So Much More

Here We Go

Her mother's backyard had always been beautifully decorated. With a vast lawn, a large pool big enough to accommodate her whole family, a separate pool house with its state-of-the-art kitchen, a secluded area for barbecues and a lounging area; all bearing the same dark natural stones, light oakwood and white linen. It was a Thursday afternoon in the middle of October and Melanie was throwing one of her famous pool parties. While the backyard was usually a place of tranquility and relaxation, it had been transformed to fit the Hawaiian-themed party, with bright flowers pots holding exotic flowers, colorful streamers everywhere, giant balloons, fake palm trees, waiters walking around in a Hawaiian-pattern shirts and khaki pants with grass skirts over top, and also a big gazebo on the lawn. Her mother had outdid herself once again.

Drinks were free flowing and so was bite-sized foods. Her brother Jesse was in charge of manning the grill while Blake was leading the treasure hunt with the kids. Women were dressed in their best swimwear with barely-there coveralls while the men lounged in Bermuda shorts and the occasional unbuttoned shirt. The music was booming and all around the place was filled with joy and laughters.

Dakota was now sprawled in one of the beach lounger chairs by the pool, sipping a tall glass of margarita. Chase Cohl, one of her closest best friend was the only one taking a seat next to her while the other party guests were busy mingling or taking a quick swim. Jason had flown back to Chicago a day ago to take care of some untended business but he promised to fly back on Saturday. She knew how hard it must be for him to fly back and forth but she was grateful nonetheless. On the other hand, it had been a week since she had that impromptu lunch with Jamie, Eddie and Emily; both Jamie and Emily had been radio silence since then. She had seen news that Jamie was busy with a project while Emily – she would bet – was busy with the new man in her life.

"So Stella told me that you and Jason had the talk."

Dakota merely glanced sideways at her friend and sipped her drink once again. "And who told you that?"

From her peripheral vision, she saw Chase getting up and was giving her undivided attention. "So you're not denying it."

"Ha!" she scoffed. "We had the talk but nothing was resolved."

A little crease appeared between Chase's eyebrows. "What?"

Dakota merely nodded. "Every time I brought it up he's either changing the subject or he would distract me so I would forget about it."

Chase snickered. "And his method of distraction being?"

She plucked the lime from her glass and threw it at Chase. "It's a valid question," Chase merely said with a shrug. "So are you just going to let it flow from now on?"

"I've been 'letting it flow' for almost a year now," she said with air quotes. "I don't understand his hesitation."

Chase took a sip of her drink and frowned. "Do you think he can't be exclusive?"

Dakota shrugged. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Maybe show up in Chicago unannounced and see it for myself?"

"And if he is seeing other people?" Chase asked, her frowns deepening. "It's not like you can accuse him of cheating since you guys aren't exclusive."

"That's why I'm so confused about it all. I mean, I want to be exclusive but it's not something that can be decided by one party only."

"You know I have no right to give you any advice..."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you're my friend so spit it out."

"If you need exclusivity and he won't give it to you, don't you think that it's time to move on? If you guys are not even on the same page then what's the point in having a relationship?"