AllFreeNovel
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A wet splat lands on my cheek, and I stare at Ellie, who smiles innocently. Sage laughs beside me as I stare down at a balled-up wet napkin.
“That better have been water and not spit.” I point a finger at her.
“You’ll never know.” She shrugs. “Anyway, take a seat.” Ellie smiles at Sage.
Everyone is smiling, actually. They look goofy and are making this super uncomfortable. It’s like we’re on a reality show, and the audience is practically sitting on us.
“How was dinner?” I ask her.
“Good.” Her wide eyes are glued to me.
I don’t blame her. This feels totally awkward. It makes me realize how much time we’ve spent alone and not around other people.
“How are you?” Lex looks at Sage.
“Good.” She smiles at her.
“What do you want to drink?” I ask, waving down a waiter.
“Water is fine.”
I lift a brow and stare at her, giving her my best stern expression.
“Honestly,” she nods.
“How about a mocktail like I mentioned? I promise you’ll like it.”
“Have you tried it before?” She challenges with the quirk of a brow.
“No, but I’m certain. If you don’t like it, I’ll drink it.”
She purses her lips and pulls her brows together, shaking her head. “Okay.”
When the waiter comes to our table, I order the mocktail and lean back on my chair, smiling at Sage.
Hudson and Toby talk about a recent house that went on the market while I catch up some more with Derek and Matt. It’s been so long since I’ve spent time with any of my old friends, and it’s nice to see we still have a friendship.
I smile as Lex, Hope, and Ellie ask Sage questions and keep her a part of their circle. With each passing minute, she becomes more comfortable, and I begin to relax.
“You draw? That’s really cool,” Hope smiles.
“I haven’t taken much time to do it lately, and it’s just random sketches, but it calms me. It’s like my form of meditation.” Sage leans back in her seat, a smile on her face.
“It’s still cool. I wish I was artistic, but I never had the talent to draw anything well enough.” Hope shakes her head.
“Yeah, remember that art project in high school?” Ellie laughs.
“I had forgotten,” Lex calls out, slapping her thigh.
Hope glares at them while Sage looks over at me with raised brows.
“No idea,” I shrug.
“We had to do still-life drawings,” Ellie explains.
“Her apple looked like a butt,” Lex howls.
“And her bowl was lopsided,” Ellie adds. She snorts as she laughs, and Sage chuckles.
