The Exception by Lauren H. Mae

Twenty-three

Sonya looked up from the fruit she was slicing to see Adam coming in through the screen door from the deck. He glanced around the room, then cornered Sonya with a mischievous stare.

“What?”

“You and I need to talk, Nurse Sonya.”

Sonya felt her heart speed up. She’d known Adam for exactly six weeks less time than she’d known Emma, which was to say forever. They’d been through a lot together, and though he was probably the most easy going guy you’d ever meet, maybe next to Josh, there were certain things he didn’t let go. She had a feeling bringing a male friend on this trip would be one of them.

“What did we need to talk about? Is that rash back?” she joked, hoping she could use his afternoon buzz against him to maneuver around this line of questioning.

He put down the plate he was carrying and pretended to rub his back against her. “It’s back and it’s worse.”

“Get away from me, you heathen. You’re gross.”

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed, trapping her. “So what’s really going on here with your impromptu guest?”

“I brought a friend. That’s it.”

“Liar.”

She huffed a sigh. “You’re a bigger pain than your wife.”

“Don’t flatter me.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “He’s cool. Josh and Dylan and I like him.”

She smiled down at her cutting board. She’d expected as much—Trav was easy to like and so were the rest of them—but she couldn’t deny it made her feel some sort of way. Trav had been outside “prepping the grill” and hanging with the guys like they were old friends. Marcus had known them for years and he’d never been this at ease with any of them.

Maybe because Dani insisted on pretending she couldn’t remember his name whenever he came back from a long trip. Or because Adam made a point to tell stories from college whenever they would double date, asking Marcus if he remembered them even though they hadn’t met until grad school. Marcus never figured out that her friends’ love language was teasing and joking. All he had to do was give it back to them, but he was always so serious. He wore a dress shirt and khakis to his first pool party at Dylan’s!

What a feat to manage to be the uptight one in a relationship with her, she thought. She pictured Trav’s t-shirt and unstyled hair, her mind placing him and Marcus side by side. She laughed at the comparison. Which was probably the wrong comparison to be making after the kiss she was supposed to be forgetting.

“I’m glad you’re getting along,” she said to Adam. “He’s a good friend.”

Adam laughed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll ask again at the end of this trip.”

She hushed him with an elbow to his side when the rest of the guys came inside. The last thing she needed was for Trav or Dylan to hear Adam’s teasing and take it seriously.

Josh went to help Cat with the baby, while Adam pulled the tray of marinated steaks from the fridge.

“Hey,” Trav said, sidling up to her at the island.

Adam gave her a look and her cheeks burned. “Hi. Are you having fun?”

“I am.”

“Don’t forget to leave room on the grill for the cake,” Emma reminded Adam.

Adam winked at her. “I’d never forget to leave room for my favorite dessert.”

Sonya shook her head and kept slicing strawberries to marinate in bourbon and serve with whipped cream over warm slices of grilled pound cake. Adam and Emma loved it, so when Emma requested it, she couldn’t refuse even though it meant spending some of her first vacation day baking.

“Thank you, baby,” Emma cooed, before planting a kiss on Adam’s cheek before sending him off to the deck to grill.

Dylan grabbed beers from the fridge, handing one to Trav and Josh. “Everything smells good in here. What’re y’all making?”

“Cat made roasted street corn, and there’s Em’s tomato salad. Sonya made her pound cake for dessert,” Dani explained, while reaching for a sip of Dylan’s beer. He pretended to hold it out of her reach before handing it to her and getting himself another.

Sonya watched them play. Dani and Dylan’s casual affection never failed to surprise her after they’d spent so long as friends who did more bickering than friending. It made her think of all the time she and Marcus spent getting along perfectly well only to end up like this.

She was suddenly hyper-aware of everyone else’s relationship dynamics. Between Emma and Adam’s constant flirting, and the fact that Cat and Josh were lost in a private conversation in the corner of the kitchen, she was extra glad to not be the only single one here.

Trav leaned casually on the counter, grinning. If he was uncomfortable being surrounded by couples, he didn’t show it. “What did you make, Dani?” he asked.

Cat snickered, passing Lucia to Josh. “Dani doesn’t cook. She and Dylan are singlehandedly stimulating the D.C. economy by eating out almost every night.”

Dani shrugged. “What can I say? I’m committed to supporting local businesses.”

