42 Hours (Time for Love 3)

I turned the corner toward Victoria’s and pressed the accelerator.

Chapter 2 – Gaby

“Do you think he’s okay?” I asked Cal from his front window as I watched Scott pull away.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned to look up at him. His dark hair was disheveled and his expression was worried.

“We did the right thing,” Cal reassured me. “He’s probably pissed right now, but he’s going to realize that we have his best interests at heart. I just hope he makes the right decision.”

I nodded solemnly, then turned into Shelly’s arms when she joined us.

“Don’t worry, Gabs, he’s going to be fine. I think he knows what our intent was, and it looked like he heard what we were saying,” Shelly spoke softly as she held me.

“What if he stays with her?” I wondered aloud, horrified at the possibility. Scott had changed over the last year. He’d become much more withdrawn and seemed to be perpetually angry. This was so unlike the sweet, funny, and happy guy I’d known for the past eight years. Scott had never been carefree, but he hadn’t been as uptight as he was lately, and maybe it wasn’t fair, but I blamed his relationship with Victoria. She was like poison.

“If that’s the choice he makes, then we’ll stand by him. He knows how we feel, but he also knows that he can depend on us to always be there for him. His decision won’t change that.” Shelly pulled back and looked into my face. “Right?”

“Of course,” I replied. “I just want him to be happy.”

“You did what you can, sweetheart, the rest is up to Scott.” This was said by TJ as he walked over to us. “We’re gonna hit the road,” he said to Cal as he slapped a hand on his shoulder. “We have a hot date.”

Sasha gave a bawdy laugh at his words, and said sarcastically, “You know the relationship’s getting stale when burgers and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is considered a “hot date.”

TJ strode over to Sasha, spun her around, then dipped her. He smiled broadly

down at her before he gave her a wink and kissed her soundly. I’d been on the

receiving end of those lips before, so when Sasha groaned loudly, I laughed out loud as

Cal protested, “Jeez, guys, take it outside.”

TJ was still grinning as he pulled Sasha back up and asked dryly, “Stale, huh?”

Sasha giggled at him, then turned to give Shelly and me a hug goodbye.

“I’m going to head out too,” I told Shelly.

“Are you meeting up with Brock?”

“No, not tonight,” I responded as I picked up my bag. “He’s doing something with his brothers. I was going to head to the shop … work some stuff out in my head.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Shelly asked, her face full of concern.

“Yes,” I responded sincerely. “I just need to get my hands dirty and process everything.”

I said my goodbyes to Cal and Shelly, smiling at the picture they made in the doorway. They had their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, holding each other close as they waved at Sasha, TJ, and me. Shelly was only a few months pregnant, but it looked good on her. Her chestnut hair was silky and her cheeks were rosy.

“See you guys later,” I called as TJ held the door to his beloved El Camino open for Sasha. Her red hair was wild around her face, and she looked casual in shorts and a tank top, rather than her normal slick suit.

“Hey, next time you and Brock are getting together, let us know, we can double date,” Sasha called back, then turned to TJ as he groaned and asked, “What? Why not?”

“It’s cool if you wanna hang out, Red, but ‘double date’? C’mon!” TJ replied with a grimace.

“Sounds good,” I replied with a laugh before turning to get into my old VW Bug. It wasn’t the most beautiful car, but it was reliable and was usually overflowing with baking supplies. I’d bought it after graduation six years ago, with my own money. It was one of the few things I owned.

I sat behind the wheel, reaching up to grab one of the hair ties off of the rearview mirror, then piling my hair into a blonde mess on top of my head. I turned the car on and cranked up the air,

then placed my hand lovingly on the gearshift. The fact that my mom had taught me to drive a stick shift turned out to be a great benefit when I’d finally had enough money to buy a car, since they were so much cheaper.