Page 27 of A Night to Remember

“Hey, little bro,” he says. “Lucy’s at a bachelorette party in Jeff City this weekend and the kids are having a sleepover at Mom and Dad’s. I’m going to Mickey’s tonight with Ryan. What do you say we try to find you a rebound girl? Put that bitch Gretchen out of your mind?”

I would rather twist a thousand crepe-paper streamers for Hungry Hearts than try to talk to women with Adam breathing down my neck. And the woman that I’m actually interested in is unlikely to be there.Stay on his good side,stay on his good side, I think to myself.

“Sure,” I reply, faking a smile. “Sounds great.”

Later that night,Adam, Ryan and I have a beer at his place before piling into Adam’s Mercedes and heading out on the town.

Ryan graduated with Adam and is—surprise!—another member of one of the fifteen families. His parents are physicians and are on the board of trustees of Kentwood Memorial Hospital, but fortunately for me, he has no unmarried sisters. We never really got along when we were younger, but he’s mellowed out some. He’ll never be my best friend, but he can be an okay guy to have a beer with.

We pull up to Mickey’s around 9:00. It might be early for a big city, but in Kentwood, the night is already in full swing. The dance floor is crowded and music blasts from speakers set up near the back.

I find us a wobbly high top table while Ryan gets us a round of drinks. Adam leans back on his stool, surveying the crowd. He’s in full “bachelor mode” now, checking out the girls. For his little brother, of course. I let myself study him for a second. Faint lines are beginning to appear around his eyes and mouth and there are a few gray hairs at his temples, even though he’s only 30. Adam has always approached everything in life with a kind of angry intensity and I wonder, not for the first time, if I have ever seen him actually relax. What does he think would happen if he stopped trying to control everything around him?

He catches me looking at him and redirects my gaze to a petite brunette who is dancing energetically with her friends.

“Look at that ass,” he mouths to me over the music.

I mentally roll my eyes, but nevertheless nod, trying to play along.

Ryan puts a Bud Light and a shot of Jim Beam in front of each of us. Adam stands to make a toast.

“To my little brother,” he says. “May he get laid soon, so I don’t have to see his sad face all the time.”May Kayla Johnson agree to have dinner with me, I think with an inward smile.

“Thanks, guys. Let’s have a good time tonight,” I say.

“That’s the spirit,” replies Adam.

We down our shots. The liquor burns in my throat, but it’s a good burn. I instantly start to feel more confident, and wonder how soon I can escape to take another crack at that text message.

Adam slams his shot glass onto the table and burps. “It’s pathetic that you two losers are the only people I could get to come out tonight. Brandon said hemightshow up, but only if he and Chrissie can convince their kid to go to bed at a decent hour. Weak.”

Ryan nods. “Yeah, it’s just not the same since everyone started having kids. I texted Zach, but Emily’s due any day now, so she’s basically got him on house arrest.”

I perk up at the mention of Zach and Emily. She’s Gretchen’s older sister; I had no idea she was pregnant. I feel a twinge at the thought that I could have been an uncle to this baby, but now will be nothing. And have Gretchen and I really been broken up long enough for someone to gestate an entire human? Adam and Paul are right—I reallydoneed to get back out there.

I halfheartedly scan the crowd and startle when I spot a familiar face.

Kayla of all people is leaning against the bar with Allison Ambrose, the girl she always hung around with in high school. I knew Allison a little, but was mostly just aware of her as Kayla’s friend. Seeing the two of them together makes me feel like no time has passed. Allison is dressed to the nines like she always was, whereas Kayla is wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen her with her hair down. It flows down her back, straight and soft, and her t-shirt is tight in all the right places.

I force myself to look away to avoid attracting Adam’s attention. I know better than to approach her in front of my brother and pray that she remembers him well enough to stay clear. He doesn’t know I’ve been going over to her place. I’ve told Mom and Dad, vaguely, that I’ve been going “out,” and they’vebeen too wrapped up in work and Hungry Hearts to pay much attention. I steal a glance back in her direction. Now it seems like she’s looking atme.

“Hey, who’s that tall dude with Allison Ambrose?” I hear Ryan say.

Oh, God. NowbothAdam and Ryan are looking at Allison and Kayla. Adam furrows his brow.

“Not sure… I heard a rumor that she hooked up with some history professor from Benton State. Maybe that’s the guy.”

“She’s dating herhistory professor?” Ryan snorts incredulously. “Isn’t that, like, illegal?”

“No, you idiot, she’s got to be at least 26. But I bet she got an A in his class.” Adam grins unpleasantly.

“Well, if I were you, Gabe, I’d go see how serious it is. Allison was always real friendly in high school, if you catch my meaning.”

I do. I do, and I hate him, and I want to leave before…

“I think Gabe might prefer Kayla Johnson, but I’ve tried to warn him against getting snared byher, if he doesn’t want to end up in a trailer park,” Adam smirks.

“Oh, yeah, man, stay away from that. I mean, she gets herself a fancy degree but then ends up working as awaitress? She’d just drag you down.”

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