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I laughed. “Uh, no that’s fine.
I’m familiar with how she feels about hospitals.
” After a short pause I asked,
“She hates needles yet she’ll let you stitch her up with one?”

With a chuckle he replied,
“She’s a little odd.”

We went out on the boat later on. Jayden was just a passenger and I was glad she didn’t insist on doing anything else. She sat with me at the front of the boat with
Nick
,
Sam
, Josh and Silvia. Shawn, Matt, Chris, and Allen hung out at the rear and took turns being out on the water. Everyone else sat at the water’s edge and watched from a distance.

Sam
was fascinated with being on the boat, almost as much as the motorcycle. Jayden kidded
Nick
that his son needed a visit to Washington every summer, just to get a taste of how “the other half lives.”
Nick
completely agreed, claiming that he would much rather his kids grow up in this type of environment.

“I don’t think Bree would go for that,” she smiled. “She
loves
L.A.
”

“Yeah, she does,” he replied. His son was saying something to him and he laughed after he figured out what it was. “
He wants to ride the motorcycle
now,” he told Jayden.

“Ah, y
ou like riding the motorcycle?” she asked the little guy. He tried to say the word again and Jayden
laughed because it sounded like he was saying “more psycho
.
”

I didn’t sleep very well that
last night. I was almost afraid Jayden would stop breathing again. She told me I was being silly, but I couldn’t help it.
I knew that people could actually die from anaphylactic shock if they weren’t treated fast enough. I understood why her friends kept epinephrine on hand, just in case. It was scary to watch someone not be able to breathe, and I couldn’t imagine what I would do if anything happened to her.

She was up and going the next morning before seven.
She admitted that she was pretty sad for summer to be over. It was her favorite time of year because she and her friends did so
many things together and she loved to be outdoors (minus the bee stings).
She also knew if she got pregnant after we were married, she wouldn’t be doing most of the activities she normally did. But she want
ed kids more than anything, so she kind of viewed this camping trip as one last event in her life before a new chapter began.

I knew that summer wasn’t the only time she and her friends did fun things together. Besides doing traditional stuff like going to movies, attending concerts, or going out to dinner, they also spent a couple of weekends on the mountain. Instead of snowboarding
with
the guys, Jayden joked she would now be sitting in the lodge with the girls,
checking
out
guys.

“Too bad you’ll have your ball and chain with you,” I told her, “because I’ve never snowboarded in my life, and I don’t plan on trying.”

She laughed and replied, “Then we’ll just forget everyone else and
I’ll get to stay
in
the
room
with my husband
all weekend.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Summer seemed to be officially over when the next week consisted of nonstop rain. It was Washington, so it was expected.
Nick
and his family stayed
in town
for three more nights (in a hotel to his wife’s liking) and we spent some time with them each evening.
Bree ended up spending Tuesday at Cali’s salon, returning to her much-desired luxurious lifestyle.
Nick
hung out with Shawn and Josh for the day in Shawn’s recording studio, trying to take care of his
son
and play some music at the same time.

Jayden took off from work at four-thirty to join them, but
Sam
required much of her attention
and
she ended up playing with him instead. Everyone met for dinner at six-thirty at
Time Out
, somewhere all of us liked to go because it was casual and laid-back, and Howard always treated us really well.

Bree seemed less than enthused to be hanging out in a sports bar. The disapproving look on her face was pretty apparent. I think she and
Nick
weren’t on very pleasant terms at the time. I sensed a lot of hidden tension between the two of them. Luckily she had Cali to help bridge the
culture
gap. Cali was very much into fashion and makeup, the latest celebrity news, and she was fascinated with
Bree’s
stories about
L.A.
Stacie and Silvia
also
fit in with them well, tending to be interested in whatever they were talking about.

Jayden was a different story. She was no doubt the nicest and most polite out of everyone there, but she didn’t care much about the upper crust of the world. She listened and participated in some of their conversations, but she
also wasn’t afraid to offer her opinions when the opportunity was
given
. Bree couldn’t believe
Jayden wasn’t a social drinker, and she also couldn’t believe Jayden had never
been in some of the stores that Bree
couldn’t live without
.

“Come for a week and I’ll convert you into a Californian,” Bree told her. “With your looks, you’d fit in just fine. I’ll take y
ou to all the hotspots and you’ll
love it.”

Jayden smiled. “Maybe. But it would be equivalent to us trying to turn you into a casual, laid back Washi
ng
tonian that loves the outdoors. I d
on’t think you’d convert as easily
, either.”

Bree thought for a second. “True. But
L.A.
and
here
are two different things. People want to move
up
in society, not down.”

