Page 40 of It Should Have Been Me

“Good,” I reply, trying not to let my voice give away the effect those words just had on me. “Because your hand shouldn’t be anywhere near there.”

“Oh, my God!” Dylan shouts. “I am the luckiest guy in the world. My fiancé is so hot!” He looks at her as if he’s totally enamored. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

“I’m sure you’re counting down the number of sleeps like a child before Christmas.” Peter laughs, actively trying not to cringe at Dylan’s declaration, and pops open a bottle of champagne. The white foam spills on the floor of the limo. He pours each of us a glass, handing it to us one by one. “To the future Mr. and Mrs. De Lorenzo,” he toasts, raising his glass.

“How about we start the night off with a drinking game?” Tommy says after gulping down his champagne. “Pete, did you bring the tequila?”

“Got it right here.” Peter retrieves a sealed bottle and a saltshaker from behind him, then opens the small bar fridge to take out a plate of sliced lime.

“Alright. So, I’m going to ask both of you a few questions. You get it wrong; you take a shot. You get it right, the rest of us take a shot.” He takes out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Dylan, you’ll go first. Okay, what is Isabella’s weirdest sex kink?”

Scott chuckles from beside me. “Diving right in there, Tommy. You’re not gonna even ease them into it? That’s going hard-core with no lube.”

“Lube is for sissies, Scotty.” He turns back to Isa. “And you better bite the pillow, bitch, because I am going in dry!” His attention shifts to Dylan again. “I’m waiting.”

“Um...I don’t know how to answer that,” he replies coyly. “Isabella and I haven’t had sex yet because...we’re waiting for marriage.”

“Dylan, nobody in this car believes that bullshit, and I would like to inform you that refusal to answer results in two shots.”

“Fine. It’s, uh...” Even in the dim light of the limo, his cheeks going three shades redder is noticeable. “It’s, uh, Brock...from... from Lawng Island.” He purposely thickens his New York accent to say that, though I’m not sure why. “I’m not explaining that to anyone, but that’s her kink. Nothing turns her on more than that.” He turns to give Isa a small nod. “Ain’t that right, sweetheart?”

The laughter that erupts from Isa is so high-pitched, it borders on a screech. Tommy and Dylan are canning themselves, and it seems like it’s an inside joke that only the three of them understand. Again, I feel the pinch of Tommy knowing this about her and not me. I don’t even think I’m jealous. I think I’m just upset because it feels like I’ve been replaced. My sister doesn’t need me anymore.

Tommy slaps Peter on the back. “Pete, pour us all a round. Dylan is absolutely right! It’s fucking Brock from Long Island.” He still can’t stop laughing. “You’re into some weird shit, babe.”

We drink our shots before Tommy continues with the game. “IzzyB, who is Dylan’s hall pass?”

“Oh! I know this one. Anna Kendrick.”

“Correct! Another round, Pete.”

Tommy moves swiftly along as we down the next shot of tequila. “Okay, Dylan, what was the first movie the two of you ever watched together?”

He thinks about it for a few seconds. “I think it was...The Matrix.”

“I wish it wasThe Matrix,” Isa snaps. “You forced me to watchThe Longest Ridewith you, don’t you remember? I wanted to watchTaken, but Dylan?” She abruptly stops mid-sentence as if she just realized something. She looks over at Dylan and, after a short, silent exchange, she gently squeezes his hand and carries on. “The dork insisted that we watchThe Longest Ride. I’ve never been so appalled in my whole life.”

“Is that a porn movie?” I ask. “At the very least, that sounds like the title of a sextape.”

“What?” Peter is shocked by this. “Dylan made you watch a porn movie? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“It’s not a porn movie,” she clarifies. “The title is deceptive. I would’ve even preferred a porn movie. No, this was a corny romance based on a Nicholas Sparks novel.”

“Ah.” Peter lets out a breath of relief, like everything is right in the world again. “That sounds like my boy.”

“Well, you got it wrong, Dylan, so you’re doing a body shot.” Tommy nestles the shot glass between Isa’s breasts.

“I don’t know how Dylan is okay with that,” Scott whispers from beside me. “I’d fucking kill a guy if he ever touched you like that.”

I want to correct him, tell him that he shouldn’t be speaking in the present tense because there is a man who touches me like that, but for some strange reason, I can’t get the words out.

Isa tilts her neck to the side and Dylan shakes a bit of salt. He licks the salt off her neck, grasping the shot glass from her breasts with his mouth, and then finishing it off with the slice of lime she’s gripping with her teeth.

Dylan takes a moment to kiss her, but Tommy is already moving on to the next question. “Alright, Izzy, what is the biggest heartbreak that Dylan still hasn’t gotten over?”

“Hmm...” She stares at Dylan for a moment as if the answer might be written in his expression. “Well, I think we’ve worked through a lot of our issues in therapy, so I don’t think it’s the heartbreak I caused...right?”

He nods to assure her it’s not.

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