6
Alex
Ihold my breath, waiting to see what her response will be. Her declaration at dinner took me completely by surprise. I know we started off a little unusual for both of us, but I thought we were good now. I obviously thought wrong. Slowly she takes my hand, lightly squeezing it.
“Hi, I’m Claire Marie Lloyd. I’m from Portland, Oregon, where I lived with my mom, stepdad, my brother Aiden and my sister, Sienna. I have one more semester left to get my master's in social work. I know how to surf and I once won a wet T-shirt contest on a dare.” Holy shit! Why wasn’t I there?
She shakes my hand, smiling up at me. That makes freak-out number four fixed. Or is it five? Claire shivers so I slide my jacket off, wrapping her in it before tucking her into my side.
“Alright then. We should head back tae the wedding before they send oot a search party. Yer friends watched me haul ye down the hill over my shoulder, smacking yer arse. I dinnae really want tae be worked over by the blond bloke,” I say as we walk back up the hill.
“You mean Colin? I understand. He fair knocked Matt on his ass. Can I ask you something?” I nod at her. “Can you do one of your whistles for me?”
“Only if I can hose ye down later in a white T-shirt.” I relax when I hear her laugh next to me.
“I have one more question. If we are starting over with dating, does that mean no sex?” she asks looking up at me with a grin.
“Naw, I’d say sex is still on the table. We dinnae want tae go completely mental over this.” When we approach the front of the club, we can hear shouting. We top the hill just in time to see Colin’s girlfriend slap the shit out of him. Not just once but twice before getting into a car with one of the couples from the reception. Without looking around, we watch Colin stomp out to his car.
“Well that can’t be good,” Claire says, looking at me. Taking my hand, she drags me toward the door. “What happened?” she asks one of the other women who sat at our table. The one that asked me if I was better at goals or orgasms. I think Dia was her name. They visit about it for a few minutes.
From what I can gather, she was talking to an ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend got pissed. I can understand that. I don’t want Claire talking to her ex-boyfriends either. Shit, does that make me the current boyfriend? I guess it would have to.
“What are you grinning at?” Lily asks, looking at me as she walks up. Just her tone makes my face sober immediately. “Where were you? You missed chucking rice at Grayson.” Fortunately, that comment was aimed at Claire. I stand with the other men listening to Claire recap what just happened again. “We need to head over there to see if she’s okay.”
“I’d love to but Marcus has a shift early tomorrow. I have to get him home first.” I think he said he is in medicine. I know one thing, he’s fucking tall.
“We got this, Dia. Y’all head home. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Lily says. After shaking mine and Matt’s hands, they walk to their car. Turning to us, Lily lays out our plans. “Matt, can you take Alex back. Claire and I will change real fast then head over to Maggie’s.” Fine. It’s been weeks since I’ve been with her, but whatever.
That was my plan tonight, after coffee, of course. Coffee constitutes a date, right? She did agree sex was still on the table while dating. So we could go for take-out coffee then I could throw her on the table for sex.
“Sorry,” Claire says, planting a kiss on my cheek, interrupting my daydream sex.
“Then kiss me like ye mean it,” I say pulling her in for a deeper kiss. When I finally let her come up for air, Lily grabs her hand to leave. “I’ll pick ye up tomorrow for brunch. Text me when ye get home tonight,” I call after her as she disappears into the building. I sigh in frustration, still staring at the door.
“Come on, we might as well go get a beer. Those blue balls won’t find any relief soon. She’ll be at Maggie’s most of the night.” Matt walks toward the parking lot. After staring at the door for a minute, I jog to catch up with him. I really don’t have a choice, he’s my ride.
We weave through the city in silence before finally pulling up to a pub. There happens to be a table open in the corner, so we quickly grab it. He orders us each a beer from the waitress before settling back into his chair.
“So whit am I up against? I feel like I’ve been shot oot of a cannon all evening,” I say, looking over at him. “Matter of fact, I’ve felt like that since I met her.” He slowly smiles at me, shaking his head.
“That’s how I feel most of the time. Let me see if I can fill you in on the group dynamic since I’m the only other outsider in this drama.” The waitress returns with our beers before Matt continues.
“Grayson was the groom. He works as an investment broker. He met Izzy, who’s a nurse, when the rest of the ladies bought him at a charity auction for her birthday. I work as a stock analyst for Grayson. I met Lily when I went with him for drinks with her and her brother, Colin. The best man is Grayson’s brother, Teddy. The maid of honor is Izzy’s sister, Sophia. With me so far?” He looks at me questioningly, taking another pull on his beer.
“I think so. Please continue,” I say, motioning for another round from the waitress.
“Izzy and Lily were college roommates. Grayson and Colin were college roommates. Maggie, who’s just started dating Colin, lived across the hall from Izzy and Lily. Okay?” I nod my head.
“Claire was on the college soccer team with Lily. It’s like trying to follow the opening to an old episode of the TV show ‘Soap.’” When I look at him blankly, he continues. “Dia was a cheerleader at the same college. She met Lily through some committee their freshman year. She and Marcus married her senior year.”
“He’s a fucking giant,” I say, stating the obvious.
“Yeah, he was a big all-American basketball player. Had lots of pro offers but decided to go to medical school instead.” Matt polishes off beer number two.
“You know everyone is concerned with how fast you and Claire seem to be moving. Busting your balls tonight was just their way of feeling out how serious you are. None of us want to see Claire get hurt. That stunt at Thanksgiving did not win you any friends with those women.”
“I know. I swear, that is naw who I am. I know that’s naw who Claire is. I cannae believe everyone knows aboot it. It’s like being back at home with my four sisters!”
