Who We Could Be - Chelsea M. Cameron Page 0,2

you to believe me, I just need you to be there for me, Tessa.” She didn’t look happy. She didn’t sound happy. I knew her better than I knew myself and I knew. I also knew that I would never get her to change her mind. Montgomery Ford did not change her mind.

I gave up. “I’m always there for you, Ford. Always.”

She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“Thanks, Cin.”

“HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK Ford would hate me if I threw her a surprise bachelorette party?” I asked Gus as I lay on the couch with my legs in his lap. He passed the bowl of popcorn to me.

“I don’t know, are you enjoying being alive?” I took my eyes from the screen and met his in the glow of the television. His brown hair flopped over his forehead, forever unruly.

“Yeah, yeah, I get your point.” I tossed a piece in my mouth and crunched. “You didn’t put enough butter on this.”

“I could never put enough butter on it for you, Tess. If you had it your way, it would be butter with a side of popcorn.” That earned him a handful of popcorn tossed in his face.

“Hey!” That earned me getting the bowl dumped on my head, but I deserved it. A popcorn fight ensued and then he went for my hair.

“I will bite you,” I said as he reached. Gus and I had known each other almost as long as Monty and I, and he knew how to push each and every one of my buttons.

He wiggled his fingers with menace and then started tossing the ruined popcorn back in the bowl.

“I really need to get a dog,” he said.

“You should. Oh, can we have a dog, please?” I got down on my knees next to him and clasped my hands.

“Sure, we can get a dog. We can get as many dogs as you want.” I helped Gus gather the rest of the popcorn from the floor and we ended up just sitting there with our shoulders touching, backs against the couch.

“You’re so nice to me,” I said with a sigh.

“You’re not easy to be nice to. It’s a fulltime job,” he said, and I scowled, but he put his arm around me. I leaned into him and closed my eyes. Gus’s familiar scent wrapped around me. A little bit of sweat, a little bit of the natural deodorant his mother made, a little bit of fabric softener. It was a safe smell, a cozy smell.

“Hey, you want to stay over?” he asked, and I opened my eyes.

“No, I should get home, it’s late.” That wasn’t true, exactly, but I slipped out from under his arm and stood up. Gus rose to his feet and pulled me into a hug.

“Text me when you get there.”

He was so tall, I spoke into his shirt. “Gus, I live seven miles away.”

“Still.” He let go and I headed to the door, waving as I left.

I thought about Gus as I drove home, taking the longer way that gave me some more time before I had to deal with my parents. We had always been an unconventional couple, Gus and I. We didn’t have cute nicknames for each other, and both of us had made the promise not to live with someone or have sex before we were married. Not out of any sort of obligation, religious or otherwise, but it just seemed like a good idea. I’d made that decision in high school and he’d readily agreed. Sure, we kissed, but our relationship wasn’t about all that stuff. We got each other, and I loved him. Plus, my family loved him. He’d been part of us since the beginning. It was only natural for him to join us in a more permanent way. I’d never thought of not marrying Gus.

I sat in my car for a minute to collect myself before I walked into my house. Donny’s car was in the driveway, so I knew I was going to get attacked the minute I was through the door.

“Hey, you back from fooling around with your fiancé?” Donny’s voice boomed through the living room and into the kitchen, where I’d come in the back door.

“Hi Donny,” I said, cringing. I didn’t need my brother talking to me about my (nonexistent) sex life. “How’s Steph?” His wife of five years was due with their second child in a few months.

I walked into the living room to find Dad in his recliner and