The Other Side of Someday (26 page)

“Want to come with me and get one of your own?” she asked.

I snorted at her. “Y’all are lucky I didn’t leave when I first got here. There’s no way in hell I’m jumping out of a plane, then getting my skin jabbed with a needle. My limit is one crazy adventure per day.”

“So tomorrow then?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I shook my head and laughed, securing the helmet straps under my chin. Once we were all set to go and the instructor said we’d been cleared to take off, I blindly followed the group to a small plane, all of us hopping in, taking a seat in one of the bench seats lining the sides of the aircraft. As the plane lurched forward and we taxied toward the runway, a hand squeezed mine. I looked to my left.

“You okay?” Sebby shouted over the roar of the engines.

“Never better!” I grinned a toothy smile at him, trying to hide my obvious nerves.

The next twenty minutes were a blur as the plane climbed into the sky. I would have given anything to have more time to pep myself up. Instead, the minute hand of my watch seemed to race, time passing with lightning speed. The higher the plane climbed, the more my body was overtaken by nerves. I tried to fight off the chills running through me. I plastered a smile on my face as I listened to my friends talk about their evening plans, as if they weren’t about to plummet back to earth. A ding sounded, cutting through the conversation, and we all turned our heads to see the ready light illuminated. We unbuckled from our seats and found our jump partners.

“Ready, Baylee?” my instructor, Bruce, asked. He was in his fifties and just an inch or two taller than me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I responded.

He smiled. “Let’s do this.”

Nodding, I turned around, allowing him to clip himself onto the harness I was wearing on the back of my jumpsuit. After he checked all the straps and connections to make sure we were secured to each other, he squeezed my arm.

“We’re set, Baylee.”

We lined up and I watched my friends jump out, one by one, until I was the only one left. It was so tempting to tell Bruce I wanted to back out, but I had already come this far. Approaching the open door, the sound of the engines and wind grew louder, and I didn’t even hear the jump signal. One minute, I was in the airplane, my feet firmly planted on the solid floor. The next, I was free-falling through the sky, screaming.

Keeping my eyes closed, I clutched onto the straps of my harness, as if it would slow me down. I wanted to curse my mother for her adventurous spirit. Humans weren’t meant to jump out of airplanes and fall back to earth. Based on my luck, our parachute wouldn’t open, like always happened in those
Bugs Bunny
cartoons I watched growing up. It didn’t matter that I knew there was a backup ‘chute, too.

Then something unexpected happened. As the wind hit my face, I felt that same euphoria from on the mountain. An air of serenity filtered through me, erasing the tension that was there moments ago. I finally opened my eyes and let the world around me come into view. I knew we were falling fast toward the ground, but it didn’t feel like that. I felt like I was flying.

Within minutes of beginning our free-fall, Bruce opened the parachute, slowing our descent, giving me a bird’s eye view of my new home. To the south, I could see Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and downtown LA. To the north, nothing but mountains. In front of me, the waves of the Pacific Ocean crested in the distance. This was heaven on earth. I swallowed through the lump in my throat at the thought that my mother never got to experience something as incredible and momentous as this.

All too soon, houses that seemed to be specs of dust grew larger and larger, and our landing site came into view. When we had first jumped, I wanted nothing more than to be on solid ground. Now that it was almost over, I didn’t want it to end.

I was still on cloud nine when we hit the ground and ran across the grass, slowing to a stop. I felt such a rush from how liberating the experience was. After Bruce unclipped my harness, I walked to my friends waiting in the distance, clear of the landing zone. As I approached, I was swarmed by all of them throwing their arms around me and congratulating me.

I was always met with a strong sense of accomplishment each time I crossed something off my mother’s list. This time, however, it was different. Yes, I felt accomplished, but having this strange group of misfits who had become my second family by my side made it worth all the nerves. When I first moved out here, I wondered if this place would ever feel like home.

