“Dakota?” Margaret asks for what doesn’t sound like the first time.
“Huh? What?” I peel my gaze away from Casey and Lily and look at the cute girl I should be paying attention to. “I’m sorry. Actually, on second thought, can I have a seltzer?”
She hesitates, studying me curiously, then slowly says, “Sure. I’ll grab you one.”
There are cheers from the beer pong table, immediately followed by heavy groans. Lily’s brother high-fives his teammate as they celebrate their win. Casey groans as Lily dejectedly drops her forehead onto Casey’s shoulder. Casey wraps her arm around Lily’s hip, and Lily leans into the embrace.
Fuck. I’m going to need something stronger than a seltzer.
Chapter Four
“We’ll get them next time!” my beer pong partner says. I still have no idea what her real name is, but all her friends keep calling her M, so I’m rolling with it.
“Definitely!” I say as we step further away from the beer pong table. M and I narrowly lost, and I have to admit, even though Casey is my preferred beer pong partner, it was a lot of fun to play with her. She carried her own, sinking as many cups as I did. And she is a hilarious shit talker while simultaneously being an encouraging teammate. Maybe my ex was wrong—since M and I are really hitting it off—and itispossible to find chemistry with someone other than Nina.
I glance around for Casey, but don’t see her. She was cheering us on while we played, teasing Lily’s brother every time M or I sank our shot. I don’t know when she left.
“Are you hungry?” M asks. “Rebecca makes the best buffalo chicken dip.”
“Sure,” I say, while scanning the crowd by the fire pit. I don’t see Lily either. Did they sneakoff together?
“So, Casey mentioned you’re a teacher?” M says as she grabs plates for us. There’s a folding table decked out with various fruits, chips, dips, macaroni and pasta salads, hamburgers, and hot dogs.
“I am.”
“That’s so cool. You enjoying your summer break?”
“Definitely.” I grab a scoop of spinach dip alongside the buffalo chicken dip. Time to lean into this connection. Who cares where Casey and Lily went? I have an attractive woman I enjoy talking to standing in front of me. She should be my focus, not anyone or anything else. “I’ve worked the past couple years at this summer camp my friend owns, but I decided to take this year off and relax.”
“Nice. I’m sure the last thing you want to do is work with more kids once the school year is over.”
I laugh. “Are you a teacher too?”
“Hell no. I don’t have the patience for that.” She chuckles. “I’m a nurse.”
“Oh, my girlfriend’s a nurse!” I say excitedly before realizing I just referred to Nina as my girlfriend and freeze. “Wait. No. She’s not my girlfriend. Well, not anymore; shewasmy girlfriend, but we broke up a long time ago—over a year ago—and she’s actually engaged. To the woman she cheated on me with, Jamie, who isalsoa nurse.”And oh, my god. Shut up!
Sweat pools on the back of my neck, I shove a chip in my mouth, and a glop of buffalo chicken dip falls off the side and lands on my shirt. I curse.Can this moment get any worse?
M stares at me. The easy smile that’s been painted on her mouth all afternoon now looks forced. She clears her throat. “Cool. Cool. That’s cool,” she says after an uncomfortably long pause.
I nod, afraid if I speak, I’m going to word vomit some more. I busy myself with grabbing slices of watermelon.
“Hey, so, Trevor asked me to bring him a cheeseburger.” M scratches the back of her head. “I’ll catch up with you later?”
I give her a tight-lipped smile, and she dashes off with an empty plate. I groan and slap my palm to my face. What the hell is wrong with me?
A bulky, shirtless guy tries to reach around me for some macaroni salad. I apologize quickly and get out of his way.
There’s still no sight of Casey—or Lily—and my heart sinks. M laughs with a group of girls at the beer pong table. And it settles heavy in my chest. Nina was right, I’m never going to find someone who will love me the way she did. Why bother trying?
I don’t want to be here anymore.
So I leave.
There’s nothing new on Nina’s Instagram. Her congratulatory comments have stopped rolling in, and she hasn’t updated her story since this morning when she posted that Jamie made Nina her “world famous avocado toast” like the basic bitch she is.
I haven’t been back at Casey’s house long. I tried to eat the food I took from Lily’s, and despite knowing the buffalo chicken dip is probably delicious, it tasted like spicy cardboard. In fact, everything on my plate tasted terrible, so I tossed it in the trash and took a quick shower. As I reach for my towel, my phone dings.
