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I watch him walk to the door with an awkward gait before leaving.
Once again, I’m alone in my beautiful room. I look down at the indent in the center of the bed where we’d been lying. Proof that the entire sexy episode with Jason really did happen. I wasn’t dreaming.
***
Later that evening, I’m standing beside the long, white-linen-covered table with the girls while the waiters clear the empty plates from our main course. Drew’s surprise party has been a huge success. Katie’s face was priceless when she walked through the door of the private dining room expecting only to see the three of us. Instead, she found a gathering of about thirty friends and family members. Most of whom had flown in from the States.
Across the room, Jason is talking with his family. The awkward episode from this afternoon seems to have been filed away, and my good friend is back in charge. He surprised me by stopping at my room just before seven to escort me to the party, and from the moment I opened the door, he’s been nothing but polite.
He told me he liked my gray cocktail dress with folds of silky fabric draping around the built-in corset, and I told him I was happy to see he hadn’t greased his hair. Yes, everything was normal except for the lack of innuendo-laced jokes. They are missing from our interactions tonight, and I’m kind of glad. I don’t need to be reminded of how good his hands felt touching me, even through the layers of clothing.
“Oh my God, I love a guy in a kilt. Especially when they look like that,” Sarah, another of Katie’s best friends from high school, announces out of the blue, gesturing to where Drew, his brother Rory, and best friend Aaron are standing. They are propped against the bar drinking whiskey and wearing blue-and-dark-green tartan kilts. “They look like they stepped off the pages of Scottish Life magazine.”
“It’s giving me ideas for a photo shoot,” Allie agrees, looking at the trio with the lens of a professional photographer.
“Hey, that’s my boyfriend you’re objectifying,” Katie complains, but the smile on her face tells me she has plans for her boyfriend and his kilt later. “And as if Logan is going to let you do a photo shoot with Scottish guys in their kilts, Allie.” She leans in closer to the circle and whispers, “You know they don’t wear anything underneath.”
The champagne I just sipped slides down my throat like it contains razor blades, leaving me coughing and spluttering. And I’m getting no help from my friends, who have thrown back their heads, laughing at my discomfort. “Hey, a little warning next time you’re about to drop a bombshell like that,” I gasp out, and the girls laugh harder.
We seem to have drawn a bit of attention not only from Drew but also from Jason and Logan, who are coming our way. Drew takes the opportunity to tap a coin against the side of his whiskey glass, trying to get everyone’s attention, but it’s only when Blake lets loose a piercing whistle that the group quiets down.
Drew beckons Katie to his side before welcoming everyone and handing the mic over to Katie’s stepfather to make a speech. Hunter follows with some more touching words, then Blake, and finally, Logan—who would generally opt out of such things—makes a toast. Katie is left crying happy tears along with half the guests. But not for long when Drew’s arms wrap protectively around her.
Thirty is a time for celebration, though I chose to let mine pass unmarked. A tear slips down my cheek when I remember my own lonely thirtieth birthday. It was spent the same as every other milestone since the freak accident that took Jack and everything changed. It’s hard to celebrate a birthday when the one person I shared it with for twenty years is no longer there.
After Jack’s accident, my parents no longer wanted to stay on the farm, deciding to sell and move into town. Meanwhile, I went back to college, heading in a downward spiral that only stopped when I hit rock bottom.
Before Jason says a word, I sense him there behind me. “Are you okay?” he whispers near the shell of my ear, so close his breath brushes over my skin.
I nod. He reaches his arm around me, a white linen napkin in his hand. “Thank you,” I mutter, taking it from him and dabbing the few tears that had escaped down my cheeks.
When I’m done, he turns me to face him. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
I nod again and follow him silently out of the room.
It’s cool out but, given it’s officially summer in London, not cold enough to need a jacket. We walk silently across the road toward Hyde Park, then follow the sidewalk along beside it. It’s ten o’clock, but the sun has only just gone down.
“Do you want to talk about why you got upset back there?” Jason asks, slowing his stride to match mine.
I know I need to open myself up more to my friends, and I guess this is a good time to start.
I struggle to draw in a breath, and even though my hands tremble uncontrollably, I open my mouth and speak. “I was remembering my brother.”
Jason knows my brother died in an accident but not much more.
“This is close to the time of year that he died, which is always hard. I guess it was that, along with the birthday celebration. Jack was my twin, which is why I never celebrate my own birthday.”
Jason stops in front of me. “D, why have you never told me this before?”
I force myself to look up, seeing only kindness and understanding in his handsome features. “I don’t speak to anyone about Jack, not even my parents. My therapist is helping me to change that.”
“I’m glad.” He pulls me into his arms, and I sink into his warmth. We stand silently like that for a little while, on a London sidewalk, cars, black cabs, and double-decker red buses whooshing by, neither of us paying attention to any of it.
“You ready to go back?” he finally asks close to my ear.
Leaning back, I look up at him. “Yes, I feel better letting that out. And thank you, Jase. I needed that hug.”
He drops one arm and places the other around my shoulders. I slip my arm around his waist, and we stroll back to the party. This time, talking about the sights we want to see tomorrow in London.
