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“I would have picked you up,” I said.
“Aren’t you on the bike?”
“You can ride bitch,” I said with a grin.
“No, thanks,” Raine replied. “You drive like a maniac.”
John Paul laughed out loud and picked up the beer the server had delivered.
“You should see him ride when you aren’t around,” he said under his breath.
“Shut up, fucker,” I snapped.
Raine turned toward me and raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry,” I muttered. I’d been trying to keep the cursing to a minimum with Alex around all the time, but as soon as I got around John Paul, the cuss words just seemed to start flying.
“Everything packed?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” I replied. “Lindsay was finishing the shit in the kitchen when I left. There are a few of Alex’s toys still not in a box, but he claimed he was still playing with them. I figured we could just throw them in his backpack when it’s time to go.”
“What about your stuff?”
“All ready,” I said. I really didn’t have much, which was fine with me. It all fit in one suitcase and a box. I didn’t count all the household stuff as mine. It always felt like Raine’s to me.
Lindsay and Nick showed up right behind Raine.
“Alex hates the sitter,” Lindsay announced immediately.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt the muscles down my arms clench.
“Why?” I demanded.
Lindsay laughed.
“Just kidding!” she said. “I think he’s in love. He was drawing pictures of her when I left.”
I relaxed a little, but Lindsay’s idea of a joke made me want to punch her in the face. Her little sister, Laura, was visiting from Ohio and had volunteered to babysit so we could all go out. I hadn’t been happy about the idea of some chick I didn’t know watching my kid, but Raine knew her from when they were kids, so I’d given in, but I wasn’t happy about it.
“Don’t goad him!” Raine snapped at her friend. “That was just rude, and you know it!”
“Stop that shit,” Nick scolded his girlfriend under his breath. “What’s wrong with you?”
John Paul snickered behind his beer bottle.
“Sorry,” Lindsay said.
She seemed to mean it.
I took a deep breath and looked at Raine as she reached over to put her hand on my leg. Part of my trying to be civilized around her friends involved her sticking up for me a lot. I didn’t like it, but it was probably better than having me react with any of my violent tendencies.
We ordered, and everyone started with the small talk as we waited for our food. I still sucked at small talk, but I was getting better at sitting back and pretending I was interested. I’d already lived through two evenings with Lindsay and Nick without biting their heads off. This would make it three, and I planned on surviving the encounter.
I made it all the way through the meal. I even talked to Nick a bit about his latest escapades as a flight instructor. I couldn’t have cared less, but every time I talked nicely to him, it made Raine smile.
“So who’s up for a club?” Lindsay asked as she looked over the dessert menu.
The last thing I wanted was to go to some bar, even if I was trying to prove that I could do all the things Raine wanted to do and still keep my cool. I did have my limits, but I didn’t have to voice them.
