Chloe finds me soon after and orders us two shots. “Thought you’d be out there with Alex. Isn’t this one of your songs?”
I knock back my shot instead of answering and order a gin and tonic.
Chloe asks for a mojito and leans on the bar, slightly out of breath and just a little sweaty. For someone who claims to hate the eighties, she sure seems to be having a good time. “Well, Trinity is a babe. Pretty sure they’re more serious than we were led to believe.” The bartender hands me my drink, and I take a long sip, wincing a little as it goes down. “You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I hiccup thanks to the quick intake of carbonation.
“For starters, you just downed a glass of bottom shelf gin and tonic.” I hiccup again. “And you’ve been staring at Trinity like she just kicked your cat.”
I glare. “Leave Celine out of this.”
“Are you upset that Alex is dating someone? Or are you upset that Alex is datingher?”
“What’s the difference?” I ask before I can stop myself. Chloe arches a brow. Now I feel like an asshole because what kind of person gets upset that their friend is dating someone? “I’m happy for her.”
“Sure, sure.” Chloe glances at them dancing, and I stare at the ice cubes in my glass. “At least we get to meet this one. That hasn’t happened since, what, junior year of high school? Wait, do we count Simone, even though they didn’t actuallydate?”
I groan, not wanting to relivethatparticular moment. Or any of them, if I’m being honest.
A new song fades into the last, and Chloe grabs my arm to tug me away from the bar. “Come on. Let’s go dance. I’m tired of looking at you sulking.”
“You go. I just want to eat my lime,” I say, staring at the pathetic slice at the bottom of my glass.
I can tell she wants to argue. Instead, she shakes her head, chugs her mojito, and hands me the rest. I risk a glance at the floor and instantly regret it when I see Trinity with her arms around Alex’s neck, and their chests pressed together.
Two songs later, Trinity finds me.
She leans against the bar and fans herself despite the fact that I can’t spot a bead of sweat anywhere. After ordering herself a drink, she looks fondly at Alex and Chloe still dancing in the center of the room. “I can’t believe she’s still going. I swear, she always has to be moving. Has she always been like that?”
Something tells me she’s been waiting to get me alone so she can grill me about Alex. “It’s hard for her to stay put.”
She nods and stares at Alex longingly. “I’m going to miss her when she leaves for London.” Then she whips around to face me, her expression one of slight panic. “Don’t tell her I said that. We’re still too new to have the long-distance conversation, and between me and you, I’m terrified she’s going to end it if I bring it up too soon.”
I stare back at her because, what? London? That’s years away. “Are you two that serious?”
Trinity sighs takes a long sip of her drink. “Sort of? I mean, we’ve been exclusive for the past three months, so we’re notnotserious. Thisis nice, though. The whole being out together. We don’t do that much. Go out, I mean. We usually just stay in.”
She gives me a suggestive kind of look. They’re exclusively fucking is what she’s saying. As much as I wish I had earmuffed that particular bit of information, I’m too focused on the idea that she seems to be planning a future with her years down the road.
“But you’re serious enough to make plans to move with her post graduation?”
Trinity looks confused. I’m starting to wonder if we’re talking about the same thing. “Post graduation?” Then it’s as if she realizes something. “No, when Alex transfers once she finishes her second year at NYU.” Trinity stares at me, and slowly, her expression changes to realization. “Alex didn’t tell you?”
A sharp pain hits me square in the chest because, no, she most definitely didnottell me that. Why wouldn’t she tell me? I look at her still out on the floor, dancing like she isn’t breaking my heart and force myself not to cry.
Once it hits midnight, I’m ready to leave. I’m not drunk, but I’m buzzed enough to be upset and jealous, and that’s not good. Trinity insists she’ll catch a ride with her bouncer friend, and I’m grateful because even though she seems lovely, I really don’t want to have to squeeze into a car with her.
When we exit the club, the line is gone. It’s also cold and drizzling. It matches my mood.
“I’ll get a Lyft,” Chloe says and rummages in her purse. After a moment of searching, she tilts her head back and closes her eyes. “Shit. I think I left my phone in the bathroom.”
“Want me to go with you to look for it?” I ask.
Chloe waves my offer away. “Nah, I’ll just be a minute.”
The drizzle picks up into a steady kind of rain. I should’ve gone with her because now all I can think about is the last time Alex and I got caught in the rain. How it led to a night full of passion and possibilities.
“Ah, this feels good,” Alex says and turns her face upward, the droplets bouncing off her face. “It was so hot in there.” She flashes me a smile, but I don’t return it. I clench my jaw and try to force down thesadness that weighs heavily underneath my ribs. Her smile fades. “You okay?”
