The Baker & The Bear #5

She stared at herself in the mirror, trying to ignore her nervousness. She looked good, right? Not too much. Why was she making such a big deal out of this? Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it was just going to be a date night like any other. Bree let out a long sigh. No, there had been too many clues. They were going to that restaurant, the restaurant Tom had mentioned once or twice would be nice for an engagement. One of her rings had disappeared for a couple of days, then magically reappeared in its drawer, which she'd pretended not to notice. And then, there was the way everyone around her had been acting a bit weirder than usual today. She'd been let off work early, and there was no reason to be left off early to prepare for a date night, especially when Tom had stayed behind. She forced herself to breathe and listen to the rest of her meditation podcast. She wasn't sure about the mantra-like sentences, but the voice of the speaker was more calming to her. At least, she was clear-minded enough to tell herself her outfit was nice. She did look pretty. For once, she'd decided to take out that pretty black dress she'd bought two months prior with Gigi, one of the few dresses that could accommodate her long frame, flatter her inverted triangle body shape, and make her look sexy, not like a giant. She liked it a lot, and it was even better when accessorized with some of her gold jewelry pieces, a red-orange, matte, bold lipstick, and a fresh haircut she'd gotten yesterday. She doubted she'd ever go back to long hair again, but she sure loved the monthly hairdresser appointments making her feel refreshed every single time with that honey shampoo they used.

She glanced at the time. She had to leave now if she wanted to meet Tom downstairs on time. For some reason, he wasn't coming back up to the apartment, although she had a hunch he'd gotten ready at his dad's. They'd been living together for a while now, but they were both close to their single dads, so it wasn't rare that they had dinner, together or alone, with either one of their dads. Their families had seamlessly gotten closer too, and their dads often took fishing trips together on the weekends. Everything seemed on track for the future, except for tonight.

He was down there waiting for her, smiling but unable to hide how nervous he was. At least she knew he liked her outfit, from the way he beamed upon seeing her. The rest was as usual, from the way they chatted about the bakery and their new ideas for it all the way to the restaurant, to looking forward to the food. Bree knew there was at least a two-month wait to book a table there, yet they got one of the best ones, near the window, intimate and cozy. Another big clue.

"You look stunning in this," said Tom.

"Thanks. I'm wearing that necklace you bought me last Christmas, they go well together! I love your bow tie too."

Funny thing: Brianna loved bow ties, and she loved them a lot on Tom. He wasn't a fan of it, but he'd gotten a couple just to please her, wearing them for occasions like Christmas and birthdays. Tonight, he'd gotten a new one, a blue one, her favorite color, to wear with his edgy suit. Her hunch was definitely right. They got champagne, appetizers, entrées but he didn't say anything, although he was growing visibly more and more nervous. Brianna was enjoying this. It was cute to see Tom so flustered—he, who was usually so confident and cool. She was the hot-headed one, but for once, she wasn't nervous, just a bit excited.

Then, the dessert arrived. Her heart did a little skip, as it was, for the first time since the beginning of the dinner, hiding under a little cover. There was no reason to hide a dark chocolate cake, except for one reason. Tom's breathing got heavier too. He slowly stood up, and then... her phone vibrated. Both their eyes went to see the screen, lit up by Gigi's picture.

"Bree..."

"Sorry," she told him. "I have to take it."

She didn't leave him any room to protest, and she didn't think twice before picking it up. As soon as she heard Gigi's crying voice, she knew something was wrong. Again.

"Gigi, what happened?"

"Bree, I'm so sorry... I... I... Please..."

She was crying so much, she couldn't even make a proper sentence. Brianna instinctively knew something bad had happened. Gigi knew about the proposal, she wouldn't have called her if it wasn't big.

"Where are you?"

"I-in the street... O-our apartment..."

"Okay, don't move, I'm coming to get you."

She hung up immediately.

"Tom, I'm so sorry, I have to go."

"Seriously?" he exclaimed. "Bree, tonight? Now?"

"Gigi needs me."

"I know, but she needs you every week! Bree, just for once, can't she call someone else? Her parents, or another friend?"

Brianna's expression darkened.

"... She's my best friend, and she needs me," she retorted. "I'm not going to stay here while she just called me crying."

Tom sighed and put his hands on his hips.

