So there they remain in their cheap plastic glory.
Colorful paper picado banners flutter from the ceiling, and string lights glow softly overhead, casting the acrylic cactus on the corner of the stage in a golden hue.
It’s cheesy and perfect for this town.
The guys are late as usual. I roll up the sleeves of my flannel shirt, take a seat at the bar, order a beer, and question my life up til now. Fourteen years of being a functional, normal person. Then Brie Casey comes stumbling back to Blue Ridge, and I’m reduced to the same instincts I had when we were kids.
A firm hand cuffs my shoulder.
“Che ajab!”
“You cursing at me in Farsi again?” I ask Ethan. He looks like he just left a GQ photoshoot in slacks and a button-down.
He feigns offense as he takes a seat on my left. “I would never. Just saying it’s a nice change to meet you out. I’m tired of Shane and James,” he says, referring to his other two best friends.
“You texting Ethan and me wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain someone being back in town, would it?” Rich takes the stool on my right.
I take it back,Richlooks like he came out of a GQ photoshoot in his expensive tailored suit.
My hand stops halfway to reaching for my beer. I want to ask how Rich of all people knows about Brie, but instead I tip my head up at the speakers where 90s grunge blares mournfully. “I came for the nostalgia.”
“I hear Brie’s working at the school,” Ethan says. “Did she know you were the principal when she agreed to that?”
“How long are you in town?” I ask Rich, ignoring the question.
He rubs his hands together and grins over at Ethan. “No way she knew Sawyer’d be her boss.”
Since when is everyone obsessed with Brie?
Sighing, I say, “She didn’t know. The district does all the hires, even subs, so we were both surprised.” Leave it to Blue Ridge to run schools differently than literally anywhere else.
Ethan’s smile falters. “And when she found out?”
I take a sip of my beer. “She called mePrincipal Strong.”
Rich grins. “Ice cold.” He tilts his head at something past me and Ethan. “Dev’s here.”
I turn to look, and my pulse kicks up a notch when I spot him. That’s confirmation enough Brie’s on her way.
This was a bad idea.
Dev Shah was the only person Brie might have called a friend. She ate lunch with him, took the same electives as he did. I hardly ever saw one of them around town without the other.
The worst part is, Dev was a really nice guy. Even onthe occasions he’d push his way between us like her knight, I knew it.
And he’s got one hell of a beard. I rub my own clean-shaven jaw, wondering why I listened to Will.
“Aaaand there she is,” Rich says.
My body tenses instinctively.
I turn just in time to see Brie step into the restaurant, a look of uncertainty as she scans the booths. When she finally spots Dev at the far end of the bar, her face lights up.
I grimace.
He waves, and she runs to him, jumping into his open arms. He catches her, swinging her side to side as they hug.
Dev whispers something in her ear. They’re too far away, and the bar’s too loud, but I put every ounce of futile effort into hearing what they say.
