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“Good. Because someone should definitely be sexing tonight since it won’t be me. Ryan and Jaime will be sexing, but they always have the sex. Someday my twin and her Levi will be sexing too. I know it. They both want the sex, but won’t get off their asses and just have the sex.” Yeah, that drew the attention of Abby.
“I’m not going to have sex with Levi. We’re friends.”
“Friends shmends.”
“Stop calling it the sex. You sound like Grandma,” Abby retorts.
Lexi gawks at her, wide-eyed and shell-shocked. “What did you say?”
“She’s kinda right. Grandma always calls it ‘the sex.’ She’s rubbing off on you,” AJ adds.
“Fuck. I sound like Grandma!” Lexi declares with a sour look.
“I’m sorry my family is so crazy. I’d like to say that this isn’t normal behavior, but it really is. My sisters are nuts, but they’re the best.” My mouth is close to Dean’s ear so that he can hear me over the excessive noise in the bar.
“You’re family’s great. I’m an only child so this level of chaos is new and exciting for me.”
“You should see us at a dinner where my grandparents are present. They add a level of craziness that’s unprecedented.”
“Can’t wait to officially meet them,” he says with a warm smile, and I can’t help but grin back.
He’s touching my back, running his hand up and down while we talk. His cologne tickles my nose and makes me want to lean further into his embrace. I still haven’t ordered a fresh drink so I use my empty hand and snake it around his waist. We’re close–and in public, I might add, but I don’t care. Maybe it’s the alcohol or maybe it’s the fact that I’m just okay with a little PDA with Dean.
Crazy, right?
“Guys, I can’t get a hold of Josh. He’s not answering his phone,” Meghan says, pulling my attention away from Dean’s brown eyes and towards a pair of very worried green ones.
“I’m sure everything’s fine, Meg. He probably got called back to work or something,” Abby adds.
“To the bank? What could he possibly be called back to work for on a Saturday night?”
“Maybe he forgot where we were painting the pottery stuff tonight,” I say, trying to calm down Meghan. She’s definitely getting herself worked up.
“He told me he was on his way here, Pay. And now he’s not answering his phone or texts.” She gazes down at the phone in her hand, silently begging it to ring.
“I’m sure he’s fine, Meggy. Don’t get worked up until you have a reason to,” Lexi says, sounding a little more sober than she did just moments ago.
The front door of the bar opens up and a couple walks in, shaking the rain off their jackets. The lights have flickered a few times over the course of our pottery night, but we’ve never lost power. The wind has been howling and the thunder shaking the building, but we’ve been inside the entire time so haven’t dealt with the effects of the storm.
“Holy cow, it’s really coming down out there,” the woman says to the crowd at large. “We had a hard time getting here. Main Street is shut down at the edge of town because of a big accident. We had to drive around the Perry farm in order to get here.”
“How bad of an accident?” a man sitting near Ryan asks.
“Bad. Multiple cars. I heard it was head-on,” she says.
I step forward to flag down one of the bartenders when I feel a hand on my forearm. My heart stops beating when I see Meghan’s stricken face. “We need to go.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, confusion mixing with my panic.
“It’s Josh. Something’s wrong, Pay, I feel it.”
I stare at my sister for several heartbeats, not sure what to do. Josh could walk in the door any moment, and we’ll all have a good laugh at Meghan’s paranoia. “Meg, maybe he’s just stuck somewhere. That other couple said they had a hard time getting here. Plus, it’s storming. I’m sure he’s just tied up with the accident.”
“Payton, he is the accident. I can feel it.” Her voice drops and I almost don’t hear her words. But I do. I hear them, and I’ll never forget the way my body shivers. Tears start to fill her eyes and something clenches in my stomach. She’s certain, and until we find out differently, there’s not going to be any way of convincing her otherwise.
“Okay. Okay.” What to do? “Dean?” I start to ask, turning towards my guy for guidance.
“I’m on it,” he says to me, worry marring his handsome features. What once was a light and fun gathering has turned stormy and dark, and until we have answers, I know that none of us will be able to enjoy the rest of our evening.