"Bree, she calls you crying almost every week, if not more. Even before we started dating, it's been like this! You don't owe her to go every time, tonight's your night! Why can't you just send someone else to get her? I understand you're worried, but that guy's not violent, he's just an a—... a jerk. Her parents can go, and you can check up on her first thing tomorrow morning, or even later tonight. This... this is our night. Please, honey. I spent a long time preparing this, and I did not factor Gigi's marriage issues into it! You can't do this to me every time! How many times has this happened already? Just not tonight, please!"

Brianna took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. Her body was urging her to get out of there, but she was not going until she'd settled this with Tom first.

"What are you trying to say?" she asked.

"I'm just saying, I understand Gigi's your best friend, but maybe you won’t stay best friends forever. Maybe it's about time she learns to rely on someone else a bit so that you can have your own life. We're supposed to get engaged tonight, and I will be the one that’s there for you forever. This is your important night, ours! How many times have you run out of one of our dates to go see Gigi? She's the one who never listens when you tell her to leave him, but somehow she still relies on you every time! No, you run to her aid. This is about us, but you're always prioritizing her. I'm jealous of having to share you with your best friend, I feel like I'll never come first!"

"Tom, it doesn't matter if we don't stick to each other until the end. Sure, maybe one day we'll have a fallout and both go our own ways. But so far, Gigi's been by my side for ten years longer than you. When you broke my heart at fifteen, she was there to help me get over it, get back on track with my life."

"I get it, but that was when you were young, and it was just a crush. This isn't the same. You warned her about her marriage a hundred times, but she still went ahead and married that jerk! It's been two whole years of you having to pick her up because she won't leave him. She never listens to you, yet you go every single time, you pick up the pieces every time, and you sacrifice your own time to do this! Our time together!"

"Just a crush?" Brianna scoffed. "Seriously? You think it doesn't matter because I was young? I loved you! I loved you perhaps even more stupidly than she loves her piece-of-shit husband! It may have been an insignificant teenage crush for you, but for me, it was my first love and my first heartbreak, and the pain was damn real! Who the heck are you to judge my feelings like that? May I remind you you're the one who treated me like shit back then!"

"I didn't treat you like shit," he retorted, obfuscated.

The people in the restaurant were starting to turn heads toward their heated argument, but Bree didn't care. She was tall and loud and used to it.

"That's what I felt! You left with your girlfriend for three years and you never gave a damn about the hurt you'd caused me, even expecting me to rejoice when you got back! You're just as self-centered as Gigi is, Tom! I'm not the lucky one you finally gave a bit of attention to after ten years, you're the one who should be fucking grateful I allowed you back into my love life at all! And you know what? Gigi was supportive of you! Yes, she makes stupid mistakes and yes, she's blind as fuck when it comes to love, but that's exactly why she was happy when you came back into my life, why she supported us together even when she sacrificed dozens of hours to console me, and she will be there for me the same way if you ever dump me! So, yes, it's her mistake for getting into a shitty marriage and not listening to me, but I still owe it to her to be her best friend and be by her side when she needs me because she was there for me for the last twenty years! You have no idea how much Gigi means to me. I wouldn't be anywhere near who I am today if it wasn't for her. You want to get engaged? Well, you better think twice because if you can't understand that my stupid-in-love best friend is the top priority in my life, this is not going to work."

She grabbed her bag, glanced at her phone to check if she hadn't missed any texts, and then swapped to the app to get a cab. Public transportation would take too long.

"Bree!"

She glanced up at him, still angry. But Tom looked defeated and ashamed. He grabbed his jacket.

"I'll drive you. … Can we finish that discussion in the car, please?"

"... Fine."

They left the restaurant and quickly got in the car. Tom waited until he was in traffic to let out a sigh, but Brianna was already obsessed with her phone, staring at it, ready to get a text from Gigi anytime. They both knew he'd forgotten the ring at the restaurant, but neither mentioned it.

"You were right," he said after some time. "I'm... I'm being selfish."

She didn't answer; she didn't feel like it yet, and she had already said everything she had to. But she was listening, giving him a quick glance.

"I really am jealous of Giselle, that's the truth. Every time you stopped our dates to run to her, I grew more resentful, and that's why tonight I couldn't take it. This isn't about her marriage, although I do agree he's a jerk and I still think she should have listened to you. But that's... something we both know already. Earlier, you said... I underestimated your love for me from that time, and I admit, I hadn't realized that before and I was wrong. To me, it wasn't real. You were... You're six years younger than me, and I couldn't see you in that way until we met again. I won't say I regret rejecting you at the time, because I really wasn't feeling anything remotely romantic towards you, and on a side note, I'm pretty sure that would have made me a criminal."

