I don't see Ezra until Wednesday of the following week. At first, I think that he's avoiding me but he explains that he's been busy at work that that he'll see me on Saturday for my birthday party.

I hope it's not awkward having both him and Josh on Saturday.

Josh and I talk over the phone every day of the week. Most of the time it's at night. We talk about everything. We talk about high school and reminisce about all the time we used to spend together. He tells me how Brad told him that he knew Josh liked me. I tell him about how I couldn't get our first kiss out of my head for the whole eight years. He tells me that he's kept a picture of me in his wallet since the moment he left for the military. I tell him about my classes and students. He tells me that Friday night will be his last shift at the fire station in Portland and he'll be starting in Newport the following Monday.

It feels like we could talk forever. It feels so good and so right talking to him. He makes me feel young. I'm seventeen years old again and this time, it's not Brad I'm thinking about it's him. Josh. I yearn for the day I get to feel his lips against mine again. I know I have to speak to Ezra soon. I don't want to give Josh the yes before clearing things up with Ezra. It'll have to be after the party. I don't want to be rude and disinvite him. We'll have a good time on Saturday as friends. It can be one last memory together.

Crystal arrives bright and early on Saturday morning.

"Oh my gosh!" She says as she hugs me tight. "I've missed you so much. Happy birthday!"

"Thank you! I've missed you too!" I say with a smile. Crystal hasn't changed a bit in the past year. She's gotten more toned, if anything. She looks amazing.

"Ready to party tonight?"

"I'm not getting drunk." I remind her. I've actually kept my promise to never get drunk again after what happened the last time I did get drunk.

"Doesn't having two boyfriends make you want to drink a bit?" she asks winking at me.

I roll my eyes at her. "It's not as cool as you think it is."

"Right. It must be exhausting to be flattered by two handsome men...again."

"You're worse than Savannah." I decide making her laugh.

"In all seriousness," she says grabbing my hand. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay," I say slowly. "What-?"

"Crystal!"

We both turn to look at Savannah as she smiles at Crystal before hugging her.

"Wow, you don't even hug me like that." I shake my head.

"Come here," She says pulling me into the group hug.

We all laugh like little girls then we begin to prep for the party. I guess I shouldn't call it a party considering it's not a lot of us coming. Crystal invited some of her friends but she agreed to keep it small and intimate. We prep some snacks then carry everything out to the beach. There is a spot where there is a wooden table. It's been there since I can remember and we claim it tonight.

We set the food on the table and begin to play music then just hang out until everyone arrives. It doesn't really feel like my birthday. I feel like birthdays become less special as we grow up but I really appreciate Savannah and Crystal doing this to celebrate it.

"Hey, look who it is," Crystal says nodding behind me. We're sitting on the table and I turn around and see Josh making his way towards us. Like all of us, he's barefoot as he walks on the sand. I turn around and roll my eyes at Crystal as Josh reaches us.

"Hey," He says to me. "Happy birthday." He hands me a gift bag.

I smile then hug him one sided. "Thank you."

"How did you feel on your last shift?" Crystal asks him as he sits down next to me.

"It felt normal. It probably won't hit me until I start working here on Monday."

"Well, I think it's great that you're moving here for Natalie," Crystal says looking at me.

Josh turns to look at me. "I'm doing everything I can to get her to say yes."

I meet his gaze and smile shyly. His eyes travel down my lips and I bite my lower lip in response. It's getting harder and harder to stay away from him. I want him to kiss me.

"Hey."

The sound of Ezra's voice breaks the spell. I look up at him and smile. "Hey. Glad you made it."

Josh turns to look at him then stands up. I stand up with him suddenly feeling nervous. Josh is taller and much stronger than Ezra. I don't want a fight.

Ezra grins. "Glad to be here." He looks at Josh. "You must be Josh."

"You must be Ezra," Josh says with a clenched jaw.

There's an awkward moment of silence and I look at Crystal nervously. She just smiles. And then Josh grins and offers Ezra his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

Ezra smiles. "Could say the same thing."

They shake hands being friendly and I feel my body relax.

"You sounded scarier over the phone." Ezra jokes as he sits across from Josh.

I frown. "Wait. You guys have been speaking on the phone?"

"Josh is looking to buy a house," Ezra says looking at me.

I look at Josh and he smiles. "He's got the best reviews as a mortgage officer."

"I'm only the best." Ezra shrugs.

Josh chuckles. "You better be."

They go on talking about whatever process they have started on the loan and I turn to look at Crystal.

"What is happening?" I mouth and she laughs.

"Come on. Let's go play some volleyball," she says standing up.

I follow her out to the volleyball net. Savannah is already playing with some of Crystal's friends. "It's the birthday girl!" Savannah yells and everyone cheers making me laugh. I glance at Josh and Ezra who seem to be in deep conversation. I shake my head with a smile. I feel played. I try to put that aside and decide to have some fun. We play volleyball long enough for it to get dark.

By then, Josh and Ezra have already set up the campfire. It's a beautiful night with stars up on the sky. The weather is perfect. Josh is here. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday. Much better than last year, for sure.

As we're heading to the campfire later that night, I notice that someone else has arrived.

I stop walking and Crystal stops next to me.

"Is that Brad?" I choke out as I see him talking with Josh and Ezra.

"Uh, yeah," Crystal says. "I invited him, hope you don't mind. I thought it was time to mend things considering you'll be marrying Josh soon."

She's right, I suppose. Sooner or later, we were going to have to see each other again. Better soon rather than later.

