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“Cool.” Connor took a step back and dug his hands into his jeans. “We'll grab a beer or something.”
“I don't drink,” I said, offering an apologetic smile. “But, hey, if you don't mind me drinking water, I'm one hundred percent down.”
“You don't drink?” Peter asked, taken aback.
“I thought all you guys were into partying,” Steven chimed in, volleying his skeptical eyes between Peter and me.
“Yeah,” Peter said, nodding. “Sex, drugs, rock and roll.”
Stereotypes existed for a reason. The expectation that all rockers partook in certain pastimes was only there because of all the rockers who did. But the closed-minded bewilderment coming from these guys that a singer or band wouldn't be into it rubbed me the wrong way.
“My buddy almost drank himself to death some years back and ended up in the emergency room. So, collectively, we all gave it up to support him,” I explained. Not that they deserved it.
“Good for you,” Mr. Jacobs said, approval in his voice for maybe the first time since I'd met him.
“Yeah, well, you can't have some of us partying and still expect the alcoholic to stay sober,” I replied, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal. “And I don't feel like burying one of my best friends.”
While her husband nodded, Mrs. Jacobs looked at me with soft, intent eyes. As if all this time, she had never truly seen me as a person and only as the guy obviously hooking up with her vulnerable daughter. She turned away, dipping her chin to her chest, and I wondered if maybe she never realized I could care about someone enough to give up booze.
Or meaningless sex.
Steven awkwardly coughed and offered a hand to Peter. “It's getting late,” he said, and Peter nodded. “Text me later, and we'll iron out the details for game night.”
“You got it,” Peter replied, shaking his friend’s hand while bending to kiss Cassie's cheek. “Get home safe, guys.”
Lennon said her good nights to her friends, then Tarryn, and, finally, her brother, who had a long drive back to Connecticut. Her parents were next to leave, surprising me with hugs that were stiff but hugs nonetheless.
“Are you coming home tonight?” Mrs. Jacobs asked Lennon.
“No, I'm going back to Peter's,” she said, and my lungs filled to the brink of combustion while my fists clenched painfully, hidden in my pockets.
“Okay. Text me when you get there.”
“I always do,” Lennon said with an adoring smile.
Mom came to mind and how annoyed she always made me with all her overprotective habits and traditions. I snorted quietly to myself, imagining her at home in front of her TV. I wished she were here. I wished she could meet Lennon, knowing she'd like her as much as I did and insist on planning a wedding that was never going to happen.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs left the sidewalk, leaving our awkward trio to stand there alone beneath a crescent moon, entirely concealed now, leaving the sky dark and the sidewalk silent. Peter looked at me, brow furrowed and eyes hard, daring me to leave.
But I wasn't going anywhere.
I still had to give Lennon her birthday present.
“Hey,” Lennon said, gripping Peter's bicep. “You wanna go get the car?”
The guy was a douchebag, but he wasn't an idiot. The suggestion was merely a ploy to be alone with me. For what reason, I had no idea, but Peter didn't either. For all he knew, she wanted two sweet, peaceful minutes to make out with me beneath a cloudy late-night sky, and far be it from me to say no to such an invitation.
“Uh, yeah,” he replied slowly, his voice not implying the anger displayed on his face. “Sure. I'll be right back.”
“Don't worry, bud,” I said, unable to help myself. “I'll take good care of her.”
Man, if looks could kill.
Peter's jaw clenched as he stared at me for a few beats. His steely eyes met mine, revealing his realization of everything that wasn't being said. I wasn't sure if Lennon had said anything to him or if his knowledge was based on assumption and observation alone, but the guy knew.
“I'll beright back,” he repeated as a warning before reluctantly walking away and turning the corner toward the parking lot.
Lennon smiled at me, then dipped her chin, suddenly bashful, like we'd never been alone before. It irked me, considering everything we'd had between us before Peter came along and wedged himself in the chasm separating her heart from mine.
