Page 101 of Old Acquaintances

“I’m sorry,” I insisted. “I don’t want you to be mad at me on your birthday.”

“Then why did you come?”

“Because I should have been invited!”

“This trip wasn’t about you. We were going to hang out when I got home.”

I insisted, “That doesn’t make sense. Why couldn’t I have been here with all of your other friends?”

Johnny clawed at his scalp. “Because I didn’t want you around Tucker! Lately, when we’re together, it doesn’t feel like we’re all friends anymore. I feel like a third wheel.” He crossed his arms. “Go ahead, sleep with him if that’s what you want, but everything’s going to be different after that.”

“No, it won’t,” I argued.

He spit, “How do you know that?”

I didn’t mean for my tone to give it away, maybe it was my facial expression or my silence that clinched it, but Johnny immediately understood. I saw it in the way he stepped backward and curved his lips down in disgust.

Mortification rippled through me. My oldest friend might have been imagining me having sex with his oldest friend and it probably tainted every memory he had of the three of us. I didn’t want him to know. More than anyone, I didn’t want Johnny to find out.

A room door shut, and Tucker and Ritchie returned, laughing, a case of beer and a bottle of whiskey in hand. Tucker stopped when Johnny turned around. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and I felt panicky, wanted to rip off this dress and go stand in the cold.

Johnny took a few steps and punched Tucker in the face.

“Oh my God!” I screamed.

Serena gasped. “What was that all about?!”

Tucker fell against the wall, the bottle rolling onto the carpet.

Johnny growled, “You promised me this one thing. The only thing I ever asked you not to do. And you did it.”

Tucker’s eyes opened slowly. His left cheekbone was already pink. He licked his lips and looked at me. “I know.”

“You’re going to ruin everything.” Johnny stormed off into his room.

Serena said, “I’m going to grab some snow or ice for your face, Tuck.”

Tucker had slid down to the ground, so I crouched down beside him while he touched the spot and winced.

“I’m sorry,” I whined. “I didn’t tell him, he just kind of figured it out.”

“It’s okay,” he sighed.

I asked, “What exactly did you promise him you wouldn’tdo?”

I backed up as he started to stand. He exhaled, head tipped against the wall, and looked at Ritchie and Olivia who stood, uncomfortable in front of their hotel room. “Screw it up between the three of us.”

“It’s not okay, this is my fault, you didn’t do anything!”

“Yes, I did.” He squinted. “And it started a long time ago. I had this coming.”

Serena rushed down the hallway with a bag of ice she must have gotten at the bar. I took it and gestured to our room, “I’m gonna take him – ”

“Yeah.” She pointed to where Johnny was hiding. “I’m going to…”

We dispersed and I sat Tucker down on a chair in the corner of my room. I held the ice to his face and said, “You’re gonna have quite the shiner tomorrow.”

“I think gonna have quite the shiner inten minutes.”

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