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Has my life really been at the whim of others’ decisions all along? How have I not seen this?
“It’s almost time for my consult with Caysen,” Dante points out as he wipes his head of sweat. He stares down at me, sitting on my bench. “You mad about what I said? You look pissy.”
“Nah.” I give him a quick smile and a shake of my head. “You’ve got a point.”
“Of course I do. And it comes from a good place. Hell, I coulda kicked your ass out of 501 two months ago before Connor came along, but I care about you and gave you another shot. Hey, there’s a good sign,” he adds with a humorous lilt in his voice. “You’re the one who said yes to Connor for a roommate. Look at how that worked out. Trust yourself a little more, bitch a little less.” With that, he gives me a wink, then saunters off toward the front desk to meet with his trainer—a puffed up gym bunny in a tank top and tight shorts named Caysen whom everyone knows, apparently.
I bite my lip and stare pensively ahead.
Then I smell something foul and give my pits a sniff. Yep, that smell’s me.
It’s in the locker room after a quick shower that a plan starts to take shape—a plan to win Skylar over. I’m not going to use Connor or Dante or any of my pals from downstairs as crutches anymore.
My next reckless action will be purely my own.
Standing with a towel around my waist in the middle of the suspiciously dimly-lit locker room as I drip dry, I tap a name and put my phone to an ear.
He answers. “Brett!”
“Sky!” I greet him. “I know you’re likely busy with Lena, so I’ll get straight to the point. I’m gonna take you out tonight and show you the city. It’s gonna be a night of blowing off steam, seeing the sights, and having a fucking blast.”
“Oh, man! That sounds amazing, and … shit, I want nothing more than to do all of that, but I’ve got my sister and her Maid of Honor here with me. I’ve got to help them pick out a few—”
“Bring them along,” I tell him.
I hear a note of surprise in Skylar’s voice. “I … Wait a sec. You want me to bring them with us?”
“Well … unless you have something better to do,” I reply in a teasingly snarky tone.
My plan is coming together exactly as I hoped, by the way—sister, included. Even after all these years, I know Sky so well. Family is everything to him.
After a few words to his sister, he comes back with, “Sounds like we’re hitting the town tonight.”
“I’ll text you an addy. Meet me there at ten.”
I hear his smile when he says, “You’ve got it!”
[ THE BIG NIGHT OUT ]
The city is bursting with life, colorful lights, and unmatched excitement—and the sad quartet of Brett, Skylar, his sister Lena, and her Maid of Honor Maria are not.
6
So the big night out I planned doesn’t start off too well.
“Bowling?” groans Lena—a round-cheeked and pointy-nosed version of Skylar. Maria, her Maid of Honor, keeps to her side, and her large brown eyes stare suspiciously at everything, as if she is about to be leapt on by cat-sized spiders.
“But it’s a retro-style alley!” I point out excitedly. “They even serve fries and milkshakes, and all the servers are on roller skates!”
Lena’s less-than-enthusiastic smile says it all.
After half a game, I step aside with Skylar. “I don’t get it. She loved it when we took her bowling with us back in the day,” I point out, confused. “I thought she’d have a great time doing this.”
Skylar shrugs. “She likes different things now.”
I study Lena pensively as I reconsider what we might do next.
Cutting our game short, I take us seven blocks east to a place I just know Lena will love.
Until she doesn’t. “Flowers …?” she mumbles as she pokes a straw into her colorful drink. “Why are there … flower petals … in my drink …?”
“It’s the whole thing with this place!” I happily exclaim—yet again playing salesman to another dumb idea of mine. “Floral cocktails! Yours is a mix of rosewater and berries—I think—with actual rose petals floating on top! Look, your straw even has a curly vine!”
Skylar, Lena, and Maria all stare at me.
I am my own joke and punch line.
“It’s floral arrangements!” I spell out, desperate. “It’s bridal themed! Kinda.” I take a sip of my own concoction I ordered. I wince and attempt not to spit it back out. “Delicious!” I force myself to say.
“I wonder what’s next on the itinerary,” Lena jokes quietly to her friend. “An adorably girly cat café where they dress up the cats like groomsmen?” Maria snorts into her drink and teases back: “Or maybe a ‘super exciting’ tour of the great garter belt museum? Ooh, I can’t wait!” And they laugh.
