And I was going to explain it to her, but she stormed off.
My chest aches when I think about how hurt Kendall looked that night…I could see the tears in her eyes. I could see her struggling to keep it together in front of me.
That ache morphs into a stab. Fuck. Seeing her like that, knowing that I made her feel that way…it’s the worst feeling in the world.
I’ve texted her and called her, asking for a chance to explain myself, but she hasn’t replied. She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with me. And I don’t blame her. She has every right to hate me. I just wish I knew how to fix things.
Someone claps a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see Aidan next to me.
“Thanks again for planning all this, man,” he says.
I force myself to smile. “No worries. Happy to do it.”
I shove my backpack in the overhead compartment and slide into my seat, just a few rows ahead of Kendall.
Aidan sits down next to me. Jason, his friend who is also a professor at the same college, walks by and points at me, gigantic grin on his face.
“You’re a legend for planning all this, Liam,” Jason says as he sits in the seat across the aisle from us.
I tell him it was no problem. A few more of Aidan’s friends board the plane. Jordan is the last one. She rushes on, tosses her giant shoulder bag in the overhead compartment, and sits down next to Jason.
The door closes and the flight attendants go through their safety presentation. Once the plane takes off and we’re in the air, I hear Jason cheer.
“Who’s ready to get wild in Cabo?” he hollers
Everyone cheers.
“Why wait? Let’s get wild now.” Jordan holds up a giant ziplock bag of mini tequila bottles. The cheers get louder.
She grabs a couple of bottles for her and Jason, then passes the bag to Aidan. He fishes out two bottles and hands one to me before passing the bag behind him.
Once everyone has a bottle, Jordan raises hers in the air. “To the most epic bachelor-bachelorette party ever! And to Liam for planning and paying for the whole thing!”
Everyone cheers. I force a smile and raise my tequila bottle in the air.
Everyone downs their shots. Aidan looks at me. “That’s the most subdued I’ve ever seen you during a toast.”
I silently scold myself for being such a drag. Yeah, I feel like shit. The last thing I want to do is party. All I really want to do is apologize to Kendall and do whatever it takes to make her feel better.
But that’s not gonna happen.
I shove aside the regret and disappointment pulsing through me. Now’s not the time to be a fucking sad sack. This is my brother’s bachelor party and I don’t want to ruin it.
I reach over and grab another tequila shot from Jordan. I unbuckle my seatbelt and stand up in the aisle.
“I just wanna take a moment to toast the guests of honor. Aidan and Micah, we’re all excited to celebrate with you. We’re gonna make sure you have a hell of a time in Cabo. Now let’s get fucked up!”
Everyone laughs and hollers. I purposely avoid eye contact with Kendall and down my shot. And then I sit back in my seat, determined to make this an epic getaway for them despite the fact that I feel like garbage.
Chapter 26
Liam
“Woah, do you see this?”
I down a shot of mezcal before I answer Aidan.
“See what?” I look up from the beach bar we’re standing at. Aidan points to the tiki bar on the opposite end of the small beach we’re on.