Sonya barely noticed Trav lean across the island until he swiped one of the strawberries from the bowl. When she looked up, he was giving her a cheeky grin. He tried to steal another one but she slapped his hand away.

“Dude, no more stealing strawberries. You’re going to throw off the ratio of strawberries to blueberries.”

Trav’s grin spread even wider, like it always did when she let that Type A side of herself shine. Usually her perfectionism was met with eye rolls or groans, but not from him. He seemed to like it or was at least amused by it.

He said, “That would be unacceptable, considering it’s finally your turn to cook for me.”

Something about the gentle teasing in his tone made her whole body flush like she’d taken a shot of the bourbon she was planning to soak the fruit in. It distracted her just enough that she was unprepared when he grabbed a few blueberries from the bowl before backing out of arm's reach to pop them into his mouth, which had been his plan all along.

“Three blueberries equal one strawberry. Your ratio is safe,” Trav declared before grabbing his beer from the counter and following Josh and Dylan out the door.

Sonya smiled to herself and went back to slicing strawberries, but she felt three sets of eyes burning holes into her from all sides. She looked up and her suspicions were confirmed.

“What?”

They all exchanged a glance, and Sonya guessed that Emma had drawn the short straw because she was the one who spoke first. “What did he mean, it’s your turn to cook for him?”

Shit.She hadn’t told them about Trav bringing her lunch and that realization started an avalanche of things she hadn’t told them. They had no idea about the study sessions, the treadmill runs, the furniture shopping, the hospital benefit, or the accidental lip lock. She’d told them that she and Trav had become friends, but given them no context as to why, and from the looks on their faces, they knew she was hiding something.

“It’s not a big deal. He enjoys cooking and he brings me lunch at work sometimes,” Sonya explained. They had no need to know that sometimes meant nearly every day. “And before you ask, he’s a really good cook.”

Dani muttered, “That’s not the question I was going to ask.”

Emma wiped her hands on a towel before resting them on her hips. “When you told me you’d invited him, I have to admit I was a little surprised. I mean, I know you said you two are friends now, but I didn’t think you were weekend trip level friends.”

“I’m woman enough to admit I was wrong about him,” Sonya offered with a shrug. “He’s still annoying, but he’s a good guy.”

“He seems like a good guy, but what if it’s all just an act so you’ll give him a good grade? Did you think about that?” Even after everything she’d found with Josh, Cat still looked for a catch when it came to men.

“That’s not what he’s doing,” she said, and it came out a little more defensively than she would’ve liked. Maybe because she was still pissed at Jack Travis for the same insinuation.

Admittedly, Sonya had been a little skeptical when Trav first started bringing her lunch. But as time passed, and she’d taken the time to get to know him, he’d turned out to be one of the most genuine people she’d ever met. Sweet, even. “I’m his mentor not his teacher. I can evaluate his progress but I can’t directly pass or fail him. Besides, he’s good at this. He doesn’t need a leg up.”

“She’s definitely considered all angles,” Emma said to the others with a wink.

Dani snorted. “But you have to admit that going from nemesis to bestie in under two months is a whole journey.”

Sonya rolled her eyes. “He’s not my bestie. You three idiots are my besties.”

Dani jumped up to sit on the counter. “I don’t know. You didn’t say anything about him violating the Sonya Says rules about hanging your arm out of a moving vehicle.”

Both Cat and Emma’s mouths fell open. Violating a Sonya Says was tantamount to blasphemy, and being allowed to get away with it was unheard of.

“Now I’m offended,” Cat said. “We’ve known each other for over a decade and you still give me hell about that every time we ride together.”

Sonya shot Dani a glare. Thanks to her big mouth, she had to tell them the whole story or she wasn’t going to make it out of that kitchen in one piece. She put down the knife and rested her palms on the countertop.

Resigned to her fate, she sighed. “Alright. It’s not really that interesting of a story but what do you want to know?”

All three of their faces lit up with eager smiles like they were watching a reality show of her life.

They responded in chorus, “Everything.”

* * *

“This place is amazing,” Trav said, following the guys back out to the second story deck. The lake spread out as far as they could see on either side, surrounded by pine trees, and he spotted a dock jutting out from the small grassy knoll in front of the house. He couldn’t wait to take a running leap off of it and swim until his muscles burned.

Between school and working twelve-hour days, he hadn’t realized how much he needed the break until right then. Sonya must have, though. And he definitely needed to thank her again for inviting him.

