Page 17 of Why Not Now?

“You’re not going to tell me what any of these are going to be?” I ask.

“Nope,” he says, taking a drink of his beer.

“I usually go out after work on Mondays and take pictures for my portfolio.”

He holds out his hand for the paper and I give it back to him. He checks his phone again and makes a few more marks on the page. When he returns it, he’s added the letter C to a few of the dates. “Bring your camera those days. You’ll get some good shots.”

I’m not sure what I’m going to say next because his front door opens without a knock and a group of people pile into his house, talking and laughing. My heart rate spikes as I remember I’m not just hanging out with Derek tonight. I’m hanging out with his friends. Who are my boss’ bosses.

What had I been thinking? This is a terrible idea.

Then I glance at Derek and remember how his offer to take me out to do fun things for Christmas had made me feel excited about something for the first time in almost nine years.

The first person to see me is the chef, Lis. She’s wearing a hoodie that’s way too big for her, blonde hair tied up in a long ponytail, the rainbow dye faded since the wedding. She grins at me, carrying a tray into the kitchen and shoving Derek aside to slide it into the oven, which he’s already preheated.

“Nice glasses,” she says to him. “Very distinguished.”

“Ava,” Spencer says as he follows Lis, opening the fridge to load in some more beer, keeping out one for himself. “I wondered if you would join us tonight.” He takes a wine glass from a cupboard without needing to search for it and pours a glass of white wine, handing it to Lis.

Derek straightens and pushes his glasses up on his nose, a gesture I remember from when we were young, and he was nervous. I wonder if it still means the same thing.

“Yeah,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned to the rest of you guys, Ava and I knew each other in high school.”

He says it with such nonchalance, as though our relationship had been little more than a friendship that had faded as we grew up instead of an all-consuming relationship that had exploded in anger, heartbreak, and loneliness.

Spencer turns to Derek, his grin fading a bit as he points to his eyes. Derek shakes his head. Neither man says a word, and Spencer follows Lis into the dining room.

Adalie comes into the kitchen next, her red hair held away from her face with a purple headband that matches her cute dress. She gives me a hug that I return with a bit of shock since we don’t know each other well. “It’s nice to see you again,” she says. Then she lets me go, grabs her own beer from the fridge, and turns to Derek, her head tilted to one side as she gives him an exasperated look.

He rolls his eyes. She laughs and hugs him before moving through the kitchen to the dining room where Lis and Spencer have already settled.

Last is Vic, who looks at Derek with concern.

“If you had a headache, you should have told us not to come,” she says.

He shakes his head. “I was tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. As soon as I took the contacts out, I felt better.”

She glares at him a moment, then points and says, “You’ll tell us when we’ve overstayed our welcome.”

He rolls his eyes again. “Everyone’s making a fuss. If I get tired, I’ll just go to bed. Now, get a beer. Go sit down.”

She turns her icy blue stare to me, expression softening. “Ava. It’s nice to see you.” She offers me a smile, grabs her own beer, and follows the rest of them into the dining room.

“Your friends are…” I begin.

“A lot. I know.” He grimaces. “I apologize in advance for anything they say, ask, or insinuate.”

“Should I not have come?” I twist the hem of my sweater around one finger.

“Of course you should have. They’re awesome. They’re just nosy as fuck.”

I find myself smiling at that. “Have you introduced girlfriends to them who have gotten scared off?” He gives me a funny look and I realize what I’ve said. “Not that I—I mean, I know we’re not—sugarsnaps.”

He snorts and turns me toward the dining room, his hands on my shoulders as he marches me in where everyone is already seated around his table, his black cat, Abyss, curled on Adalie’s lap.

Derek has a bunch of games stacked on the table and Lis is looking through them while Adalie tells a story about someone named Calista.

Derek takes a seat, and I sit between him and Spencer.

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