Page 44 of The One I Left Behind

“Definitely.” He downs his beer.

“Gilly Be!” Emmett lifts me from behind before I’m ready. He circles me around and I cringe at Laurel because I’m sure I must be flashing people.

“There’s the lovable Noughton.” I pat his arms.

A voice clearing interrupts us, and Emmett lowers me to the ground.

“You sayin’ I’m not lovable?” Ben asks.

“Oh, look who’s jealous.” Emmett punches Ben in the chest, and Ben glares at Emmett. “Whoa, man, it’s Gilly Be. Cool it with the whole alpha meathead vibe.”

“One day you’re going to get your ass kicked, Emmett,” Jude chimes in.

“In that case.” He opens his arms and approaches Sadie. “Sadieeee.” He laughs.

Right before he reaches Sadie, Jude steps in front. “Go find a girl for the night.”

Emmett pretends to pout and stands over by Lottie.

“Leave him alone,” Lottie says.

Everyone knows Lottie is Emmett’s protector. She’s held that role since they were toddlers.

“Yeah, he can’t remember who he’s slept with and who he hasn’t,” Brooks chimes in.

I didn’t even notice Brooks right next to Ben. Maybe because I don’t want to turn to face Ben. Feeling his eyes on me is enough. Thank you, Laurel.

“Brooks, don’t you have to go issue some bullshit tickets?” Lottie shoots back.

He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Always Emmett’s little bodyguard.”

“She’s like a quarter of my size. I can take care of myself.” Emmett puffs out his chest.

The three of them continue to go at it.

Ben leans down to my ear. “How about we get a drink?”

I have a flashback to my conversation with Laurel in my bedroom. It’s the depths of summer, but I still get a rush of shivers throughout my body.

I glance at Laurel since I came with her.

“We’ve got her. Go.” Lottie slides her arm through Laurel’s.

“Perfect.” Ben places his hand on my back and guides me away from the group. Once we’re a distance away, he leans in and says, “If you wore that dress to torture me, it’s working.”

“I didn’t,” I lie. I hate lying. I don’t want to play games, so I decide to tell the truth. “Laurel picked it out. She wanted to torture you.”

He chuckles, his hand not leaving my back, and just as I told Laurel, I slow my steps to feel the side of his body along mine. He smells so nice. Not a heavy scented cologne, but soap and his natural scent. The scent I would love to make into a candle one day.

“Remind me to thank her.”

There’s a makeshift bar with two kegs on either side and two bartenders behind the bar, a stocked table behind them to make drinks.

“Did your dad tell you why they started doing the bar?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah, Jude said Dad insisted on it a couple of years ago because of the high school kids’ drinking getting out of hand. Remember how we used to steal beers from the coolers?”

“I do. They caught on, I guess.” I chuckle. “I’ll just have a beer,” I tell the bartender.

---