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I laugh, shaking my head. “It’s not your fault. Everything would have been fine if someone hadn’t suggested we drink beer on the roof of the gym,” I reply, eyeing Bishop. “Has Principal Cohen called you in to talk about it yet?”
Bishop nods his head, a wide smile on his face. “She did. We talked this morning, and it was just as intimidating as you would expect.” Then he slices one hand across his neck and mouths, “Not at all.”
“Well, mine was more intense. Can’t say I have any intentions of getting in trouble like that again,” I reply.
“Oh, come on. It wasn’t worth it to you?”
I purse my lips but don’t respond, just playing off my response as disbelief in Bishop’s attitude. The truth, though, is that it was totally worth it. Do I want to get in trouble again? No. Would I do it the same if I could go back in time? Absolutely.
“I heard from Joey that you two were handcuffed together all night in that jail cell,” Rush says before taking a sip of his beer. “That true?”
“You spent all night at the station?” Emily asks, incredulously. “Ick.”
“It was definitely ick,” I reply, aiming a thumb at Bishop. “Especially when this one fell asleep on the bench and started snoring uncontrollably.” I look his way and find his mouth opened dramatically. “A lovely new quality you’ve picked up in the past few years, clearly.”
“That is an outright lie. I do not snore,” he says, chuckling.
“How would you know?” I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes. “Maybe you got hit with a ball and deviated your septum.”
“I think I’d remember if I got hit in the face with a ball.”
“I don’t know, Bish. We share a wall, and I might have been woken once or twice by you sawing logs since you’ve been back.”
The entire table begins laughing at Bellamy’s description, and when she glances at me and winks, Bishop stands dramatically.
“If all of you are finished poking fun at an injured man,” he says, holding his hand up theatrically, “I’ll be getting another beer at the bar. I had considered buying a round for everyone, but I’ve changed my mind.”
He turns and storms off dramatically, leaving us all cackling in his wake.
“It’s fun seeing you and Bam together again,” Emily says. “You two always seemed like you had so much fun when we were in high school.”
My face pinches. “We’re not together,” I say, my tone more curt than I intend. Clearing my throat, I ease back. “We’re just…I guess we’re friends. You know?”
Emily nods, though her smile is slightly less easy, and I wish I hadn’t been so intense with my response.
“I never grabbed a drink when I got here. I’ll be back,” I tell everyone, pushing away from the table and heading over to the bar where Bishop is standing, tapping a coaster lightly against the wood grain as he waits.
“You don’t really snore,” I say, bumping his shoulder as I come up next to him. “Though your mouth does hang open a little bit, and there might have been some drool.”
He grins.
“But that’s no different than it used to be.”
“Good to know,” he replies.
We stand quietly side by side until the bartender sets a beer in front of Bishop. Then I order one as well.
“I’m glad we’re doing this,” I tell him. “Hanging out. Being…friends.”
Bishop nods but doesn’t say anything.
“It’s nice, right?”
He turns to look at me, his eyes searching mine for a long beat. “It is. I missed being your friend.” Tapping his coaster against the bar again, he angles his head in the direction of our table. “I’ll see you over there?”
I nod. “Sure.”
I don’t watch him as he walks off toward our group, even though I want to. Emily’s comment still rings through my mind on repeat. It’s fun seeing you and Bam together again. Maybe that’s why I felt the need to make some kind of declaration of our friendship to the group—to Bishop—so they all know that’s all we are to each other.
