“Hey,” I greeted as usual as I approached our table.
Gabe and Blake both grinned and returned my greeting.
Lucas lifted his hand in a wave as he sipped his beer.
Wesley didn’t say a word.
Things were totally normal so far.
“There’s my girl.” I glanced up when I saw Susan and smiledwhen she bumped my arm with her hip. “Rum and coke for you?”
“Please,” I answered. “With a tiny extra splash of the demon water.”
Susan nodded with a chuckle, and when she turned and headed for the bar, Wesley snorted. “How fitting. You anddemonwater.”
I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.
Yep. Definitely normal.
I spent the next couple of hours talking with Gabe, Blake, and Lucas when he wasn’t staring off, contemplating how to fix things with Callie. Wesley alternated between the table and the bar, making a snide remark now and then that I volleyed right back. But each time he spoke, I found myself holding my breath, waiting for what I thought was an inevitable comment about what happened between us last night.
It never came.
I’d been so sure he’d try and torment me with it, but at that point, he hadn’t said a word about it.
Mid-conversation with Blake and Gabe about the trip to London their parents were currently on, a commotion of laughter caught Blake’s attention, and he turned to see the small group of women it came from. “That one in the red shirt is fucking cute.”
I followed his gaze, seeing the familiar-looking woman, but I couldn’t recallwhyshe looked familiar.
Wesley scoffed. “Save your breath.”
Blake looked at him, his cheeks dimpling as he grinned. “You and her…?”
“No, no,” Wesley said as he shook his head. “Itried. She gota free drink out of me, and that’s as far as it went. Save yourself the trouble.”
It clicked then why she looked familiar; she’d been the one I overheard turning him down a few weeks back after trivia.
Blake glanced back at the girl, and his lips curled into a challenging smirk when he looked at Wesley again, pushing his chair away from the table. “Maybe you just lost your touch, Casanova.”
He stood and casually made his way over to the woman. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Wesley called over his shoulder.
While Blake worked his southern charm on the woman and Lucas fell into conversation with Wesley, Gabe and I headed over to play a couple rounds of pool. I kicked his ass the first game, and he kicked mine the second before calling it a tie and deciding to head out; I cracked a few jokes about his age and it being past his bedtime as we walked back toward the table.
“You leaving?” Lucas asked.
Gabe nodded. “Yeah. Blake looks like he’s going to be busy for a while, so…” He trailed off with a chuckle, gesturing to his brother, who seemed to have the woman he was talking to swooning.
“I think I’m gonna take off, too,” Lucas said, standing from his chair. I didn’t have to ask why he was heading out earlier than usual; he’d been off all night, and I knew it was because of his argument with Callie last night. “I’ll see you Tuesday?” he said to me.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be here. And hey…” He met my gaze. “Just…give her some time.” He offered a halfhearted smile and a nod, but I could tell he wasn’t feeling very optimistic.
When they left, I started across the bar and headed towardthe restroom. I saw Wesley standing near the small, dimly lit hallway as I neared; he was watching Blake and that woman, and I couldn’t help but shake my head with a derisive snort as I walked by him. He was just waiting for her to turn Blake down so he could throw out an “I told you so.”
When I saw that the bathroom was occupied, I turned, leaning against the corner of the hallway entrance to wait. Wesley was a few feet away, and I shifted forward to get a better look at Blake. I saw him lean in and whisper something in the woman’s ear, and based on the way her cheeks blushed, I didn’t have to guess too hard what it had to do with. Then, I watched as she nodded her head with an all too eager smile. When she stepped away to speak with her friends, Blake looked over his shoulder at Wesley, and his cheeks split into a shit-eating grin. A moment later, she returned, took Blake’s hand, and led him toward the door; he laughed as he threw his free hand up in a wave toward me and Wesley before they disappeared outside.
Wesley stared at the door with a look of sheer disbelief.
I laughed as I stepped back into the hall. “Oof, that had to hurt.”
