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Brian nodded. His eyes were slightly hooded. “Indeed.”
These two were a few beers in, so I’d have to catch up.
I sat beside Sean, and he poured me a drink from the pitcher in the center of the table. I took a sip and licked the liquid from my lips. “So, what’s up? Are we meeting for any particular reason, or did you just miss me?”
Sean grinned. “Can’t it be both?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I suppose.”
He leaned his forearms on the table and interlaced his fingers. “I brought you both here to ask you an important question.” He shifted his focus to Brian. “I told Chris last night, but Nicole and I got engaged.”
Brian’s eyes widened. “Congrats, man.” He offered him a fist bump.
Sean returned it. “We talked about what we wanted the wedding to look like and everything. We discussed the bridal party members, and we decided to have three groomsmen and three bridesmaids. So, since I can’t find anybody better than you assholes on such short notice . . .”
He shifted, turning to face me. “Chris, you’ve been my bro since we were in diapers, man. I’d love it if you’d be my best man at the wedding.”
This was the first time in my life that I ever wanted to squeal with joy, but I held it back. I coughed into my fist and nodded. “Of course, bro.”
He hit his fist to his chest, our symbol of love and brotherhood between us.
He turned back to Brian. “I’d love for you to be a groomsman. We’ve been tight forever, and you’ll always be one of my best bros.”
Brian offered another fist bump. “I accept. I’ll be there for you, dude.”
“We’re having a dinner party soon, and we’ll get everyone together to discuss everything. There’s still some stuff to work out, but I wanted to get that settled. Nicole’s brother Lucas is a groomsman too, and Sav will be a bridesmaid.”
An image of Sav wearing a frilly pink dress flashed in my mind, and I couldn’t hide the smile that crossed my face. She was beautiful in her everyday clothes, but I rarely saw her dressed up. The wedding preparations and reception were also great excuses to be around her, aside from the renovations.
We ordered another pitcher and talked for a while, catching up on all the changes in our personal lives since we’d last hung out. I saw these guys all the time, but we rarely got together for a beer like this anymore.
“So, I have a question for you, Chris,” Sean said. “This has nothing to do with the wedding, but I’ve been wondering why you and Sav aren’t as close as you used to be.”
My entire body tensed.
“Nicole mentioned it last night. She asked why you two hated each other, and I realized that things have been strained for a long time.”
Brian nodded. “I’ve noticed that too, actually.”
Playing it cool, I shrugged and sipped my beer. “We just fell off. She came back from college, and we didn’t have anything to talk about anymore. That’s all.”
I felt like hell lying to Sean, but I couldn’t tell him what had happened. I couldn’t look him in the eye and admit we made out, I shut her down, and then she never was cool with me again.
I messed up. I ruined our friendship by letting her get too close and think something was happening between us when it wasn’t.
I didn’t want my lack of good judgment to impact my friendship with Sean too. Sav never told him about what happened, and I considered that an act of mercy on her part. I could have lost them both in one fell-swoop over not being careful enough with her when she was drunk and vulnerable. Sav had all the power to destroy my relationship with her brother, and she chose not to. I wasn’t going to ruin that now.
“Damn,” Sean said. His shoulders sagged. “That sucks, man. She pulled back from me a little bit too. I figured it was just her getting older. She gravitated toward Grampa a lot more after she got back.”
“Maybe something happened at school,” Brian suggested.
Sean nodded gravely. “Maybe.” He sighed. “I also feel like she holds herself back from relationships in general. I’m glad I haven’t had to knock any guys out for being too friendly with her, but she also doesn’t date. She barely has friends. Losing Mom and Gramma so close together really fucked her up.”
“That could be it. She might need help processing everything,” I offered selfishly. I patted his back. “Let her know you’re available if she needs to talk to anyone, and she’ll come to you.”
Hopefully not with the truth, but I still had to be a good friend.
“Thanks, man.”
