“Lauren looks pretty miserable for having finally got what she wanted,” Garrett whispered into my ear.
I snuck a glance in her direction.
“I think her misery is because we’re here, not because of that gorgeous ring on her finger.”
He chuckled. “If a sparkly piece of jewelry is why you care about being engaged, I’d be happy to shell out money on some nice earrings.”
My spine stiffened in disbelief that he would bring that up now. We were out with friends.
“You know that’s not it,” I hissed and gave him a death glare, letting him know he’d gone too far.
He ruffled my hair, oblivious to my irritation, and turned his attention back to Will and Lauren.
“Hey, Will. Remember that time you slept with a cocktail waitress and ended up getting locked inside the bar until the next morning?”
Ben roared with laughter. “That was hilarious. Lauren, have you heard this story?”
Lauren looked like she wished she could disappear as Ben and Garrett rambled on about Will’s drunken escapades.
I tried to shoot her a sympathetic glance, but she wouldn’t make eye contact with me. I sighed and turned back to Jennifer and Nadine, who were still obsessing about people I didn’t know. Taking a big sip of my wine, I waited patiently to be included.
* * *
“Bye,drive safe, okay? This was so much fun.” Jennifer and Ben hugged each of us before piling into their car.
“Thanks for setting this up. We really appreciate it,” Will said as he also hugged us each goodbye.
Lauren looked in pain, but to her credit, she tried to disguise her discomfort and gave us each a hug too.
“Shoot, I think I forgot something inside,” Nadine said, heading back to the entrance. “I’ll see you all later.”
“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” Garrett announced. “See you at home, babe?”
We had driven separately, so I nodded as Garrett also disappeared into the restaurant again.
When I turned back to Lauren and Will, she was eyeing me as if trying to decide something.
“Everything okay?” I asked her, getting a little annoyed with her attitude.
“You don’t sense anything off?” she asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ve got to go.” Will laughed nervously and tugged Lauren away from me. “We’ll see you around, Mattie.”
I gave a small wave and walked over to my car. What had Lauren been talking about? What had seemed off? She must have meant the vibe of our friend group in general.
“Whatever,” I muttered, starting the car. Between her and the Giles mess earlier today, I was pretty fed up with shitty attitudes.
I pulled out of the restaurant and headed home, the day playing on repeat in my mind. Nothing terrible had happened, but it was still so mediocre. A pit formed in my stomach.
Ever since I was a little kid, my parents always fussed over my upbeat personality. Anytime something bad happened to anyone in my family, I would always try to be right there with a smile and a solution.
Lately, though, I worried my bright demeanor might be fading. I had been pretending that everything was great for so long that when I finally took a step back and looked at my life, I realized I might not be as happy as I thought.
Yes, I was great at my job, but it was the only real one I had ever known.
Yes, I loved Garrett, but did we even want the same things out of life? I would never admit this to anyone, but deep down, I was worried he would never ask me to marry him.
