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With every fiber in my being, I try desperately not to make eye contact with Lex, but I slip and meet his eyes. There’s no denying he’s furious, but Lex is an expert at the classic poker face. Willing, he will make sure his feelings aren’t shown through his facial expressions. He may be staring with a blank face, but his eyes reveal his true feelings. They are dark, reflecting his mood. I know him better than anyone else. And truthfully, he can say the same for me.
I don’t know what to do, so I drink because drunk Charlie is better than anxious Charlie. There’s no way I can pull him aside for a moment without Julian questioning what I’m doing. And besides, this isn’t the place to talk. Too many eyes, too many ears, and way too much of a chance of getting caught.
“Okay, me next, please,” Eric chimes in.
How many glasses of sangria has he had? Judging by the loudness of his voice, I’d say at least four, and by five, he will be up on the table dancing. I swear he’s such a cheap drunk.
“We met about eighteen months ago. She rear-ended me.”
Rocky burst out laughing, spitting out his drink. “Dude, is that even possible?”
“Her cab, Rocky.” Eric sighs, trying to hold in his laughter. “So, as the cab driver got out and argued whose fault it was, Charlie started ranting on about being late for work. I argued, of course, saying it wasn’t as bad as me as I was going to be late for an interview. Another cab pulled up behind us, and we both rushed at the same time to get in. I beat her to it, shutting the door quickly as the cab pulled away. I leaned out the window, and I recall my exact words… ‘Sorry, honey, you can stomp your pretty little Louboutins all you want, but you ain’t making me late.’”
“Oh, Eric, please don’t tell me
this was your interview to work for Charlie?” Adriana squirms.
“Spot on. I sat there in her office pleased with myself for being on time. As she rushed in all huffed, I was shocked and the look on her face? Priceless.”
“But I hired you, anyway,” I remind him. “Like my left arm, I can’t live without you.”
He stands, rushing to my side. There’s no one in the world like Eric, and my life has never been the same since. “My yin to your yang.”
The fun continues with the rest of the guests taking turns telling everyone how they met me. The sangria keeps flowing, and my glass keeps emptying. I have officially lost count, but at least my nerves are calming and now I’m starting to get giggly.
“Oh-em-gee, Lex, we can’t skip you,” Eric exclaims.
“I don’t think I can remember when you first met Charlie…” Adriana says quietly.
Lex takes a sip of the sangria. My mind is hazy, trying to even remember when we first met. I sit still, focusing intently on him.
“I was fifteen. I had pretty much spent the summer working my ass off for this collectors Batman comic I had seen in a store in Sacramento.” His eyes are fixated on the table again, with his fingers skimming the rim of the glass in front of him. “I finally saved up and bought it and went to our living room to read it. Adriana was in there watching TV and eating the last of a baked cookie. She and I got into a fight as siblings tend to do, so I decided since it was a nice day out, I’d go up to our treehouse and read it. I climbed up and found a little girl crying in the corner. I hadn’t met Charlotte yet, but Adriana raved on about her all the time, so I assumed it was her.”
My heart stops, knowing exactly the moment he’s referring to, and the pain I had felt at the time when I thought my world was collapsing. I was a kid, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. It was the first huge fight my parents had after which my mom stormed out and left for three days.
“I sat down beside her to ask if she wanted to talk. She was upset about her parents having a big fight. I remember her asking me if she should go look for her mom. I was only fifteen, so giving a kid advice was hard. I remember telling her that it would somehow work out. She saw me carrying the comic and said Batman was her favorite superhero of all time, so I did what anyone would do when they see her smile.”
“You gave her the comic?” Nikki asks, her eyes widening.
“Yes, I gave her the comic. She looked so happy.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” Adriana and Nikki say in unison.
For once, he appears shy. Alexander Edwards is never shy. His eyes meet mine, a corner of his mouth lifting up into a half-smile. I can’t believe he did that. I remember the comic book. I’d read it every night. Batman was my favorite. How ironic with the whole Julian thing going on. At the time, I didn’t know how hard he worked for it, and maybe if I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed him to give it to me. But I was only eight, and he was my best friend’s brother, no one special, just someone who annoyed us and hogged the remote when we wanted to watch television. The gesture was so kind-hearted, but that was Lex.
Was, I have to remind myself.
Julian interrupts the moment, raising his glass and wishing me a happy birthday. My friends cheer, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t get that story out of my head. It’s almost like a scene out of a movie. I was staring at it, watching people around me, but no matter how hard I try I can’t focus. All I think about is that comic book and what it represented.
Everyone is laughing, enjoying each other’s company. The salsa band is playing a soft Spanish beat. The food arrives and looks fantastic. We each pile the food onto our plates, getting lost in random conversations. The weight of Julian’s arm on my shoulder weighs like a ton, with his need to constantly touch me greater than other times we have been together.
I take a sip of my sangria and slowly glance at Lex, careful not to be caught by Julian. My heart plunges as I watch him chatting with Becky. She loves the attention, and he looks happy speaking about something I can’t hear.
My blood begins to boil.
What’s this feeling called again?
Oh right, jealousy.