"Also, I slept with him," Crystal says quickly.

I turn to look at her, my eyes wide. "You what?"

She looks at me pleadingly. "Please don't get mad at me. It just happened. I didn't know whether to tell you or not but it doesn't feel right to hide it considering everything that happened with you and Josh." She studies me. "Are you mad at me?"

"Uh-no. I'm just shocked."

I don't know why I'm so surprised. Crystal is great and I know they spend a lot of time together because of work. I should be surprised it didn't happen sooner. They've just never gotten along.

"How serious is it?" I ask her slowly.

"I don't know," she says then rolls her eyes. "I still feel stupid for falling for his stupid charms. He's such a pain in the ass but-" She looks at him. I follow her gaze and my eyes meet his. He begins to walk towards us. "God, I'm an idiot." She shakes her head.

"If you're an idiot then so am I." I remind her.

She looks at me. "I'm so sorry, Natalie. You're my best friend and I really don't want to lose you."

I reach for her hand and squeeze it. "You're not. I appreciate you telling me."

She smiles and I see her shoulders relax. I wonder how long this has been going on for. It's so weird to think about everything that has happened that brought us here. The more I think about it, the happier I get for both Brad and Crystal. I'm glad Brad is moving on and I want Crystal to be happy and if that means being with Brad then so be it. Who am I to judge them?

"The cat's out of the bag, isn't it?" Brad asks as he stops in front of us. He winks at Crystal and she rolls her eyes at him.

I smile because they might actually be perfect for each other. "Hey, Brad. It's good to see you."

He nods. "Sorry to crash your party."

"I'm glad you came," I say relaxing a bit. "How have you been?"

"Alright," He says. "My leg is good now. It won't be one hundred percent again but it lets me to do my job so." He shrugs.

"I'm glad," I say and mean it.

"I'll-let you guys talk," Crystal says.

"I'll find you in a minute," Brad says winking at her again.

"This is you being subtle?" She laughs then walks away.

Brad and I look at each other again. He looks different somehow. I know it's not just his shorter hair. He looks different because he's different. He's changed. "I'm happy for you two."

He grins. "I promise it's not payback or anything."

"It better not be." I warn him. "You'll have to deal with me if you play with her."

"I won't," he says and I can tell he's being serious. "Now that I'm here, I want to tell you that I'm sorry for every fucked up thing I did to you. Sorry for calling you a whore."

I laugh because only Brad would bring that up. "It's in the past now, Brad. I'm happy to move on from it."

He nods with a smile then he looks behind him before looking at me. "I heard you're giving my brother a hard time."

I look past him, at Josh who is standing by the campfire talking to Ezra with a beer in his hand. He suddenly looks at me and meets my gaze. I offer a smile and he smiles back. I look at Brad. "I suffered a lot when Josh broke up with me."

Brad nods. "I know but I also know that he did it because of me and not because he didn't want to be with you."

I study him for a moment. "He asked me to marry him."

"I know." He grins. "I went with him to buy the ring. You're welcome."

I laugh, a little surprised. "So you're really okay with him and I...?" I let the sentence hang.

"I just want him to be happy." He shrugs. "And you too, of course."

I nod. "Thank you, Brad. I'm beginning to like you again."

"You're too late. Another damsel hunts my dreams now."

"Not like that!" I say, laughing.

He chuckles. "I know, I know." He smiles at Crystal who is sitting by the table. "I really hope you say yes to him. He'll go crazy if you don't."

I smile in response and he nods at me before walking away. I watch as he sits next to Crystal and tickles her stomach. She complains and pushes him away playfully. I feel like a proud mom for some reason. I was shocked a few minutes ago but it makes so much sense for them to get together. They've witnessed it all.

"Natalie."

I turn and see Ezra. "Hey."

He grins. "Hey, I'm heading out."

"Oh," I say. "Okay. Let me walk you to your car."

"So you were right about Josh and I," He says as we walk. "We actually get along pretty well."

I smile. "Right. Told ya."

He chuckles. "Did you know he was buying a house?"

I hesitate. "Uh, I knew that he was moving here." I suppose that implied living somewhere right? I didn't know he was going to go straight into buying a house.

"And you know he's doing all of this for you?"

I look at him but I don't know what to say.

He smiles sadly. "I know a lost cause when I see one."

We've reached the parking lot and we stop walking. The campfire is still in sight. I can see everyone talking and laughing.

"I'm so sorry," I say quietly.

He half smiles. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He hesitates. "Will you let me say one thing though?"

I nod. "Of course."

He pauses for a moment. "I can tell that what you and Josh have is real, Natalie. There's this chemistry between you two. He looks at you without even noticing that he's looking for you. I kind of envy him for it, really." he sighs. "I guess I just want to suggest that you're lucky to have found that person just as much as he is. You two should hold onto that because that kind of love is rare."

That kind of love is rare.

I repeat his words in my head. I know he's right. I'm so lucky to be loved by Josh the way that he loves me. I'm so lucky that he came back to me and that we were able to develop what was turned on in his room that night years ago by a kiss.

He smiles. "I know I'll be seeing you around. You don't have to worry about awkwardness. I'm a very chill guy."

I smile at that. "I'm glad. Thank you, Ezra. I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Me too." He grins then hugs me one more time. "Take care."

"You too."

I watch him get in his car and drive off. I feel bad but it feels like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. This had to be done. Now I'm free to do the one thing I've been wanting to do since last Saturday: say yes to Josh.

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