“You all live out on the peninsula, right?” Trav asked. He touched the tiny pink sock on Lucia’s foot, hoping he was pulling off chill and casual despite feeling a little like the first day of school. His piss-poor attempt at making friends with Elliot still lived in a little corner in the back of his brain, reminding him he wasn’t always great at this.

And fitting in with Sonya’s friends felt much more important than bonding with some asshole who happened to sign up for the same course as he did. He wasn’t going to analyze why.

“Dylan and I live out there,” Josh said. He turned Lucia to look at the view, pointing at a bird landing on the water. “Adam’s in the suburbs. ”

Trav nodded. “Man, there’s nothing like being on the water after you’ve spent a few years in a desert.”

Dylan laughed and held up his cup. “I’ll bet.”

“Come out with Sonya sometime,” Josh said. “You surf?”

Trav shook his head. “Never learned, but there’s always time.”

“So, Trav,” Adam said, taking a much different tone than the other two.

Trav’s shoulders straightened. Adam took a long pull from his beer, then set it down on the side of the grill with a little more force than necessary. He crossed his arms over his chest and tipped his chin. “What are your intentions with Sonya?”

“Um…” Trav glanced at Josh, for no other reason than a gut feeling that he was the diplomat of the group and he might have an ally there, but Josh just shrugged and settled into a deck chair, bouncing Lucia on his knee.

Apparently, Trav had walked right into an ambush led by a guy in swim trunks and a t-shirt that said “It’s beer-o’clock somewhere.”

“I don’t really have any intentions,” he said.

Lie. He’d had intentions since he first saw her, and these three must have already sniffed it out despite the friend zone he’d agreed to stay in.

And he had agreed.

He scratched at his head. “I mean, we work together. She’s kind of my boss, so things can’t really go, um, in that direction. Or, you know, my intentions can only be, um, one way. Pure, or whatever.”

Pure? Jeez, Trav.Was this rambling supposed to convince Adam or himself? He really sucked at this.

“Uh huh,” Adam replied like he didn’t buy it for a minute.

“Sonya’s a good friend,” Trav said, trying again. “As I’m sure you all know. I’m just happy to have her to hang with. I promise that’s the whole truth.”

Adam slapped some meat on the grill, the grease making an ominous hiss. Dylan rubbed at his mouth, avoiding eye contact.

“So I guess you plan on staying in your own room tonight, then. Right?” Adam asked, eyes on the sizzling meat.

Trav sputtered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

Finally, Josh burst into a laugh. “For fuck’s sake, Adam. Really?”

Adam’s face broke into a goofy grin and Dylan nearly sprayed his drink, doubling over.

Trav cracked a tentative smile, relief washing over him. He gestured with his bottle to Josh and Dylan. “Did he pull this with you two?”

Dylan wiped beer from his chin. “Come to think of it, no. It was Sonya who pulled it. I’m still not actually sure she approves of me and Dani.”

Trav laughed, remembering what Sonya had said that night at the bar about Dylan, and the fact that he was currently drinking beer from a Solo cup.

They all turned to Josh. He shrugged. “Same. Though, she took to me a lot quicker than she did Dylan.”

“They always do,” Dylan muttered. “You know, I thought I gave Sonya a hard time, but you get the gold medal.”

Trav chuckled, thinking about the fiery look in Sonya’s eyes every time he got under her skin.

“She gives it right back in spades.”

“She does,” Dylan agreed. “Even though we get on each other’s nerves a lot of the time, she’s a good friend, so whatever she needs you to be for her, don’t half ass it. She’s already been there and she deserves better.”

Trav didn’t know how to respond to that other than to think that Sonya’s group of friends was pretty awesome. They’d welcomed him into their little group simply because she’d asked them to and all they asked in return was for him to be good to her as a friend—and anything else that might come along. He didn’t want to think too much on that “anything else” part, but every minute he’d spent with her since that kiss had him wondering if telling her he wanted to stay friends was the right decision.

He gave them a single nod. “Got it. I’m protective of her too,” Trav admitted.

Dylan grinned and slapped him on the back. “Good. Let’s eat.”

* * *

The girls were quiet, taking in the details Sonya shared about how close she and Trav had become. She’d stopped before the kiss, knowing she’d have to tell them about it eventually, but wanting to keep that stolen moment to herself for just a little bit longer.

Dani broke the silence. “And after all that, you’re still not sleeping with him?”