The statement was a little unabashed and a few of us raised our eyebrows.
Jayden could have easily put her in her place, and I could see the temptation written all over her
face
. But she remained very composed and all she replied was, “I guess that’s why my roots are here. It’s where I’m meant to be
for now
.”

“I gues
s that’s why
Nick
wanted
something better
,”
Bree
smiled.

Nick
was feeding his son a bite of food and dropped the fork onto the plate. The loud clanking was the only sound that came from the table, followed by a few seconds of silence. He looked at his wife with disbelief, but she was already asking Ca
li about
when she might move to
L.A.
She’d said what she wanted to say, and then moved on with something entirely different and i
nnocent. It was very nicely played
.

“Uh,
sometime
after the wedding
,” Cali replied uneasily
, eyeing Jayden and me.

Chris, Matt, and Shawn had been in their own conversation at that time, so
none
of them heard
what was said. But w
hen the table went silent, they
also stopped talking
. Now they were all watching curiously to see what the drama was about. But Bree kept Cali talking, and
Nick
was cleaning up
Sam’s
hand from sti
cking it in his food as
the guys continued on their discussion about the most overpaid athletes.

Jayden completely moved on from the incident. The comment probably bothered
me
more than it did her, but she didn’t let it ruin her evening with friends. Howard brought a flaming volcano via Jayden’s request. She thought
Sam
would really like it
and he did. The sparkler lit at the top
mesmerized
him,
but
he was sad when it finally fizzled out. But his interest quickly recovered when he realized the volcano
was built of chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and
raspberry
syrup
drizzling down the sides of it.

Everyone grabbed a
utensil
and began sharing it, and t
he look
on
Bree’s
face was priceless. S
he
had no intention of joining in;
I’m sure it was
all
pretty barbaric to her.
Her disapproval of our “way of life” completely amused me.

By nine o’clock Jayden and I were at my house, thankful for the quiet and the chance to be alone. The incident at the restaurant came up and
she
just shook it off.

“She’s
a bit like Cali. She just kind of…says things without thinking.”

“Yeah, but Cali
usually
realizes it and
apologizes.”

“Don’t worry about
it
. Bree is just a different person
; she’s cut from a different cloth
. She’s a
Californian
,” she smiled.

“Not every Californian has issues with her husband’s ex-flame.”

“Oh, really?” Jayden laughed. “I thought that’s what Hollywood was all about.
Drama.
”

“True,” I shrugged with my own smil
e. “But all joking aside, Jay
,
I think there’s a problem and you’re just not seeing it.”

She was silent for quite a while and she seemed to contemplate. Finally she said, “Okay, what am I not seeing?” She sounded a little hurt, and I felt bad because of it, but I honestly felt I should say what I wanted to say.

“I’m going to be comple
tely honest with you, okay? And
you might even get
mad at me, so I’m apologizing in advance, all right?” She didn’t respond, so I went on. “I think
Nick
loves his wife, but I think he still has feelings for you.” She was about to object but I motioned for her to wait. “I think his wife knows
it
, too. But she’s pre
tty…fond of herself, so
I’m not sure if
it’s anything s
he’s
actually
worried about.
It’s almost like she just…accepts it.
But Jayden…
you spend more time with his son than his own wife does. You’re more of the role model he wants for his kid. I think…” I sighed, knowing this was the hardest part to say. “
I think
they’ve been
having problems and…
I think you’re making it worse.”

She looked like she’d been slapped in the face, and after the shock wore off, she did look a little
upset
. But she didn’t say anything for a while, so I was hoping she had thought about it and agreed with me.

“So you think I really am coming between
Nick
and his wife because I like to spend time with their son?”

“Sort of,” I replied. “But what I mainly mean is that
Nick
is having a hard time
with it
. Especially because his relationship with his wife is unsteady, and now he’s
reminded that you’re the one that got away.”

“Ty, you’re crazy—”

“Jayden, I’m not being jealous or trying to make you feel bad. I just think you need to
see it
.”

“
Nick
and I are friends. Are you saying I shouldn’t be friends with him anymore?”

“I’m not saying that. I just think you need to be
aware
that
he
has very strong feelings for you
, just so you’re careful.”

“Have I said or done anything inappropriate?”

“No,” I sighed. “You haven’t done anything wrong—”

“But you said I’m making things worse. I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m very much in love with
you
,” she scoffed. “And
Nick
hasn’t done or said anything that would cause me to think there’s a problem.”

I paused, trying to collect my th
oughts and what I should say.
“
‘Goodnight, Sweet Dreams’?
”

She looked at me with confusion. “
The song?
What about it?”

“It’s about
you
,” I chuckled.