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“I thought you just wanted to have a little fun while you were here?” Elizabeth asked
“Iam.It's nothing serious. It's just been fun spending time with him over the past few days.” Marie grinned. “And nights.”
Elizabeth responded with a raised eyebrow.
Marie laughed. “Don't look at me like that! What happens in Beaufort stays in Beaufort, remember? We haven't been able to do much field work during the day because of the storm, but we did go to the Estuarine Research Reserve facility here, and what a place! It's huge. Anyway, Elliot's band is playing at another bar in Beaufort tomorrow night. We should all go.”
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I don't know…”
“Come on, you'll love it. We had so much fun. They play great music.”
“You should go,” Sameera chimed in. “It'll be a nice way to unwind before we buckle down on Monday. This next week is going to be crazy.”
Elizabeth sighed. “All right, let's do it. I could use a little dancing.”
Later that evening, when Elizabeth and Marie were alone, Marie asked more questions about Elizabeth’s trip home.
“Were you able to get things resolved? With your status, I mean. Did anything change?”
Elizabeth shrugged. She’d told Marie next to nothing about her relationship with Will and what had happened, and didn't want to get into it now. “Not really.”
“I wish I could help.”
“I feel like I just need time away, but it doesn’t do much good, because he invades my thoughts anyway. A change of scenery doesnothing.”
“So are you with this guy? Broken up? On a break? I don't get it.”
Elizabeth gave a short laugh. “I don't either. We're broken up, I guess, but he doesn't want us to be.”
“And you do.”
“I wish it was as easy as saying, 'I don't want you anymore,' and bam, it's done.”
“So youdowant him.”
“I don't knowwhatI want, that's the problem. I mean, I know what I want in the grand scheme of things. I just don't know if I can trust that he's the one who’ll be able to give it to me.”
“He screwed you over pretty badly, huh?”
When confronted with the question, Elizabeth’s first instinct was to defend him, and it shocked her.
“Been there,” Marie went on. “Guys can be selfish pricks. My last boyfriend was cheating on me for over a month before I found out. When I caught him, he was just like, ‘later, babe.' I mean, what the hell isthatall about?” She looked at Elizabeth with a pained expression. “Did I hit the nail on the head?”
“No, it was nothing like that. Honestly, it's too long and complicated. Constantly thinking about it is bad enough.”
“Okay, we’ll stop talking about it.” Marie settled herself into bed. “We'll go out tomorrow night, have a few drinks, and dance up a storm. Pardon the pun.”
Elizabeth smiled. She was looking forward to it and dreading it all at once.
* * *
Will satin a dark corner of a crowded bar in Beaufort on Saturday night, watching Elizabeth as she laughed and talked with her friends. She was having fun, and for a brief moment, he thought he should just leave and give her the time she needed. But she would find out he was here; when he’d arrived at the house, the older man who’d answered the door had forced Will to plead his case, unwilling to give up information on Elizabeth’s whereabouts so easily. Finally, he’d relented and told Will where she’d gone with her coworkers, but he knew Thomas would tell her he’d been to the house.
His eyes never strayed from her. He drank her in, noting she looked tired but beautiful. Even from this distance, he could see her eyes and how they sparkled. Not for him, but it didn't matter; he loved them anyway, loved the way they drew him in, until she was the only person in the room that he noticed.
One of the women with her pulled her over to a jukebox that stood against the wall. He watched as they scanned over the songs, all the while trying to figure out a way to approach her without scaring her off.
The woman with Elizabeth suddenly began jumping up and down and pointing at something on the jukebox. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and laughed, then stopped. Her eyes scanned the bar, and he wondered if she could sense that he was watching her. He turned away, feeling a bit like a stalker. After a long moment he glanced over his shoulder and saw that her attention was on her friends again.