It finally did.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

S
EBBY
SPED
DOWN
PCH toward Santa Monica, driving more carelessly than I imagined he wanted, but it was getting late. After finishing our jump, we all went to a bar in Malibu to have a few birthday drinks. I had lost track of time, now on the verge of missing my date with Owen. He was supposed to be picking me up at seven, which was in fifteen minutes. I had debated canceling and spending the night with my friends, but Owen would be leaving town tomorrow, making tonight our last chance to go out for a week. I wanted him to think I was willing to sacrifice a few things to see if whatever was going on between us had the potential to grow into something more.

I kept telling myself that the more time I spent with Owen, the less I would think of the man I had my arms wrapped around as he navigated down the road. After this afternoon, however, I knew it was a lie. Today was a turning point in our “friendship”. I couldn’t quite explain it, but there was something bigger between us now. Maybe it was because he remembered my birthday. Maybe it was because he helped me cross another item off my mother’s list. Maybe it was because he pushed me to face my fears, promising to stand by my side the entire time. Maybe it was because, over the weeks, Sebby had brought out a side of me I never knew existed. Regardless of what triggered the transformation, it was there. It was…magic.

Pulling up to our building, Sebby parked his bike off to the side of the porte-cochere and ran through the lobby, dragging me along with him. Despite my impending date, I didn’t want to go back to my condo. I was worried that whatever spark or change that had occurred between us today would be erased the moment we returned home.

I glanced at him as we rode up to the top floor of our building. “Thanks for today.” I shuffled my feet, closing the distance between us.

Peering down at me, he brushed a strand of hair, which had come loose from my ponytail, behind my ear. It didn’t matter that, during the course of our friendship, his fingers had grazed my skin on countless occasions. That gesture was more charged and thrilling than any of our previous ones.

His fingers lingered on my face, cupping my cheek. Breathless, I melted into him, closing my eyes. When I opened them, he was gazing at me with a yearning that was unmatched in all my now twenty-nine years. I wanted to freeze time. That was the moment I knew.

Sebby lost the bet.

Men and women couldn’t just be friends.

The unwelcome ding of the elevator reaching our floor echoed, the sound deafening as it broke our moment. Reality slapped me in the face the second I stepped into the hallway. All day, we had lived in our fantasy world, the rush of doing something crazy making me forget about the real world for a minute. Now that my body had returned to earth, so did my conscience. Regardless of what happened between us today, nothing changed the fact that Sebby had a girlfriend. No matter how much my heart truly believed he would be a man worth taking a risk for, I couldn’t come between him and Mercedes.

Turning from him and dashing toward my condo, I halted when I saw a tall, intimidating man standing at my door.

“He looks different with clothes on,” Sebby remarked, approaching me from behind.

I let out a small laugh. Owen looked in our direction, his brows furrowing when he saw I wasn’t even remotely close to being ready for our date. A pang of guilt knotted in my stomach before disappearing. I wouldn’t trade today for anything.

“Owen,” I started, “I’m so sorry. I got dragged out earlier today under the false guarantee that I would be home in plenty of time to get ready for dinner.” I rushed to the door and unlocked it. “I just need to shower, but I can be ready in thirty minutes.” I stepped back, allowing him to enter.

“Blame me,” Sebby added, following Owen into the living room of my condo, much to my surprise. “We took her skydiving for her birthday.” He headed toward my kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine off my counter and pouring three glasses. Owen appeared dumbfounded as to why this man just made himself at home in my condo. I knew Sebby all too well at this point. This was his way of marking his territory. Territory he had no claim over.

“And you are?” Owen hesitantly took the wine glass Sebby held toward him.

“Oh. Sorry.” Sebby brushed his hands on the legs of his cargo pants. “I’m Baylee’s neighbor, Sebby. I live across the hall.”

Both men stared at each other for several awkward moments, as if they were having a silent conversation. I pictured them in fur skin loin-cloths, hunched over, grunting like cavemen, gesturing that they were my keeper and protector.

“Well,” I said, breaking up the pissing contest, “I’ll let you two get to know each other while I go shower. I’ll make it quick.” I stood on my tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on Owen’s neck before dashing up the stairs. I knew it irritated Sebby, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him. As misplaced as his jealousy was, considering his own relationship status, I craved it.

