“Please tell me you aren’t about to lose your shit.”
She sighs and pours herself another drink. “Leave me alone, Lane.”
“What? I’m worried, that’s all! It can’t feel too good.”
She side-eyes me, and I smile at her.
“Are you… out of your mind?” she says slowly, biting the inside of her cheek.
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s just the way you switch from Asshole of the Year to Mr. Nice Guy.”
I spin toward the bottles on my left and start shaking up a cocktail in silence. When I turn to her, I whip her drink out of her hand before she has time to react.
“Give it back!” she snarls, clawing at my hand. “I need it!”
“I know. But try this, instead.”
She raises an eyebrow and gives the cocktail a tentative sip before nodding.
“Thanks.” She takes a few deep breaths. “I knew I should never have come. This is all your fault!” she snaps, suddenly furious.
“Meaning?”
“You forced me to come. And now I know that Carter’s sister is the girl he’s…”
“?‘He’s’…?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Anyway, whatever—this is all your fault!”
I open my mouth to reply, but her friend cuts us off.
“Can I talk to you, Lois?”
The girls drift off to the bathroom. As I watch them disappear around the corner, my curiosity gets the better of me. I follow them down the hall and lean against the wall, straining to hear through the door.
“Want to tell me what he’s doing here with her?” Becca starts.
“Just getting some space,” Lois says dully.
“Since when?”
“What?”
“When did it end?”
“A week ago.”
“So why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“I didn’t think you’d care—”
“We’re friends, of course I care!” Becca snaps. “And a single friend is the best kind, anyway.”
I can’t hear what Lois says to that.
“So where are you living?”
