"Erin only does extremes," Matt said.
Give me a fucking break.
"Oh, spare me," Lauren murmured.
Matt looked from Andy to his wife, incredulous. "I'll dial it down when she and Shannon power wash the past. Until that happens, I'm still on hair-trigger watch. With Erin, anything can happen."
"Agreed," Patrick said, reaching for the wine again. "That shit with Shannon and Erin is sweating dynamite. Someone needs to keep an eye on her."
Patrick, too. That fucker. He was on my list.
I didn't know which part was more irritating: that I'd been hearing some version of this from them for years, or that they truly didn't understand the depth of their wrongness. I knew it was different from their seat, that they saw all the shit Erin had experienced—and instigated—as a teenager, and couldn't distinguish that from the reality of Erin now. And I was really fucking bothered that they didn't see it necessary to fix their outdated perceptions.
"Thanks for mansplaining that, bro," Lauren said, holding out her fist to Patrick for a bump. As far as I was concerned, Riley's unrequited love for her required zero explanation. She was fucking amazing. "Now let me do a little pussy-splaining while I have you here. None of you need to be onpatrol. She's not a kid, and the whole thing is bullshit. She and Shannon will get there, but not because any of you were standing around telling her how to do it."
"Agreed," Andy said.
Riley growled and kicked me under the table before I could add my support to Lauren's comments. He shook his head at me, all too knowing, while he scratched his chest like a sleepy bear. He looked around the table and said, "I feel like doing something irresponsible tonight." He kicked me again. "Come on, Acevedo. Let's have an adventure."
"You should know," Matt started, laughing. Clearly, he wasn't still annoyed about someone suggesting that his brilliant sister required babysitting. "Riley's version of irresponsible adventure involves waking up in the bed of a truck on its way to Canada or getting his nipples pierced by a random guy in an alley."
Riley rubbed his chest, frowning. "Those hurt, man. I still have scars, physicalandemotional."
"He's also been permanently barred from Howl At The Moon," Patrick added. "Something about getting naked and dancing on a piano."
"As if that wasn't standard fare," Riley muttered. "And if we're airing all the dirty secrets, why don't we talk about the party after Matt and Miss Honey's wedding?"
"Nope." I stared at my mostly full wine glass. "Let me stop you right there."
"Why?" Matt asked. He looked between Sam, Riley, and me. "What happened?"
Riley stared at me, smirking. I shook my head, mouthing, "Stop."
He shrugged as if to sayStop what?
This time, I kicked him under the table. His eyebrows shot up, prodding me to slide further into this death roll. The harder I fought to keep him quiet, the louder my secrets became.
So I raised the stakes. I watched Riley with a slightly manic smile, and then slid my gaze to Lauren. One nod in her direction, and his expression fell.
Everyone watched our standoff, and if it wasn't heavy after that chat about Erin, it was heavy now. We all trafficked in inside jokes and odd references, but it was somehow obvious to our present company that the source of our disagreement involved no humor.
Finally Riley shook off his stricken expression and laughed. "Nothing happened," he said, spooning up a bite of pumpkin pie straight from the dish. "Acevedo knows how to have a good time. Not surprising for the good doctor."
I reached over and grabbed the pie plate from him. "I will fucking end you," I hissed.
"We're fucking lucky that they're too drunk and happy to give a shit about us," he said under his breath. "Buy me a beer, and then we'll kiss and make up."
* * *
"Is it getting any better?"I asked.
Riley stretched his arms across the bar top at The Green Dragon and dropped his head. "No," he murmured.
"Do you think either of them know?" I asked. My finger traced the edge of the cardboard coaster under my beer. "Matt and Lauren, I mean."
"No," he repeated. "Why does Lauren have fucking brothers? Why couldn't she have a sister so I can be happy and stop wanting Matt to trip in front of a train?"
"Sisters wouldn't make a difference," I said. "My sisters are complete opposites of each other. No guarantees there."