Jumping into the shower, I washed in record time, worried I would walk in on a wrestling match when I made my way back downstairs. I briefly considered the possibility that Sebby could have said something to scare Owen off, but when I heard two voices echoing against the high ceilings, making their way to me in my bedroom, I grew relieved that he was still here.

After towel drying my hair and running some gel through it to settle the waves, I put on a cream-colored form-fitting dress, coupled with a chunky black jeweled necklace and bracelet. Sliding on a pair of dark stilettos, I made my way down the stairs to see Sebby and Owen joking about something as they sat on the couch. It was a complete one-eighty from the state I had left them in moments ago, but I was glad to see them getting along. Sebby was an important part of my life. If this thing with Owen was going anywhere, I needed them to be civil toward one another. I wasn’t expecting them to form an unhealthy bromance, but I didn’t want there to be any animosity between them, either.

I tried to hide my presence to see what they were laughing about, but my heels gave me away. Both men spun their heads in my direction, silence falling over the room. I stood in place awkwardly while Sebby and Owen stared at me, an identical heat in their eyes.

“Wow,” Owen exhaled, making Sebby snap out of his trance and struggle to regain his composure. Jumping off the couch, Owen strode toward me, pulling my body against his. Instead of closing my eyes and enjoying the feel of his arms around me, his body flush with mine, I kept them trained on Sebby. I couldn’t look away. His brows were furrowed and he swallowed hard. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going through his mind… He was wishing he were in Owen’s shoes.

I
wished he were in Owen’s shoes, too.

“Ready for your birthday dinner?” Owen asked, and I forced my attention back to him.

“Of course.” I released myself from his hold and grabbed a green-belted coat out of the hallway closet. Being a true gentleman, he helped me into it.

“Well, you kids have fun,” Sebby said. His voice was fraught with sorrow and disappointment that he tried to mask with a chipper and upbeat tone. He headed toward the foyer and opened the door.

“Thanks.” Owen reached his hand out and shook Sebby’s once more.

“You bet.” He turned away from us, heading toward his condo. “And happy birthday, Baylee,” he added, his voice soft.

I glanced over my shoulder at him and my smile fell, a silent apology spoken between us. Owen remained oblivious to our exchange as he pulled me down the corridor toward the bank of elevators.

“Sebby seems like a good neighbor,” Owen said as we waited for the elevator to arrive. “He’s very protective of you.”

“What do you mean by that?” The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside.

“Nothing.” He pressed the button for the lobby. “You can tell how much he cares about you, especially when he said he would make sure I could never get another freelance gig for the rest of my life if I did anything to hurt you.”

“And what did you say to that?” I should have been horrified that Sebby had threatened him, but a warmth ran through me instead.

“I promised he had nothing to worry about.”

Nodding, I faced forward as the doors closed, remaining silent.

During our extravagant dinner, I tried to make Owen think I was thrilled to be with him. I smiled at his compliments. I laughed at his jokes. I blushed when his hand caressed my skin, but it felt wrong. My mind was elsewhere. It was locked in that moment of time when Sebby saw me walk down the steps of my condo and into the living room, longing and devotion etched on his face…
 

Because I felt the same way toward him, girlfriend be damned.

All the months of reading my mother’s journal culminated in that instant. If I had learned anything from her it was to take a risk because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Tomorrow, I would finally tell Sebby the truth, that I
didn’t
think we were better off as friends, and let the chips fall where they may.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-O
NE

S
UNDAY
MORNING
, I
WOKE
up after a restless night’s sleep. I couldn’t get Sebby out of my mind. After as romantic a date as I had ever been on the previous evening, you’d think Owen would be on my mind, even in my bed, but he wasn’t. Instead, I had spent the majority of my date formulating exactly what I was going to say to Sebby. If Owen noticed my distant demeanor, he didn’t say anything. He remained the perfect gentleman…opening doors for me, holding my chair out, walking me back to my condo after dinner. I felt awkward as we stood outside my door. He gazed at me with such heat, such unrequited want.