A loud cheer went up from the direction of the backyard and then a roar quickly followed. I had no idea what they were doing out there but I knew that like all great quarterbacks, Ryan—the best guy—was behind it. I also knew my ex, the one who’d convinced this woman it was pretty much okay for him to cheat because she hadn’t asked a precise sequence of questions, was probably off kicking rocks in the corner.
At least there were those silver linings.
After a soft laugh toward the backyard, Clara glanced toward me. “I am sorry about how it happened and I wanted you to know it was unfair and wrong.”
Those words weren’t meant to wound me. The opposite, I was sure. They weren’t meant to poke at the scabbed-over places where I’d folded in on myself just to get through the worst of it.
Yet all I could think was that revenge hardly mattered.
I’dhardly mattered, not if Teddy had planned to marry this woman all along and I’d been nothing more than the girl he hung out with when he wanted good food, fresh laundry, and a target for his shitty comments. Wasn’t that the truth of it?
Another cheer spilled in through the open windows. I rubbed the band of my ring as I listened for more. Ryan probably had them doing combine drills. I’d bet anything he was sitting back with a beer and watching while these guys ran through ladder holes or sprinted the length of the backyard while dragging a loaded ice chest. And I loved him for it.
When I didn’t respond, she asked, “Don’t you think it all worked out for the best?”
If I looked at it a certain way, I could see what she meant. I’d stopped waiting on a douchebro who had zero fucks to give me and upgraded to a man who thought nothing of carrying myplump ass down five flights of stairs when my dress was too tight and begged me to let him fuck me last night.
But just like everything else in my life, it wouldn’t last.
I ploppedmyself between Grace and Jamie at the island and played at being distracted with my phone until I saw Clara return to the patio a few minutes later.
With a not so gentle elbow, I nudged Grace. “You forgot to mention the part where Teddy’s engaged these days.”
“He’s what?” she yelped. “Since when?”
“I didn’t get the whole proposal story from Clara on account of her ambushing me in the hall just now. She wanted to apologize to me. Since she was the one I found in bed with him and all.”
Jamie pushed to her feet and craned her neck to survey the group outside. “Where is she? Never mind, I’ll know. But don’t forget y’all have to bail me out if this goes bad. I don’t like spending the night in jail.”
“Nothing is going bad because you’re sitting down and not starting anything.” I grabbed her skirt and pulled her onto the stool. With a wad of cocktail napkins in hand to deal with my runny nose, I said, “She was actually very nice and sweet, which I hate violently. She didn’t have to approach me or apologize but she did, even if she’s not the one who should be handing out the apologies.”
“I didn’t know,” Grace said. “I would’ve warned you if I did.” She stared off toward the patio. “Ben would’ve heard about it if I’d known.”
I glanced outside to where strings of lights on the pergola glowed in the evening darkness. Ryan talked with a few peoplenear the grill while watching while guys took turns box-jumping onto an ice chest. I reached for the margarita pitcher and topped off my glass. He wasn’t dying of grouchy man misery and he was grown enough to tell me when he was done being the center of attention. “I know.”
They studied me as I sipped my drink, and after a few moments of tense silence punctuated only by my nose-blowing, Jamie launched into a story about a sex party she attended where everyone wore varying amounts of bunny costumes.
“I went with a tail for obvious reasons,” she said, “but then?—”
“No, wait.” Audrey held up both hands. “What are the obvious reasons?”
Jamie stared at Audrey like the answer was about to slap her in the face and she just needed to think about it for a second. When Audrey only shook her head, Grace added, “You’re gonna have to walk us through it, honey.”
With a goofy eye roll, Jamie zigzagged a finger over her torso. “There are only two ways to wear a tail. One of them is a G-string. The other”—she glanced between us, still hopeful we’d figure it out—“is a butt plug. Which is my preference.”
Audrey lifted her glass to her mouth and drained the contents while Grace laughed.
“I will definitely regret this,” I started, going back for another refill, “but why?”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Jamie said. “And I don’t feel like I have a wedgie the whole time.”
“No, not a wedgie but a whole…thingup there,” Grace cried.
“That’s the fun part,” Jamie replied. “Trust me on this! You might not think you’re into it but then you get a little toy and you realize it’s a spicy good time.”
“No—hold on. Stop. Where are your clothes?” Audrey asked.
“I’m not wearing any,” Jamie said, laughing.
