Page 97 of Between the Blue
Scoffs sound around the table. “Cheap shot,” Ronan mutters before taking a drink along with just about every other player besides Luke.
I glance up at Ben, seeing that he is even taking a small sip from the whiskey glass he always has at Randall’s but, I swear, he never touches.
“Little Dixon,” Rhett nudges me.
“Okay,” I say, raising my water glass. “Never Have I Ever…been to Canada.”
Every person at the table, including Caroline, has to drink to that one.
“I see how we’re playing tonight,” Ragnar comments.
“You go,” I say to Rhett.
“Fine,” he agrees, tapping a finger to his lips as if he’s thinking hard about something. “Never have I ever been blonde.”
His eyes lock right on Caroline as she takes a sip from her glass, accompanied with a raise of her middle finger.
“What the hell, man?” Ragnar groans.
“Sorry, Rags. Collateral damage.” Rhett pats him on the shoulder before turning back to Caroline. “Your turn, Goldilocks. And make it a good one. No more easy jabs.”
“Sutton, I’m never easy. You should know that by now.”
Rhett’s tongue pushes into the side of his cheek, but Caroline isn’t paying attention to him any longer. She looks to go deep into thought for a moment, her lips pursing. “Okay,” she says, raising her martini glass. “Never Have I Ever…been in love.”
It goes quiet and stays that way for several moments. Caroline seems to have caught everyone off guard, no one even making a snide comment or chuckling. Only a couple of people start to take sips from their drinks, most of which being the few older married guys on the team.
I glance over at Rhett and find him stone still, his eyes on the table. They slowly raise to look at Caroline, but still, he doesn’t drink. And then, even more slowly, his gaze shifts across the table.
Right to Ben.
My head pulls back when I see him. His eyes are on the table too, just like Rhett’s just were, but there’s miles more depth to them.
It’s like he’s not even here. Like he’s in his own world, living– or, I suppose,reliving– an entirely different life. His glass is raised just slightly off the table, and I suddenly register that he’s gripping it so hard that his knuckles have gone white.
“Really? None of y’all have been in love before?” Caroline suddenly asks.
Ben’s gaze snaps up, locking directly on Rhett, making me tilt my head. Rhett gives the slightest shake of his head, so subtle that I never would have noticed it if I wasn’t so focused on him. He mouths something to Ben, his voice just barely a whisper.
“It’s okay.”
The word is out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Ben?”
The sound of glass slamming down on the table rings out. And Ben is on his feet. He comes barrelling around the side of the table in the direction of the back exit door.
“Hey. You good, man?” Rhett says, reaching out to stop him.
“Fuck this,” Ben grits, flying past him, sparing me one last glare before he heads for the door. He only gets halfway there, however, before he circles back for the bar, digging his wallet out of his pocket.
“Is he okay?” I ask Rhett.
He runs a hand through his hair. “He will be.”
When I glance back at the bar, Ben is dropping several bills into the bartender's hand and then immediately setting back on his path.
“I’ll be right back," I mumble, not to anyone in particular. “Restroom.”
I head in the direction of the restroom, rounding the corner and glancing back over towards the table. When I don’t see anyone looking after me, I make a run for it, pushing straight out the back door.
