Wes chuckled. “You okay?”
“Uh…yeah. I’m fine.Great, actually. I am…great. Just great.” I looked away from him.
“Alright.” Wes laughed, shaking his head. “How’s it feel to be home?”
“Great,” I said, keeping my eyes straight ahead.
He snorted. “Is that your new favorite word?”
I let out a breath. “Yeah. I guess.”
There was a moment of silence between us. “It’s good to see you …” I slid my eyes back to him, knitting my brow. “What’s that look for?”
“‘It’s good to see you’? Did you lose touch with your witty repartee while I was gone?”
“No.” Wes chuckled. “I just…I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Itisgood to see you, though…to have you home.”
I looked at him again, studying him for a moment. “It’s, uh…yeah, it’s good to see you, too.” I cleared my throat, looking back in search of Susan; I couldreallyuse that drink. “What are you doing over here? Shouldn’t you be with yourgirlfriend?” I didn’t mean to be so sharp with that last word, but alas.
Wes’s green eyes cut over to me, almost like he picked up on it. “She wanted something to eat.”
I looked over, meeting his gaze again.I was going to tell you.
Every word I planned to say ran through my head. I had even more I wanted to say now and more questions I wanted to ask, but nothing was coming out. Because I didn’t feel like I could say anything now. I was just someone he used to hook up with, nothing more. That’s all it was ever supposed to be, anyway. So, what right did I have to ask questions? To confess anything? The fact I cared didn’t matter now.
I had been gone, and Wes made a choice.
And it wasn’t me.
I couldn’t be that girl that swept in trying to win him back from someone else, especially when he’d never beenmineto win back in the first place.
“Rum and coke, no coke.” Susan chuckled as she slid the glass to me.
I looked over at her, semi-thankful for the interruption. “Thanks.” I gave her my card to open a tab.
When she turned to the register, Wes looked at my glass. “Straight rum?” He chuckled. “It’s one of those nights, huh? Rough day, Princess?”
There it was. That godforsaken nickname I used to hate, then loved. I suddenly hated it again—it packed a different kind of punch now, one straight through my chest.
“You havenoidea…” I raised the glass to my lips, taking a sip and fighting the grimace at the straight taste.Jesus, this shit is not for the faint of heart. “I’m, uh…I’m gonna…” I gestured toward the back room where the others were, pausing momentarily when I met his gaze. He nodded, tapping the bar before standing straight as I walked away.
This had easily become the most awkward night of my life and potentially the worst…and it’d only just begun.
As the night continued, I wanted to be there less and less. Especially when the others started talking to Loralei, trying to get to know her better for the sake of Wes. I remained relatively quiet while sipping my drinks and inconspicuously watching the new couple.
However, Loralei was proving to be a little difficult to get to know. She was stiff, and her answers to any questions asked about her were either short with no context or pointedly given to Wes to answerforher.
It was odd.
The only gratification I got from any of it was the looks Lucas kept casting in his best friend’s new girlfriend’s direction; I didn’t know why, but I was pretty certain he wasn’t a fan.
I could have sworn, however, that during my bouts of surveying, I saw Wes’s gaze shift in my direction more than once. But as quickly as his eyes would land on me, they would flicker away just as fast.
“How about a game of never have I ever?” Lucas suggested.
God bless him for still trying to break the ice.
Everyone—except Loralei—shrugged and nodded in collective agreement. The guys always had fun with stupid games like this, so Callie and I were used to it. My brothers and their wives didn’t care and were quick to join in.
