as I pulled into the driveway, seeing Ben Stevens standing by the shop, leaning against his beat-up truck.