“I bet you can’t wait to meet up with Prince Charming again,” she joked.
Xavier and Jen asked earlier on in the shift about how my Independence Day went. When I mentioned the date, they asked for details. Eventually, I mentioned what Oliver did. Which led to them asking about the other dates we went on.
I hitched my shoulder bag up my arm. “I think he was trying to be playful.”
“He sounds like a dick,” Xavier said bluntly, jiggling the key from the door.
Jen continued, “Doesn’t he have his own family barbecue to go to?”
I shrugged. “He never mentioned it.”
There was a collection of laughter from nearby as a group of young men stumbled out of the alleyway beside the club. Seb was amongst them and seemed to be the happiest of the bunch with his arms draped around the shoulders of two guys. They were finishing cigarettes that were definitely not made of tobacco.
Following loosely behind them was Dean, frowning down at his phone when the group came to a drunken halt on the sidewalk. While most of the group dispersed into the street, heading to their cars, or wandering out of view, Seb stood and looked both ways down the road.
“Where’s the car at?” he asked loudly, throwing an impatient look over his shoulder at Dean.
“Hold on a second,” Dean said before answering his phone, holding his hand out to Seb’s back as he swayed backward.
I brought my attention back to Xavier and Jen.
“You should just dump him tomorrow,” Xavier said casually as he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.
I raised my brows. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”
He shrugged and blew out a ring of smoke.
“He sounds like he wouldn’t even take being dumped seriously,” Jen drawled, motioning for Xavier to hand over the cigarette.
“Who’re we talking about?” Seb scuffed his shoes as he attempted to walk steadily toward us. A very serious, but very drunk, expression on his face.
I hadn’t meant for the discussion about my weekend plans or issues with a boy to be dragged out like this. “It’s nothing.”
“Her date. He’s attending her family thing tomorrow,” Xavier said as Jen passed the cigarette back to him.
Seb nodded slowly and then burped. “’Scuse me— Is that the guy who dropped you in the ocean today? What a douchebag.”
“How did you—” I looked past Seb to where Dean was still deep in conversation, on his phone, with his back to us. “Never mind.”
Seb hiccupped, holding up a finger as he paused and looked to be waiting for another burp. When none came, he continued. “Bring someone else.”
“I don’t really have a choice.”
He shook his head but instantly regretted it as he steadied himself again. “Bring someone that’ll make him see you’re not interested.”
“That’d be interesting,” Xavier muttered, continuing to share his cigarette with Jen while they listened.
“How would that help?” I asked Seb.
“I’m just saying, as a man myself, if I see a lovely lady preoccupied with another gentleman, I ain’t going near her.” He folded his arms matter-of-factly and arched his eyebrows. “It’s pretty smart thinking if you ask me.”
I smiled a little. “I appreciate the suggestion, Seb, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to test it at a family lunch. At least not with my family.”
“Lily mentioned the guy was…sporty,” Jen added. “He’d probably view it as more of a competition to win her over.”
I quietly scoffed. “I don’t think he’d compete for me—”
Xavier chuckled and flicked the ash from his cigarette. “You’d be surprised how far someone would go. Though it wouldn’t be too bad having two men fawning over you,” he winked.
