Chapter 75

• Jess came over early, giving me just enough time to shower. We went grocery shopping together, creating a dinner menu on the fly. It immediately struck me that this spontaneity was something I missed. With Kat, everything was planned. But an impromptu dinner felt like a true joy with Jess. Of course, I also realized I had started comparing Jess and Kat. It rapidly became apparent that my usual compartmentalizing wasn't going to help. I was going to need to really figure something out. And it was only 24 hours after Jess had walked back into my life so unexpectedly. I had not expected my world to be turned on its head so suddenly.
• We cooked together, prepping chicken parmesan with a simple pasta and salad. She wore jeans that clung to her ass and a slightly oversized button-down shirt that permitted her to skip wearing a bra, her usual preference that I was glad to see hadn't changed.
• I led in the kitchen, and Jess played sous chef. We chatted, catching up on the three years since we were last together. After rehab, she had gotten into a serious relationship for a year. She had treated that as her new addiction, adding in a healthy yoga habit. But it turned out the perfect guy also had two other girlfriends, one of whom he had a baby with.