Brianna hardly repressed a grin. True. She hadn't realized it back then, but Tom was an adult, and she was underage; she couldn't blame him for not even considering her in that way at all. It would have been more worrying if he did.

"But I do, sincerely, regret how I treated you at the time. I was a jerk, I fully admit it. Even when I got back, I was complacent. You had grown into a fully mature woman, more mature than most girls your age, so it kind of hit me hard. And then, we started working together, but you were with Noah, and the more I realized you were a woman and with another guy, I just realized how different things could have been if I'd done anything differently. I was growing really, really in love with the Brianna I saw every day, and it was hard. When you started dating me, I thought it was finally my time, that I'd catch up on all that time I'd been in that one-sided love with you, but there was Gigi, and I just felt like she was taking my time with you away when I'd already missed a lot. You're right, I'm sorry I didn't consider your feelings more. I shouldn't complain about my one-sided love for you nor your relationship with Giselle after how I acted. If I'd acted nicer, rejected you in a kinder way, maybe things would have been different."

"No, they wouldn't," Bree suddenly said.

He frowned and glanced at her. Bree sighed.

"Tom, you would have rejected me anyway and left. Gigi convinced me to move on, focus on myself, and eventually date other people. It took me a while, but the person I am today has far less to do with the way you rejected me than how Gigi helped me recover from it. That's what's really important. That's why I have to be there for whatever crap her love life throws at her because I owe so much of who I am today to her. This isn't about some debt I owe her, and it's not about how many heartbreaks we owe each other to care for. Gigi wasn't just there when you rejected me, Tom. She was there when my mom left, she was there when I didn't fit in at school, she was there when I fought with my family. She was there for every hard time, and I probably had a lot more than she did. And she didn't care. As I said, I'm not acting like this because I feel like I have to repay her, some obligation or something. It is because I'd never be who I am today if Giselle hadn't shown me how much of a difference just one friend caring for you can make. It's a core belief of mine: I can't give up on a friend that needs me."

A silence came after that, as he had nothing to answer. He changed lanes, checked the time, and took a deep breath in. Bree hesitated, worried about his lack of response. It wouldn't change how she felt, but she did love him. She didn't want this to taint their relationship, but she also knew they had to solve this.

"... Tom?"

"You're not the only one I owe an apology to, then. I owe Giselle one too. I'm sorry. And I understand now. You're right. I have no right to judge your relationship with her, she was there for you for so long. I've been selfish. Again."

"I know I spend a lot of my time with Gigi or worrying about her."

"She's your best friend," Tom shook his head, "and your best friend is having a hard time, it's only natural you'd worry about her. I'm sorry. I'll remember that from now on, and I'll help you if needed. Gigi too."

"... We might need that help right now," Bree groaned as they arrived on Gigi's street.

Giselle was there, on the sidewalk, in tears, her arms wrapped around a bag. Brianna almost jumped out of the car and opened her arms wide. Giselle dropped the bag and ran into her embrace, bawling.

"What happened?"

"We fought, and... Bree, I can't do this anymore... I'm sorry, Bree, I'm so sorry. You were right..."

"Oh my God, you don't have to apologize. You said you fought? He didn't hit you, did he?"

"N-no... but he told me to get out, and I... I just had time to grab my bag."

"Is he for real? This is your house!" Bree protested, furious.

"I'll go talk to him," Tom said.

"Oh, hell no."

Brianna held him back and bent down to grab Gigi's bag, giving it to him.

"That fucker isn't staying in this house and he's certainly not kicking anybody out. This is your house that you mostly paid for with your family's money."

"Bree, I don't want to go back," Gigi cried. "I hate that place, I don't want to stay there."

"Fine, but he ain't staying there either. Tom, wait in the car with Gigi, please. I won't be long."

"Will you be alright?" Tom asked, visibly worried.

Brianna grinned, but confidently pushed her friend towards Tom, with a brief kiss on Gigi's forehead.

"Honey, I'm a werebear, remember?"

He didn't add anything after that, and just gently took Gigi to his car, while Brianna headed upstairs. She'd been waiting for this day for so long, that bastard was going to regret every single tear he made Gigi shed.

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*Author Note: Just one update left for this story, hope you've enjoyed it! ^-^