time to think about what I’m walking into, but I don’t feel even a little bit nervous. I tilt my head back and throw my arms up. Life is good.
She parks and we hop out of the Jeep. The clink and clank of bracelets on my wrist and earrings in my hair and heels on the pavement all feel like body armor. They make me feel good, like maybe I can face whatever it is that’s gonna happen when I walk through this door. I can face Noah if he’s here. I can handle this double date. I can smile and ask questions and participate in conversations. I can do this.
I hope.
My hands are sweaty and I rub them against the back of my thighs as we push through the front door. Oh, boy. The place is filled. Even the corner with the dartboards has people crammed in, filling up all the empty space with sound and energy. Whatever false hope I had in myself goes flying out the window. Senses in overdrive. Guy laughing. Thunk of a dart. Click, click, click of my heels and the tinkling of my earrings screaming in my ears. Smells of food and buzzing of lights and all the bricks want to be seen. Red shirt, corner of my vision. Bump against my hip. Turn sideways through the crowd. Follow Becca to the bar.
“Well, hey!” The bartender leans on the bar and smiles. “You’ve been MIA for a while. Where you been?”
“Not here,” Becca says with a lift of her eyebrows as she sits back on her heel, jutting a hip.
“I noticed. It wasn’t the same around here without you guys.” He flips a glance in my direction before handing his attention back to Becca.
“Zo was here last week. That had to count for something.”
It counted for nothing. The guy was annoyed by my presence from start to finish.
“Oh. Ya.” The bartender gets all awkward and straightens up off the bar. “Sure it did. Just not the same without the dynamic duo. You know.” He’s floundering, trying not to offend Becca. Who cares about me? You know. The one he’s actually offending.
We order our drinks and once they’re in our hands, Becca turns her back and leans on the bar while she scans the crowd. “We should claim a booth before they get here if we can.”
Perfect, now I have an excuse to look around the room for any sign of Noah. If I have any kind of luck at all, he won’t be here. He’ll have found a better place to hang out and I won’t have to deal with the double awkward of dealing with both a double date and the guy I kissed last week in the same room at the same time. Luck holds up and not only do I not see Noah, but I also find a booth in what appears to be the only quiet corner of the bar.
“Good eyes!” Becca nods in appreciation as we work our way through the crowd to claim our table.
With the sound and commotion kind of calmed down around us, I’m able to concentrate a little bit, at least enough to ask a question. Enough to start to really worry about what’s about to happen. “So, what’s this guy’s name? Both guys actually, since I somehow don’t know either one even though, as your best friend, I should at least know the guy you’re meeting.” That’s right. I actually managed to say exactly what I was thinking. That’s what she gets for dressing me up and making me feel confident.
I’m not sure if I imagined it or not, but I think I just saw her flinch. “Luke and Carter.” She takes a long drink and watches the door over my shoulder. Or she could be avoiding meeting my eyes. I’m not sure which.
“Which one is mine?”
Becca smiles and bites her bottom lip. “Luke.”
“And where did you meet this Carter?”
Becca’s face gets all dodgy again and then lights up. With a flick of her hair and a wiggle of her finger, she beckons to someone behind me. Two someones I bet. “Oh, they’re here and you’re going to love Luke. He looks amazing!” She leans in and whispers: “He’s super hot!” She straightens and a smile darts across her face just as the guys show up at our table.
She’s busy greeting them,
She parks and we hop out of the Jeep. The clink and clank of bracelets on my wrist and earrings in my hair and heels on the pavement all feel like body armor. They make me feel good, like maybe I can face whatever it is that’s gonna happen when I walk through this door. I can face Noah if he’s here. I can handle this double date. I can smile and ask questions and participate in conversations. I can do this.
I hope.
My hands are sweaty and I rub them against the back of my thighs as we push through the front door. Oh, boy. The place is filled. Even the corner with the dartboards has people crammed in, filling up all the empty space with sound and energy. Whatever false hope I had in myself goes flying out the window. Senses in overdrive. Guy laughing. Thunk of a dart. Click, click, click of my heels and the tinkling of my earrings screaming in my ears. Smells of food and buzzing of lights and all the bricks want to be seen. Red shirt, corner of my vision. Bump against my hip. Turn sideways through the crowd. Follow Becca to the bar.
“Well, hey!” The bartender leans on the bar and smiles. “You’ve been MIA for a while. Where you been?”
“Not here,” Becca says with a lift of her eyebrows as she sits back on her heel, jutting a hip.
“I noticed. It wasn’t the same around here without you guys.” He flips a glance in my direction before handing his attention back to Becca.
“Zo was here last week. That had to count for something.”
It counted for nothing. The guy was annoyed by my presence from start to finish.
“Oh. Ya.” The bartender gets all awkward and straightens up off the bar. “Sure it did. Just not the same without the dynamic duo. You know.” He’s floundering, trying not to offend Becca. Who cares about me? You know. The one he’s actually offending.
We order our drinks and once they’re in our hands, Becca turns her back and leans on the bar while she scans the crowd. “We should claim a booth before they get here if we can.”
Perfect, now I have an excuse to look around the room for any sign of Noah. If I have any kind of luck at all, he won’t be here. He’ll have found a better place to hang out and I won’t have to deal with the double awkward of dealing with both a double date and the guy I kissed last week in the same room at the same time. Luck holds up and not only do I not see Noah, but I also find a booth in what appears to be the only quiet corner of the bar.
“Good eyes!” Becca nods in appreciation as we work our way through the crowd to claim our table.
With the sound and commotion kind of calmed down around us, I’m able to concentrate a little bit, at least enough to ask a question. Enough to start to really worry about what’s about to happen. “So, what’s this guy’s name? Both guys actually, since I somehow don’t know either one even though, as your best friend, I should at least know the guy you’re meeting.” That’s right. I actually managed to say exactly what I was thinking. That’s what she gets for dressing me up and making me feel confident.
I’m not sure if I imagined it or not, but I think I just saw her flinch. “Luke and Carter.” She takes a long drink and watches the door over my shoulder. Or she could be avoiding meeting my eyes. I’m not sure which.
“Which one is mine?”
Becca smiles and bites her bottom lip. “Luke.”
“And where did you meet this Carter?”
Becca’s face gets all dodgy again and then lights up. With a flick of her hair and a wiggle of her finger, she beckons to someone behind me. Two someones I bet. “Oh, they’re here and you’re going to love Luke. He looks amazing!” She leans in and whispers: “He’s super hot!” She straightens and a smile darts across her face just as the guys show up at our table.
She’s busy greeting them,
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