Sonya groaned and dumped some sugar into her fruit mixture. “For the last time, I’m not sleeping with him.”

Dani squinted. “So why is he so glad that you two can stay friends? What happened to make him think you couldn’t?”

Of course Dani had heard Trav say that while he was putting his bag in the car and of course she’d saved it for the perfect moment. It was weird being at the center of one of these friend-terventions. She was used to being on the outside, pushing for information and giving advice, but being on the inside was completely different.

Trying to stall, Sonya argued, “I thought Cat was the lawyer of the group.”

Cat shook her head. “No, I approve of this line of questioning. You may answer.”

Sonya took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I may have accidentally kissed him the night of the benefit.”

A victorious smile spread across Dani’s face. “I knew it!”

Cat frowned and swiped one of the strawberries from the bowl. “How did you accidentally kiss him? Did you just trip and fall into his lips?”

“Besides, you never accidentally do anything,” Emma added.

“Fine! I’d thought about kissing him but I hadn’t actually planned on doing it so therefore, it was an accident.”

“Is he glad you can stay friends because he’s not interested in you? Because if that’s the case, el es estúpido and not worth your time.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Cat? Did you not catch the fuck me stares they were giving each other earlier?”

“Were there no sparks?” Emma asked.

Sonya really would never hear the end of it if they knew that kiss had sparked a whole Fourth of July fireworks display that still had her tingling over a week later.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We talked about it and we both think that preserving our working relationship and our friendship is too important to jeopardize.”

Emma’s arms folded over her chest, and from the look on her face, she was about to go into full-on therapist mode. “Did you invite him on this trip after kissing him?”

Sonya frowned. “What difference does that make?”

“That’s a yes,” Cat muttered.

Emma frowned. “Did you invite him just to prove to yourself that you could be just friends with him?”

Hearing it said out loud made Sonya cringe. That wasn’t the only reason she’d invited him but that didn’t stop Emma from looking at her like she didn’t recognize her.

“I invited him because he’s a good guy looking to expand his circle and I knew he’d fit right in with Adam, and Josh, and Dylan.”

“That may be true but I know you, Sonya. You like him and that scares you because liking him doesn’t fit into your plan. Not to mention whenever something scares you, you turn it into a challenge to be overcome,” Emma argued.

Defiant, she shook her head. “That’s not what I’m doing and please don’t psychoanalyze me, Em.”

“Deny it all you want but it’s exactly what you’re doing, and you know it.”

Sonya groaned. “Regardless of what all of you seem to think, this weekend is about relaxing and having a good time with friends. That’s all.”

Emma opened her mouth to say something else but before she could, Josh and Lucia came through the door. Sonya knew she liked him for a reason.

“Steaks are done,” he announced. “You guys ready to eat?”

Cat took the baby and handed Josh the tray of roasted corn, following him back out on the deck. Emma picked up the salad bowl and started for the door, but she stopped in front of Sonya, lowering her voice. “I’m glad he’s been a good friend to you and I hope that continues. But if there’s more there, wanting to maintain the friendship shouldn’t stop you from figuring it out.” She squeezed Sonya’s shoulder before leaving to join the rest of the group on the deck.

Sonya was glad to have that small moment of solitude to think until she remembered she wasn’t really alone. Dani was still perched on the countertop.

Sonya rubbed her forehead. “What is it, Dani? Haven’t you already said enough?”

“Don’t be mad, babe. It was all going to come out sooner or later.” Dani slid off the counter and reached inside the pocket of her cut-off shorts. “I actually have something for you.”

“What is it?”

Dani slipped something into her hand. When Sonya’s fingers wrapped around the accordion folded foil packets, understanding slammed into her and her cheeks went hot.

Sonya hissed, “What the hell?”

Dani’s lips curved into a wicked grin. “I brought you a gift just in case you accidentally get naked and bump into his dick.”

“Dani—”

Trav appeared from the deck, and Dani escaped outside.He grabbed the top of the doorframe, stretching his arms above his head and exposing a strip of tanned stomach. Jesus.

“Hey, do you need help carrying anything?” he asked.

Sonya pasted on a smile and shoved the condoms as deep into the pocket of her running shorts as they would go, praying he couldn’t see the outline through the thin nylon. How would she even explain that?

Sonya sighed, handing Trav the bowl of marinated berries and picking up the tray of sliced pound cake.

He stopped her with a hand on her stomach. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yep. Totally fine. Let’s eat.”