Page 54 of My Vows Are Sealed

I groaned a little under my breath, hoping that Brendan wouldn’t notice. My shoulder was feeling better, but my rib was still healing, so getting jarred like that hurt. But I knew Alex hadn’t meant to hurt me and I didn’t want Brendan to start going all alpha male on him.

“She’s a better person than me too,” Brendan agreed, smiling at me. “I’m not that evolved. He’s an ass, and I’m just glad he’s getting called out on it.”

I sighed and turned around, sliding my arms around his waist. I needed a hug. A real hug. I’d only just gotten the okay from my mom to take the sling off today, and it was surprising how much I’d missed hugs, especially from him. Having to maneuver around my injured shoulder just wasn’t the same. It seemed like he felt the same way, because he immediately folded his arms around me and buried his head in my hair, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

“I’ve missed this,” he murmured. “Getting real hugs from you.”

I smiled and felt my cheeks heating with embarrassment. Thank goodness my face was already hidden by his chest.

“Me too,” I mumbled.

He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my head again.

“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth,” Alex chuckled.

Brendan snorted, but didn’t let go of me. “And it’s such a mystery why Amy wouldn’t go out with you.”

“She’s a spoiled brat,” he scoffed.

“So why’d you ask her out in the first place?” I asked, turning to look at him.

“Because he’s a dog,” Brendan snickered. “He’ll learn one day when he meets the right girl.”

“He talks a big game, but when he does meet the right girl, she’ll be the luckiest girl in the world,” Heather chuckled.

Alex looked away from us, turning toward Naomi and Mrs. Rhee. Maybe no one else caught it, but I noticed his gaze lingering on Naomi.

“Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled uncomfortably.

I knew Alex had pretty much been dating his way through the entire athletic department at Charleston High, so maybe I should have been uncomfortable seeing him looking at my friend that way. But the thing was, Heather was right. He might have had a few more ex-girlfriends than the average high school senior, but he had a good heart and I knew that he cared way too much about his friends here at church to ask them out if he wasn’t serious about them. And when he did meet the right girl, I knew he’d make her feel as special as Brendan made me feel. So, if that girl was Naomi, I was okay with that.

“Hey, Brendan, think you can give me a lift home tonight since my dad has to take out the trash?” he asked, effectively ending the conversation about his dating life.

“Yeah, of course,” Brendan told him. “You’re on my way home anyway.”

“All right, everyone, listen up!” Peter shouted.

Everyone in the group turned in the direction his voice had come from. He was standing in front of the bus with Marie and Mrs. Rhee on either side of him.

“I’m sorry about the sideshow a few minutes ago,” he started. “Sergeant Gleason is going to be escorting Ethan home, so we’re down a chaperone, but I’m sure we’ll manage. Now, we need to get moving, but I just want to go over a few ground rules with everyone before we leave. First, I don’t care who sits with who tonight. You donothave to abide by the seat number on your ticket. Just remember that when we’re out as a group like this, we’re representing Christ and we’re representing this church, so we need to make sure our actions reflect that. Second, you’re all young adults, and we’re going to treat you as such. You don’t have to ask for permission to leave the group to get a snack or go to the merchandise booth or the restroom, but for safety’s sake, wearegoing to ask that you use the buddy system. Don’t go anywhere without at least one other person with you. And third, if either Marie, Miss Hana, or myself give you any instruction, please be respectful and do as we say. We want this to be a fun evening for you guys, but it’s our job to keep all of you safe. Everyone clear?”

We all murmured some form of an agreement.

“Okay. Then let’s get this show on the road!” he exclaimed.

* * *

“Love Song” by Third Day was playing over the loudspeakers as we walked into the venue and found our seats, and I couldn’t help quietly singing along.

Even though I was with a bunch of people I knew, I still felt a little lost and out of my element because I’d never been to any event like this before. I was kind of glad that this was a smaller venue, because if it had been at a big arena, I would probably have been overwhelmed.

Peter and Marie had bought out two rows of seats for everyone, and they just told us to find seats wherever we wanted in the rows. I ended up next to Brendan, of course, but I was shocked when Naomi took the seat on the other side of me. I’d figured she would want to sit as far away from me as possible, especially when Brendan was in the vicinity.

“Hey,” I mumbled.

“Hey,” she chuckled weakly. “Kind of crazy about Ethan, huh? I mean, I knew he was a jerk, but I never thought he’d show up to youth group drunk.”

Gosh, there was so much she didn’t know because we’d drifted apart. Kate and Ashton both knew about what had gone down with me, Brendan, and Ethan at school, but there had never been a good time to tell Naomi about it because it just felt weird when she was being so distant. But that needed to change. I didn’t know if there was anything I could do to fix this rift between us, but I had to try. I didn’t want to lose one of my best friends just because I was involved with the guy she had a crush on.

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