Jaws are still on the floor when Cruz finally speaks. “Well, I love it.”
There’s a whiskey on the table for me so I pick it up and ‘cheers’ him. “Thank you, Cruz, and sorry I’m late. I’m still getting used to the roads and driving and planning for parking and everything that comes with having a vehicle,” I add. It’s an adjustment when you’re used to backpacking.
“We’re just glad you’re here,” Mimi says. She’s sitting next to me and rubs my back in a friendly gesture. We’ve become close since I’ve been taking her classes and doing some private one-on-one work with her as well.
I don’t miss Seamus’ death glare, neither does she. Mimi kicks him under the table and mouths,relax, at him.
“So, Mimi, how are you feeling?” Elena asks a very pregnant Mimi.
“Surprisingly, I’m feeling great. I’m just so excited to meet this little one.” Mimi looks down at her belly, rubbing big circles over it and Seamus has a look of pride laced behind his usually gruff scowl.
“You still don’t know what you’re having yet?” Christian inquires. He’s the resident CEO billionaire and‘most eligible bachelor’according to the Seattle Post. That was until he went public with his poly relationship with my buddy Jake from college and his wife, Elena.
“It’s going to be a boy,” Seamus answers factually as he takes a sip of his water.
Mimi smacks his arm lovingly, “Oh, you stop. If it’s a girl?—”
“It’s definitely going to be a girl,” I add.
“She’s never leaving the house,” Seamus interrupts and the entire group chuckles.
That sounds about right. Mr. Navy SEAL over here will be even more protective of her than he is of Mimi and he’s a bit over the top when it comes to her.
“How’s the club, Ember?” Seamus asks, diverting the conversation to anywhere else but on him.
“Great, it’s so good actually. Memberships are skyrocketing and last month we had to start a waitlist. It’s wild. I neverexpected it would blow up like it did,” she replies modestly but with excitement and passion that I love to see in people. It’s contagious and I love feeding off that kind of energy.
“I did,” Christian quips. Technically, the club was her idea but Christian’s company, Ford Enterprises, owns it. “Afterburn is your baby and one of our most profitable sectors. We’re opening one in New York and the next one will either be in California or Florida. She’s managing all of that from here. It’s so impressive,” he shares with the group and Ember blushes a bit as she gazes up at Hudson.
Speaking of a whirlwind romance. Ember and Hudson met and got married over the course of a weekend in Vegas and he still looks at her the same way I saw him look at her the first night they met.
My chest tightens and my body does that involuntary breathing thing again.
Seamus shifts his gaze to me, because nothing gets passed him. I ignore his stare and glance around for the waitress. When I catch her attention, I tap on my whiskey neat holding up two fingers for a double.
I don’t typically drink bourbon, but lately the burn feels good. Like a tad bit of burn is what my body craves for the torture I feel. Like it’s needed to balance out the emotional pain.
“You okay?” Seamus' voice cuts through my thoughts and even though I knew it was coming I wasn’t ready for him to ask.
I blink heavy, paste on that signature smile, then turn in his direction.
“Yeah man, I’m all good.” I clink my empty whiskey glass with his ice water and take a swig of the contents getting nothing but ice cold cubes.
“You’re a really bad liar,” he replies.
“Yeah, but I’m good at a lot of other things.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him, using my overly flirty personality to avoidanything I don’t want to talk about. It usually works, but Seamus is a fucking robot, so he just glares at me.
“You can show me what you’re good at,” Cruz replies, eavesdropping on our conversation and when I glance over at him, he’s wiggling his eyebrows, mocking me.
It makes both Seamus and I laugh and for a fleeting thought I consider it. We’ve known each other a long time; it could just be a little friends-with-benefits hookup. Cruz is gay, single, and pretty damn attractive, actually.
He’s got this Clark Kent look to him with a little latin twist. His tan skin tone is a little darker now that it’s the end of summer and he just came back from a Caribbean vacation.
We’ve both always been single but he’s always been so close to the group, being that he assists Elena or Ember, or maybe everyone at Ford, I’m not exactly sure. But he knows everything about everyone and he seems to be everywhere all the time. Never missing an event, party, or gossip for that matter.
We’re similar but vastly different which is why we became fast friends who just flirt whenever we hang out. We both know nothing will ever happen for a multitude of different reasons and our friendship has always been, and will always be, platonic.
I roll my eyes and smile at his comment and I know the entire group is stunned by my witty-less comeback. Typically Cruz and I banter back and forth, flirt then give each other a friendly hug before calling it a night. But I have no energy for it tonight.
