Down the hatch goes the tequila.
Penelope Sweeten is the only human at this table who chugs tequila shots like water, without needing a lemon or salt. I bite into my own lemon and then steal Carter’s from his hand as he speaks, wincing when the tequila slides down my throat. I offer him his half-eaten lemon back and am rewarded with a glare.
“How generous,” he bites out.
“Love you,” is all I say, choking on the burn.
Boston hands him another lemon from the tray. Carter bites into it instantly, flipping me off without glancing back in my direction.
“These people can drink,” Arden mutters, shooting me a look full of fear.
“I think it’s a Canadian thing,” I whisper. “I don’t think they had anything else to do.”
She grins, but Boston shoots me a look that makes me want to keep pushing it. Making fun of Canadians gets him riled up. Noted. Whatever gets him glaring at me like that again is something I’m absolutely going to continue to do. If I have to pretend to think he grew up in an igloo and rode a polar bear to and from school, I’ll do it.
But then Def Leppard floods through the speakers.
The entire table goes eerily quiet.
The men go still, like the song is the damn tornado siren and a storm is rapidly approaching this very bar. Penny catapults herself away from Declan half a second after that first note, running toward Avery’s excited, open arms.
Tiffany and Lauren are already hand-in-hand, sprinting toward the beaten-up dance floor.
I glance back at the boys, a faint smile on my mouth.
Declan watches his future wife, her wild, blonde hair flying behind her. A smile touches his mouth as he leans back, his arms across his chest, cradling his beer like he could watch this show for decades. When Penny starts to throw her head backlike she did that night atIcebox,the love shining in his eyes is unmistakable.
Seth lets out a long, tired breath and sags in his seat. He runs a hand over his face as Avery tosses her short brown hair around like a maniac, right beside her best friend.
Wyatt laughs against the rim of his beer bottle, he and EJ shaking their heads.
“Anyone bring the ice packs?” I ask casually.
Declan barks out a loud laugh. He holds out his fist in respect for the joke, and I proudly bump mine to his. I’m starting to feel less out of place in this group. I’m finally finding my footing. It never takes me long.
“Forkerro squared!” Penny hollers from across the bar. All heads at the table turn to her. She waves us over. “Get up here!”
Arden and I stand. My brother moves to do the same.
“Not you!” the girls scream in unison, making him freeze mid-movement. The table erupts with laughter at the stunned, disappointed look on Carter’s face while he hovers between a stand and a squat.
“The future Forkerro!” Penny calls, cupping her hands over her mouth. Carter shoots her a look of warning, but she only smiles innocently and offers a little shrug. “Or should be by now, anyway!”
Declan starts to laugh so hard that tears glisten in his eyes. Carter sits back down, glaring across the table at him. They share a look that I can’t decipher, like there is an inside joke between them that the rest of us are missing, and in response, Carter reaches for one of the remaining shots and throws it down the hatch, but instead of biting into his lemon, he chucks it at Declan’s head.
I reach for Arden’s hand, letting her guide me toward the people who welcomed me into their little party without blinking.By the end of the song, I am ninety percent certain that I’m going to need an icepack by the time we leave this bar, too.
And then a One Direction song comes on, and I’m one hundred percent certain.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ariana
You knowthe worst part of being in a room full of people who love each other? That slow, crippling feeling that reminds you that you aren’t a part of it. You aren’t a part ofthem.You’ll always bejuston the outskirts, never truly a part of their thing. Normally, that would be fine, but it’s when I start to realize that almost everyone here hassomeone,even beyond what they have as a group, that the stupid chasm of sadness opens up.
My eyes flicker toward Callum and Wyatt. They’re sitting elbow to elbow, arms pressed together casually, while Wyatt jokes with Declan. Callum, as usual, just observes.
Wyatt is in his element here, but he’s always been charismatic. Callum glances at him every few seconds and you can physically see his thoughts on his face each time he does. How his eyes lock onto Wyatt’s profile. How he drinks in his face, his coffee coloured eyes, how his gaze falls to his full lips, and then lands on his hands.
