Harper noticed I wasn’t eating and asked if I was feeling okay. I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I told her I was fine and said I was still hung over from the previous night.
“Yeah, probably a good idea to stay away from the booze tonight hon. We don’t want to be carrying you out again. That would just give the triplet bitches ammo to talk.”
“Definitely no alcohol for me tonight, I’m sticking with the sparkling water.” I nodded in agreement.
A few more minutes passed without event. I refused to look up and scan the room for the one person that I knew was here and was watching me. I knew this because I felt the prickling sensations on my neck.
Harper and I were approached by a few classmates that we had been friendly with in school but who were never part of the crowd we spent most of our time with. We weren’t part of the popular group but when I started dating Finn, more people began to pay more attention to us. Since Finn and Kyler were both athletes, we immediately became connected to the jocks of the school. And since both boys played music, all of the musically inclined students also considered us friends. They were all pretty nice, well except for the few girls that would glare at Harper and I. Those girls were never as mean as the triplets, but some of the looks we used to get made me uncomfortable.
A little while later, after two of our old classmates had chatted with Harper about her blooming business and how well she was doing, I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
In that sultry deep voice from last night, Finn asked, “Are these seats taken?”
Closing my eyes tightly I took a deep breath, re-opened them and looked up at a smirking Finn. “No, you can sit there.” I’d hoped Kyler would take the seat next to me but of course I had no such luck. Finley planted himself in the chair beside me and I inhaled deeply. He smelled like he did at the bar the previous night; a spicy manly scent that was strictly him. My pulse was racing. I began my mantra to myself over and over; you can do this, you can do this.
Kyler sat in the seat next to Finn and began digging in to his food. “Hey Shorty, how are you feeling after getting wasted last night?”
This was so not what I wanted to talk about right now. I didn’t need a reminder of Finn carrying me out of the bar, or a reason for him to possibly want to talk about it. Pushing the thought away I decided to just focus on the question. “Fine, thank you. I ended up sleeping a bit late today and I’m still feeling somewhat queasy, but I’ll be better tomorrow I’m sure.” I went back to pushing around the green beans on my plate. With Finn sitting this close to me, I’d officially lost my appetite. I risked a glance up in his direction, and saw that he was watching me with furrowed brows.
Kyler laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so trashed Em. Even after that one time in high school when you gave Harper and lap dance and then jumped Finn’s bones in the backseat of my…” he trailed off when he noticed Harper giving him a ‘I’ll fuck you up if you say one more word’ death stare. “Shit, sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“What? I’m not uncomfortable. It’s fine Kyler. Promise.” I gave him a small smile and moved on to picking at the mashed potatoes on my plate. I was intent on looking down because there was no way I could look at Finn. I felt my face flush ten shades of red. That was one of the million memories I had locked away never to be thought about again, and one that I’d safely tuck back away when I wasn’t sitting so close to Finn.
“What about you Harper, are you feeling okay?” Kyler was now smirking at her.
“Oh I’m definitely fine. I’ve had worse nights drinking than last night. I ended up spending part of the night staying up with party girl here,” she nudged me smiling “to make sure she didn’t throw up all over herself.”
“You got sick again?” Finn questioned, obviously feeling the need to interject. Awesome! He was acting like he cared.
“Yeah she got sick a few times but nothing a puke bucket and buddy couldn’t fix.”
Damn it. Why was Harper over sharing? I glared at her, my eyes conveying that she was going to be hearing it when we left. “It’s not a big deal. I shouldn’t have been drinking that much anyway. Harper took care of me and I’m good as new.” I kept my face down refusing to look him in the eye. I knew that’s what he wanted, but his concern wasn’t something I needed.
He leaned over and spoke next to my ear, making it so the other two couldn’t hear him. “Em, can you look at me and tell me you’re fine?”
Seriously, was this him caring? Just as I was about to look him in the face, I heard a couple of boisterous voices at our table. I looked up to see Michael Brant and Corey Landry slapping Kyler and Finley on the back.
“Good god look what the cat dragged in!” Michael, a high school football player and one of the guys that frequented the infamous parties, was grinning from ear to ear. He was a good looking guy back then and the girls all loved him. He was also quite the ladies man. Michael was given a football scholarship to Texas A&M, but he was involved in a motorcycle wreck the week before he was leaving for training, and injured his back. The doctors told him that if he played then he risked getting hit and becoming paralyzed. He ended up turning down the scholarship and went to some college in Florida. He got a degree in business and actually helped Harper start her realty company. She confessed to me a few months ago that they dated and slept together while they were working out the logistics, but they’d both since moved on and stayed good friends.
“Hey man, how’s it going?” Kyler was smiling a huge smile at Michael but it was quickly wiped away when Michael leaned in and gave Harper a hug and quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’m doing pretty good man! Went off to do the college thing and decided to come back home to get some of my shit squared away. Ended up using that degree I was given and started helping people get their new businesses off the ground. Turns out I’m pretty good at it so I decided to help start-up companies. I’m doing so well with it I actually just signed on my first house a few blocks from the high school, thanks to Harper!”
“Oh yeah?” Kyler didn’t look impressed. In fact he was now looking at Harper with disdain. “Harper seems to be good at a lot of things.”
I glanced at Harper and she looked like she was about to choke the life out of Kyler. What in the hell did he mean by that? Apparently I’d missed something. I thought about dragging her to the ladies room and beating it out of her but, she was still staring at Kyler.
“You bet your ass I’m good at a lot of things. One of those things being selling houses.” I’ve known Harper long enough to know that she was well and truly pissed. She turned her glare away from Kyler and plastered a smile on her face for Michael. “Are you settling in okay? I could stop by and suggest some paint colors or help remove some of that nasty seventies wallpaper.”
The smile that was on Ky’s face was wiped off and now he was fuming mad. Clearly deciding to ignore it he said, “Well congrats on the house man. And congrats on the booming business. I’d heard you were doing well.” Turning the attention away from Michael he spoke to Corey. “What about you man, how’re you doing?”
Corey was a quiet guy and had been that way in school. He was one of the few that married his high school sweetheart. They married shortly after high school and they both went to college close to home at Boise State. She went into dentistry and he graduated with a business degree. Callie currently had a dental office on the outskirts of town and Corey ended up going into business with Michael. He didn’t run their company but they worked well with him being second in command.