“Yeah, I’m kind of surprised I came back too. There never was much for me here. Plus, I’m absolutely loving Chicago, but I wouldn’t miss my man Patrick’s wedding, even if that meant having to come back to town.” I didn’t have to see his face to know exactly what it looked like. The egotistical certainty in his voice was enough to make me want to puke.
Not to mention, he was so unaware to the fact that I was sitting literally inches away from him. The situation was surreal. It was as if I were listening to a book, just waiting for the bomb to drop.
The bomb being me.
“Yeah, coming back here must really just be a complete pain in the ass,” Maggie said, dragging out every last syllable.
Maggie was pissed, that was no secret. I knew it was only a matter of time before she set the bomb off herself.
“Nah. It’s not too bad,” he joked. “I’ve gotten to see a bunch of old buddies so that’s been nice. And I was able to show my girlfriend Kristina my old stomping grounds.”
The name left his mouth and my heart stopped. I didn’t have to see what was going on with my own eyes to know exactly who he was talking about. The tall lanky brunette must’ve been standing right next to him.
“Kristina, this is Magnolia Nelson and Booker Baker.”
This was like a trainwreck; I wanted to look, but I was also grateful I didn’t have to see it myself.
I didn’t hear Maggie respond, only Booker. “Nice to meet you, Kristina. Welcome to Quincey Falls.”
“Obviously I don’t have to introduce you to Stetson Walker.” His voice sounded so cringey I wanted to scream. “But how cool is it that you’re just here hanging out, drinking beers with everyone. Is this your girl?”
My heart rate tripled.
Stetson’s jaw loosened, the furrow in his brow smoothed out, and a tiny sinister smirk darted out from underneath hismustache. “Yeah, actually, it is. I think you two might know each other.” The assertiveness in his tone was slightly turning me on. “This is my girlfriend, Scarlett.”
I creeped around, somewhat anticipating the look on his face when he realized I’d been there the entire time.
My name left Stetson’s mouth at the exact same time that my eyes met Zane’s. His jaw practically hit the floor, the beer in his hand striking the drink in Kristina’s and knocking it to the floor.
“What the hell, Zane?” Her voice was three octaves higher than I’d imagined.
Maggie and Booker jumped up to help clean up the spillage, but Zane couldn’t even be bothered to respond to her. Instead, it was like he was frozen in time, his eyes glued to me.
“Hey, Zane. Good to see you,” I lied, playing it cool. I didn’t need to be angry or resentful toward him because the look on his face right now was better than anything I could’ve ever asked for.
“You too,” he mumbled.
The rigid stance of his body confirmed that his shock was still overwhelmingly present.
And to make matters even better, Stetson gripped his arm around my lower waist and tugged me closer to him. The male dominance thing didn’t normally do it for me, but tonight, it definitely was.
Zane finally shifted his feet, stepping closer to Kristina as if he needed us to see that he had someone too. “I love yourBeers for Everyonealbum,” he blurted.
“Ha. Yeah, that album tends to be everyone’s favorite, but surprisingly it’s not mine.” Stetson was laid-back, his posture relaxed in every sense of the word, as he dragged circles around the bare skin on my hip that peeked out in the space between my white crop top and jeans.
“Really. What’s your favorite?” Zane asked, clearly attempting small talk.
“Actually, my favorite has to be the new album I’ve been working on with Scarlett. I’m hoping it’s going to blow all the rest out of the water,” he said, taking a swig from his beer. “This one’s just gotta lot of meaning behind it.”
“Oh. Wow. Guess writing lyrics can pay the bills after all,” Zane choked out.
“Can you believe it?” I poked.
Stetson hadn’t even realized the blow to the gut he’d provided by saying that, and I couldn’t help but be filled to brim with contented karma.
“Well, Kristina and I better get back to the rest of the group. I’m sure they’re wondering where we’ve been.”
“Oh. I’m sure they are,” Maggie slid in, her sarcasm so thick I thought it might suffocate him.
