The group laughed and cheered, clinking their glasses together. Cole hated being teased about the cherry debacle, but no one ever accused them of being mature. Elena rolled her big brown eyes at Cole, tossing her dark, shiny ponytail over her shoulder. How did she still look so good after playing a game? Hailey had a seat in the middle of the table with Abby on her left, Cole on her right, and Avery right across from her. Their eyes met when their glasses did and Hailey gave him a smirk.
“Ya know, notallof the members of the Blues are jackasses.” Riley said, sticking his tongue out at Cole. Riley, Cole and Josh went to a gym together religiously that included a couple of the guys from the other team.
“When we’re on the field against them, they are,” Cole reasoned. Riley just shook his head in amusement while Josh bumped shoulders with him and chuckled. Riley and Josh pretty much did everything together, Josh loyally following his lead. Hailey remembered how Riley stood up for Josh a bunch in high school when he got teased for his Chinese heritage. Now, those two were pretty much ride-or-die besties.
After the win, it was easy for Hailey to let loose and just enjoy herself. She downed two Dirty Shirleys quicker than she realized and her muscles finally relaxed as warmth from the alcohol filled her belly.
“So Hailey, speaking of losers, when are you going to drop that giant L of a boyfriend of yours?” Abby asked.
She was stunned for a moment before turning to Abby.
“Why, so I can be single and die alone?” Yup, definitely feeling the liquor.
“No, so you have a chance to find someone worth being with.”
“Well, damn, Gage is worth being with. He’s got lots of great qualities. For instance he… He always … Um, wait, I know there was something.”
Hailey was definitely tipsy and had trouble thinking straight.
“Oh my goodness, you can’t even think of something! How was your anniversary last night? Did he get you something nice, at least?”
That got Hailey’s brain back on track.
“No, he did not. Well, he did, but in a bad way.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Cole butted in. Hailey didn’t realize how loudly she was talking and now most of the table was focused on her.
Fuck it.
“Okay, get this. He gets me a PlayStation, right? A fucking PlayStation and I’m like ‘Oh shit, what a great gift! This is too nice!’” She was pretty sure she got that sentence out without slurring.
“Then he tells me he got it for me so I wouldn’t need to spend as much time with him so he can do other things with his friends because I’ll be so busy playing video games.”
Hailey madethe mistake of looking up at Avery at that point, and found him shaking his head in … what was that? Annoyance? Disappointment? She was too tipsy to tell.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Hailey, just walk away. You can do so much better,” Cole said. “For example, I saw a rusty fridge at the end of my neighbor’s driveway on my way to the game. That would make a way better boyfriend.”
As everyone else at the table cracked up at Cole’s silliness, she glanced quickly at Avery after hearing Cole’s words and noticed his eyes lose focus, seeming to wrestle with something. With what, Hailey had no idea.
The rest of the celebration dragged on for a couple hours and Hailey had had enough french fries, water and time to sober up and drive home. One of the benefits of alcohol hitting her so hard and fast was there was plenty of time to get over it.
As the group walked out, she realized Avery was walking alongside her toward their cars. After saying their goodbyes to everyone else, he cleared his throat and turned toward her.
“Hailey, can I ask you something? And feel free to tell me to mind my own business,” he said while placing a hand softly against her forearm, making her breath hitch. She hoped he didn’t notice.
“Sure, what’s up?” She could feel the goosebumpsspringing up in the wake of Avery’s hand, even through her sleeve. She realized Avery was touching her more than Gage would when she was sweaty after a game.
She turned toward Avery and noticed he looked nervous, trying to decide if he wanted to ask Hailey his question or not.
“Do … do you…” While Avery was looking down, Hailey was distracted by his mouth. “Are you afraid of leaving your boyfriend? Like, when it comes to your safety? Is that why you’re still with him?”
Hailey’s eyes snapped to Avery’s, realizing the weight of what he was asking.
“Oh, uh, no. It’s not that,” she stammered. “I’m not worried he’s going to hit me or anything. It’s not like that.”
“Are you sure? I have some resources. I could help. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Was this an inappropriate time to swoon? Hailey couldn’t decide, but her mouth turned up at the edges anyway. Maybe part of her was afraid to break up with Gage, but it wasn’t because she thought he would hit her or threaten her. It was … well, it wasn’t that. She didn’t think.
