“I thought about having it removed once.”
“Have you thought about changing it?” I ask as I glance over at her, giving her hand a little squeeze.
“I just don’t know what I would do. I don’t want anything bigger than it is now,” she explains.
“Did Roxy’s boyfriend do it?”
“Jared? Yeah.”
“When we get home, why don’t we talk to him, see what he can do?”
“I guess,” she says, unconvinced.
“I just think if it looked different, or you could add something to it that was meaningful to you, that you could associate it with something new, instead of what you’re doing now. Give it new meaning.”
“We can go talk to him,” is her only response, and I don’t say anything else about it because I know it’s a difficult thing to talk about.
When we arrive back in Seattle, I take Candace to her house to spend a little time with her before I have to run to the bar to take care of some work.
Setting her bags down on the bed, Candace quietly says, “I don’t want you to go to work.”
I hate that she’s feeling like this today, and that she doesn’t want to be alone, but I tell her, “Baby, I have to. It’s Saturday night, and I’ve been gone all week.”
She leans into me, sliding her arms around my waist. She’s needy, and I don’t want her to be alone either, so I offer, “Come with me.”
“What?”
“You don’t even have to be around everyone. Stay with me in my office.”
I’m not expecting her answer when she says, “Okay.”
“Really?” I question, stunned that she would agree so easily, especially for a Saturday night.
“Just park in the front, okay?”
Chapter Thirty-seven
I was relieved to see Candace enjoying herself when she went with me to the bar. I was nervous because Saturday nights are really busy, but I had Max with her the entire time. Jase was there to hear Mark’s band play and was able to talk her into going downstairs with him while I got my work done. Once I finished up, I hung out with her for the rest of the evening. Aside from meeting Max, she also met Mel. Candace has always been a mystery to them, so to have them finally meet her was nice since they know what a big part of my life she’s become.
When Candace walks down the stairs, I ask, “You ready?”
“Yeah, I just need my coat,” she says as she walks towards me.
“I got it,” I tell her when I stand up and help her put it on.
We head out into another rain-filled night to go spend the evening at Max’s place. He invited us over when he met Candace at the bar last week. Zane is back in town for a few days, so he and Mel will be there as well.
It’s an odd transition to be coupled off and doing things like this tonight, but it’s a welcome change that seems to better suit me now.
When we pull up to Max’s place, I help Candace out of the car and then head inside and out of the cold. We walk in, and I introduce her to Zane and Traci, who is now very pregnant. We sit around and talk for a little bit until Traci takes Mel and Candace back to see the baby’s room, leaving the guys alone in the living room.
“Dude,” Zane says as he nudges me with a smirk.
“What?”
“Who’s the chick?”
“Candace?”
He laughs when he says, “Yeah, man. What’s going on?”
Last I spoke with Zane, I was still into going out a lot with Gav, so I clue him in when I tell him, “We started dating soon after you high-tailed your ass to L.A.”
“What?!” he exclaims, nearly spitting out his beer. “What the hell have I missed around here? Seriously, I come back and you’re settled down with some chick, and this guy,” he says, pointing the neck of his beer bottle towards Max, “has his girl knocked up.”
Max laughs at him and says, “That’s what happens when you ditch town and don’t check in.”
“I guess,” he says and then turns to me. “Just never thought I’d see you with a chick.” Taking a swig of his beer, he asks, “Are you guys serious?”
“Yeah, man. Pretty serious.”
Max butts in, and asks Zane, “Tell us what’s going on with you and Mel.”
“I have no idea. She refuses to come to California, but I’m not giving up this opportunity so that she can stay close to her family.”
“Stop bullshitting,” I say, calling him out. “She said you told her you didn’t want her to go with you.”
“Why would I?” he responds. “I mean, she has done nothing but bitch about all of this, so why would I want her to tag along with her piss-poor attitude?”
Our attention is distracted when we hear a burst of laughter coming from the girls in the back of the house. In this moment, I smile. I just can’t help it. Candace doesn’t have any girl friends aside from Roxy, so to hear her laughter spilling through the house is infectious, and I let out a light chuckle.
Looking back over at Zane, I tell him, “She was upset when you left.”
“When I left? What about now?” he questions. “Seems to me that she’s doing pretty well on her own here.”
“God, you’re hard to talk to,” Max interjects.
“Can we not talk about my shit?” Zane says. “What about you?” he asks as he eyes Max. “I can’t believe you’re gonna be a dad. How are you not freaking the hell out right now?”