"The One" – Part 76

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!

This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

"They changed the venue three times, but it's going to be held at the loft in the Meatpacking District," Gretchen finished. She was telling the group about the long, arduous journey to pin down a date and location for her Book Launch party. Her publisher was a small company, so they didn't have a large budget. Originally it was slated for last week, but it got pushed back when the deposit check for the space they wanted bounced!

It was frustrating and annoying, but she couldn't stay mad at the owners. Rodney and Shane were very passionate about their work and threw their support behind her book a hundred percent! They were doing their best to stay afloat in a bad economy, which meant she had to do more footwork than she would have with a large company. At the end of the day, she was immensely grateful for the opportunity to put her work out there and very happy they were nearing the finish line!

"Very cool, Gretch!" Nona encouraged her. She was proud of her friend and she loved the pictures in the book.

Fiona nodded. "Yeah, this is big! I'm so happy for you!" she smiled.

"Thanks guys!" Gretchen had a huge smile.

"I propose a toast," Pete called out. Everyone raised their glasses. "To the beautiful and talented Gretchen Yongchaiyudh! We're all very happy for you, babe, and proud of what you accomplished! This is a big milestone, years in the making. Lots of hard work. Can't wait to stand beside you at the launch party! I know it's going to be an amazing night, and a celebration well deserved!" He grinned at her. "Cheers!"

They all moved forward and clinked their glasses.

Gretchen was rarely emotional, but she had tears in her eyes. "You guys are awesome!"

Raul shook his head. "You're the awesome one," he insisted with a smile.

Gretchen chuckled. "Are you trying to make me cry?" she said in jest.

"That depends… Is it working?" Fiona teased.

They all laughed.

Their waiter returned to the table with the check. "Here you go guys," he said warmly.

Pete sighed. "I don't want this night to end, but I guess we'll see everyone on Wednesday."

Fiona glanced at Adam.

Gretchen noticed. "Almost everyone," she lightly noted. Things were complicated. It was what it was!

"You're not going?" Pete blurted out. It wasn't his smoothest moment, but the many drinks he had over the evening were at play.

Fiona and Gretchen shared an exasperated look. It wasn't something they wanted to discuss at the table!

"Um, I'm not sure yet. Still deciding," Fiona responded.

"But why wouldn't you come?" Pete said confused. Gretchen was one of her closest friends!

There was a short pause, and Adam shifted uncomfortably as the elephant in the room leaped front and center.

"I think you should come," Simone said definitively. All eyes settled on her. "You guys can't avoid each other forever."

"We could try," Fiona quipped. She was still bitter about the FaceRange thing and it came out in her tone.

Gretchen, Nona, and Debbie grimaced.

Tomás and Raul shared a look. They were tempted to say something in Spanish, but refrained this time around.

Pete sighed. "Sorry I brought it up," he mumbled. He took a long sip of his drink. It was a gin and tonic.

"One of you needs to be the bigger person," Simone pressed, not letting it go.

Fiona resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Honestly, I don't think it will be Beth anytime soon. You're going to cross paths eventually, so at some point you're going to have to talk," Simone reasoned.

"But eventually doesn't mean Wednesday," Gretchen countered.

She didn't think now was the time or place to discuss this! She could tell Fiona was thoroughly annoyed, and the mood at the table had gone from positive and lighthearted, to tense and slightly uncomfortable. She thought that Simone had a point, but she doubted Beth and Fiona would come to an understanding in the next couple of days, and she didn't want drama at her book launch party!

-oOo-

"Well, that was horribly awkward," Fiona wryly noted as the cab sped away from the curb. She and Adam had just left the restaurant and said their goodbyes. Dinner had been lovely, up until the end!

He gave her a small smile. "It wasn't so bad," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Okay… It was going down in flames," he admitted. "But overall everyone had a great time, right?"

She laughed and moved closer to him. "I love your honestly."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "And I love you."

She grinned. "I love you, too!"

"I'm glad we're on the same page with that!" he chuckled.

"Me too!" she laughed. She looked into her eyes. "So what did you think of my friends?"

He grinned broadly. "I think they're pretty awesome."

"Yes!" she said in an exaggerated manner.

"But I figured they would be, since they're close to you," he continued.

"Yep, I know how to pick 'em!" she joked. "At least with friends…"

Adam raised an eyebrow as he remembered something he wanted to ask about.

"So, you and Pete dated once, right?" he asked. She had mentioned it in passing before, but he hadn't made the connection until dinner was nearly over.

Fiona nodded as she softly laughed. "Yes, for a short while back in college," she confirmed. "It was when he still identified as Bi. He was the last guy I dated before you, again."

"Right," he said. It was hard for him to picture them as a couple! Apparently Pete was one of the two guys she dated in the past seven years. He knew that she had a few casual hook ups under her belt, but when it came to actually dating, she had been involved many more women and two of those relationships had been serious ones.

"He was pretty great boyfriend. We had a ton of common interests, and we both loved shopping," Fiona continued.

Adam smirked. He was a much better dresser these days, but he still hated shopping for clothes. He couldn't see that changing at any point!

"He didn't have any hang ups in bed. We had fun together," she went on to say.

Again, Adam raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if I like this story."

She giggled. "Oh, you'll probably like the ending. We dated for a few months, but ultimately decided we were better off as friends. Not long after the split he got a boyfriend and I got a girlfriend. We kind of laughed about it with our friends, joking that we turned each other off from the opposite sex!"

Adam chuckled. That was sort of ironic!

"Of course, Pete and I are still good friends to this day. We dated so long ago that most times I forget that he's technically my Ex!" Fiona concluded. It was the story of her life. With her partners she was usually friends first and in most cases, remained friendly after.

Adam smiled at her. "Things worked out well for you guys."

"Yeah," Fiona grinned. After a moment she added, "It's good that we can actually talk about this!"

Adam shrugged. "Well, you're not into Pete now, are you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

He laughed and pulled her into his arms. "Then we're cool! I'm not bothered by hearing about your past, and I'm certainly not threatened by other guys. When I was 18, it would probably be a different story. But at 25, I don't worry about how I stack up to cis guys!" He knew what he brought to the table. Also, plenty of girls he hooked up with had told him they had more fun with him than their Exes!

Fiona smiled. "Good to know!"

He kissed the side of her head.

"You missed!" she teased as she looked up at him.

He leaned in and they shared a lingering kiss.

.

tbc

A/N: Oy! Who do you think is right here? Should Simone have said anything, or should she have kept her thoughts on the matter under wraps?

Anyway, Pete's toast was super sweet! And wow, he and Fiona dated? Nice to see that Exes can indeed get along! Adam thoughts on the matter were progressive, no?

Review! You know you want to! :D

In the next chapter… Adam and Fi return to his apartment…

To the folks I cannot directly message:

asdfsdfdsfsdg99a8dfg - It wasn't my intention to offend. I see the words used interchangeably online and bio seemed more descriptive. But cis is the proper term, so I'll use that going forward. Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoy my stories.