I’m guessing living the dream means he's between jobs and had to move back home with mommy and daddy, like us.
"Who is this vixen?" Jeff looks at me.
"This is my date—err, I mean girlfriend, Amelia."
He shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you. Did you know your boyfriend was an oinker back in the day?"
Instead of ganging up on poor little Theo like I'm familiar with, I play it safe and sweet.
"You'd never know it now," I compliment, giving him a tiny rub on his back.
"Dude, all the guys are coming tonight. Seth, Greg, even Devon."
Seth. Oh no. This was expected, but hearing the name of Theo's ex-best friend and my allegedly former crush causes the champagne sitting in my empty stomach to swirl about.
What the hell are we trying to get away with here? This is careless. If my dad finds out we went as dates, he will stroke out.
"From what I've gathered," Jeff begins, "Trey is already divorced, and Danny and Cat are still together." He looks at me and adds, "High school sweethearts."
Jeff leans closer and this is clearly prime info time. "Prissy Priscilla works for the FBI, and Matt is lowkey trying to sell drugs here tonight. Don't let him near Priscilla."
This is the gossip I want to hear, yet Theo says, "Awesome, can't wait to see everyone. We'll catch up later, cool?"
"For sure. Let's do shots before the end of the night."
Jeff leaves and I turn to Theo. "Dammit! That's the good stuff. I want to know more."
"You don't even know these people."
"So what? That drama is exactly why people go to reunions. Who has a criminal record, who had an affair with one of the teachers, whose parents were a part of the college admissions bribery scandal?"
"You're odd, you know that?"
"Please, you're curious, too."
A breeze blows against my skin, and I rub my arms.
"Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?" he offers.
"No, I'm good."
"You okay?"
"What if we get caught, Theo?"
"It's not illegal to date your stepsister. Especially when we didn't even grow up together."
I don't know if Theo is trying to convince himself of this or if he's trying to calm my nerves. We finish the rest of our champagne, and Theo is a gentleman and retrieves our last complimentary beverage.
When he returns, I grab the flute and glance past his right shoulder. What I see almost makes me drop my glass. "Oh my God."
"What is it?"
"The man that walked in now," I begin, forcing Theo to switch positions with me. "The one with red hair. Do you know him?"
"No, I don't think so. I think I know the woman on his arm. Sandra? Sarah? No… Scarlet!"
My bones disintegrate. Thanos snapped his fingers, and I evaporate in a puff of dust. What alternate universe are we in right now?
