Walking to my car, I exhaled heavily as I processed what had just happened. The more I went over it in my head, the lighter I felt. It was like things were the way they were supposed to be.
As I pulled into the driveway at home, Roe and Wyatt texted me that there was a live band playing at Noble’s tonight. Thatsounded like fun. Adding some girls to the mix would make it even better—for me, anyway. I wanted to party with people I could be my honest self with. I wanted to laugh and feel free without a care. Well, laugh as much as I could. It would still hurt, but I didn’t care.
I texted them to give me two hours and asked if I could invite Mac and Lemon.
I got the go-ahead and reached out to Lemon with a text before climbing out of the car. She responded right away that she’d love to and I texted her my address.
Vivian was on the couch watching TV. She looked up as I walked inside. “Hi, honey. Did your dad find you?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry if I caused any worry.”
“I get it,” she said with a soft smile. “You were with your boyfriend. Just make sure you respond next time. The poor man was pacing back and forth before he decided to head over there.”
“I will,” I promised. “Is Mac home?”
“She’s on her way home now. I think she had a fight with Miles,” Vivian said, referring to Mac’s new boyfriend of a few weeks.
Just as she said that, the front door opened and Bram walked in. “Hey,” he greeted us.
“Hey. I ordered pizza for dinner. It should be here soon,” Vivian greeted back.
Bram looked from me to Vivian as he sat next to her on the couch. “What’s going on?”
“We’re waiting,” Vivian said.
“For what?” Bram asked right before the front door opened.
Mac came in and scanned the room. As soon as her eyes landed on me, she sighed. “Good, you’re home. I need to eat ice cream and talk about how stupid men are.”
“We can do that,” I said, and I meant it. I’d message everyone right now and cancel if that was what she needed. “Or, to getyour mind off things, we can go dancing at Noble’s tonight with Roe, Wyatt, and Lemon.”
She thought about it for a whole three seconds. “You know what, fuck Miles. I’m not going to waste my time crying over him. I’m going to make myself look hot, go dancing, and have fun. He isn’t worth my fucking time.”
Vivian sighed. “I know you’re upset, baby, but try to watch your language, please.”
Mac scrunched her nose. “Sorry.”
“Will you be drinking?” Bram asked as he stared at me.
“More than likely,” I said honestly.
He exchanged a look with Vivian. “Most of the club will be there.” He said that to her like it was a bad thing.
She gave him a smile. “I suppose I could go out tonight. A margarita does sound good.”
“I’m heading up to get ready,” Mac said, dashing up the stairs.
“Make sure you come down and grab some pizza when it gets here!” Vivian yelled up to her.
“I will!” Mac yelled back down.
I let Bram know that my friend Lemon would be coming over before heading to my room to get myself ready.
About an hour and a half later, the doorbell rang. Bram had hooked it back up after I’d told him it was fine. Hearing it still made me tense up, but I trusted that whoever was on the other side would not get past Bram. I rushed out of my room at the same time Mac came down the stairs. She was dressed in ripped jeans with fishnet tights underneath. The band of the tights rested higher on her stomach than the band of her jeans and the netting showed through the rips in her pants. Her top was a cropped black tee and she’d finished the outfit with black, lace-up, block-heel boots. Her thick brown hair with caramelhighlights was down, ironed straight. She’d gone full glam with her makeup, choosing dark colors to make her whiskey eyes pop.
Vivian was the one to answer the door. “You must be Lemon. Come on in.”
As Lemon walked inside, her eyes took in everything quickly before they landed on me. “Hey.”
