“Serena, I don’t think this is appropriate dinner conversation,” Dax told her.
“I didn’t go into specifics,” she insisted, leaning forward and adding, “but I can if requested.”
Keeg snickered beside me.
“We’d love some specifics,” Casey said, and Steve added, “Yeah, Ms. Middleton-Stuart. We love your stories.”
“We love yourPGstories, Serena,” Nance clarified, and in my brief time in Fever Falls, I had learned why. Serena was not much for discretion.
“We’ll go into that over some mimosas this weekend,” she told Casey and Steve. “Sunday Funday!”
“Not hearing that,” Nance said as she seemed to work to ignore the obvious disregard for the drinking-age limit.
“Obviously, we’ll be drinkingvirginmimosas,” Serena told Nance before turning back to Casey and Steve and rolling her eyes, as if that definitely wasn’t going to be the case.
“Mom…?” Dax said sternly.
“Iwill be having a mocktail. That much I can promise,” she assured him.
“Since we are all bringing up good news,” Casey announced, “Steve has sent in his application for Georgia Tech for next year.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news!” Nance said.
We all let Steve know our support before he said, “It’s not a big deal.”
“Please,” Casey added, “you’re a shoo-in, unless they are looking to turn away their most qualified applicants. And in lighter, less academic news, Rodney and I will be attending the Autumn Ball together.”
Most everyone offered their congratulations. It was only very recently that Rodney had been willing to see Casey in public—something I couldn’t help but think still bothered Steve, as clearly indicated by his annoyed expression.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t bank on that one,” Steve said bitterly.
Casey took a sip of his sweet tea. “I would think my friend would be happy for me. Must be real easy for the guy who had a date to dances while I had to make friends by the punch bowl.”
“I’m very happy you have a date,” Steve said. “I just wish it wasn’thim.”
It was evident by the way they discussed it that this subject had already come up between them, but it was one of the few times I had seen such tension between them.
“Is everything okay between you guys?” Jace asked, seeming to pick up on the friction as much as anyone else at the table.
Steve bit his tongue for a moment, his face turning red. “I don’t think Rodney is good for him.”
“Steve…” Casey said severely.
“He’s late or cancels on you all the time, always with excuses, and I’m supposed to like him? I don’t think so.”
“He’s a busy guy. He has to take shifts at the restaurant to cover his rent and help his family out. He’s responsible.”
“Not when it comes to you, he’s not. You deserve a man who treats you right.”
Casey rolled his eyes. “When you find this man, you let me know.”
“Ialways treat you right.” Steve practically said the words through his teeth, and the silence that followed mixed with awkward glances around the table as we all realized there was a lot more going on between Steve and Casey since Rodney came into the picture than any of us could have known before.
Casey’s chin quivered as he looked at his plate. I’d assumed Steve had finished the conversation, but Casey added, “Yeah, you do. But then a homecoming or prom or ball comes along, and I’m still the guy standing in the corner while everyone else gets to dance.”
His voice cracked at the end of his sentence, and Steve’s expression softened as we all seemed to catch Casey’s pain, his hurt. He wasn’t wrong. There were things Rodney could give Casey that Steve simply couldn’t, and it was clearly something they had to work out in their friendship.
“Sunday Funday is going to be super fun,” Keeg practically sang beside me, apparently trying to diffuse the tension.
