Page 66 of Never Kiss and Tell

“That makes two of us,” I grumble.

I take my tray of food and deliver it to the right table, all the while mentally preparing myself to step into the lion’s den. AsI near the girls, I hear them all giggle and I get flashbacks from middle school of all the popular girls that used to be mean to me because I had braces.

“Hi, how are we doing?” I ask the table as I step up to it and for a moment, they all ignore me, continuing their conversation like I didn’t say a word.

I must be invisible today.

I wait for a second, but when the girls still don’t acknowledge me, I clear my throat and try again.

“Is anyone ready to order?”

The table falls silent and four sets of perfectly placed eyelashes turn to stare at me.

“Oh, Bailey,” Priscilla says in a sweet, venomous southern accent. “I forgot you were here.”

I’m sure you did, I think dryly.

“Yep, I’m here.” I’ve only ever seen Priscilla in pictures, so I really don’t have anything to judge her on but the stories Andi told me. Well, and the way she screamed that night Charlie brought her home. I’ve always been a firm believer in there being two sides to every story, so maybe I should try to be nice. Maybe she’s a nice girl and I’m being an asshole for no reason.

“I want a glass of champagne,” one of the girls pipes up.

“I apologize. Unfortunately, we don’t carry that. The drink menu is underneath your regular one if you want to look for something else,” I say and another girl mocks me with an eye roll.

“Whatdoyou have?” Priscilla asks and I list off a few drinks I can think of off the top of my head. Marybeth probably has them memorized.

This doesn’t seem to please them because the girl who asked grumbles something under her breath. “Evian, then.”

Oh, great. More shit we don’t carry.

“We have Fiji, is that okay?”

There’s not even anything spectacular about Evian, but the name. It’s just overpriced tap water. These girls, though, do not seem to think so.

The girl scoffs, but Priscilla cuts her off. “We’ll take four, I guess. And can you tell me your vegan options?”

You know, if I’m getting sent back to California, I don’t even really need to stand here and listen to this. But I promised Charles and he’s not done anything but be a complete gentleman to me. Letting him down would be like letting down my own dad.

So, like a good waitress, I point out all the things on the menu that are vegan as warmth rises to my face. I can feel my temper holding on by a thread as these girls continue to interrupt me, mock me, and otherwise remind me of every reason why I hate going out with my mother and her friends.

“None of those sound good. What do you think?” Priscilla asks, putting me on the spot.

“I don’t typically go the vegan route. If you want my opinion, our burgers are really good.”

Priscilla’s eyes travel the length of my body, making me feel like I’m under a microscope.

“It might do you some good.”

Wow, okay. Fucking rude.

“I prefer myself this way, but thanks for the info,” I say, hoping my voice is calmer than I feel.

It’s then that Priscilla’s eyes fall to my ring finger.

“Oh, I thought you were engaged?” Priscilla says with mock sincerity.

“I ended it.”

“Oh, what happened?”

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