“I know,” she exclaimed, “and he’s only seen Lucy once!” She pulled her glasses away and rubbed her eyes again. “I don’t know. The fact that he left without talking to me makes me wonder if he’s changed at all.”
Thinking back over the past twenty-four hours, I didn’t have to wonder long. “He hasn’t. I’m so sorry.”
She sighed, wiped away another tear, and looked around the room. “Gross. I’m sitting right where you guys had sex last night.”
“Pfft. No, you’re not.” I grinned. “We didn’t even make it to the bed.”
She made a strangled noise, and her face crumpled. “Even fooling around with Greg wasn’t that great. I remembered it better.”
As the words left her mouth, loud footsteps ran up the stairs.
“Crap,” she said and stood. “They’re probably back from surfing.”
“Don’t go,” I said.
“I’m a mess.” She straightened her shoulders, tugging at her pajama top. “I need to change.”
David started through the door, wet and shirtless, then stopped. “Hey,” he said.
“How was surfing?” I asked.
“Good, fine.” His eyes drifted between us. “Everything all right?”
Gretchen dropped her face in her hands and shuddered with her back to the door.
“Yes,” I said, “but can you just give us a minute?”
Brian appeared behind David and peered in. “Gretchen,” he said softly.
“Just go away, Brian,” Gretchen muffled from her hands.
He ignored her and pushed David aside to enter the room. My mouth fell open when Brian took her arm, pulled her off the bed, and wrapped his arms around her. “He’s not worth it.”
Gretchen stilled, and I was afraid she’d push him off, but instead, she moved into his chest and unleashed a fresh set of tears.
I glanced at David and mouthed, “Oh my God.”
He shrugged.
“You guys ganged up on him,” Gretchen said into Brian’s chest.
David crossed his arms over his chest, and his expression hardened. “He crossed a line.”
“But he was right,” she continued. “I was frigid not to sleep with him and a bitch not to defend him.”
“Hey!” Brian cried as if offended. He lifted her chin with his finger and looked down at her. “That’s a load of shit. He was disrespectful to David and Olivia and to you. You were right not to defend him.”
“He’s a coward,” David said, still near the doorway.
“And a chump,” Brian added.
Gretchen laughed softly and pulled away from Brian. She removed her glasses and wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “I’m sorry. This is embarrassing.”
“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Brian commented.
“Contacts,” she said, nodding. “Usually.”
His eyes darted over her as she cleaned her glasses on her t-shirt. She was red and puffy, but her eyes shone blue. Just like Brian’s. It struck me then how similar looking they were. Soft blond hair, tan complexions, and striking, Windex-colored eyes. How had I never noticed before?
