Page 32 of The Last Dance

‘Ha! That could be years.’

I frown. ‘You could give me a little bit of hope?’

She shakes her head. ‘Remember, I might be willing to forgive you but I’m still mad.’

‘How could I forget?’ I sip my beer with a roll of my eyes.

‘So.’ Ben and Noah walk back over. ‘This is Noah Whatley, Ambri’s personal bodyguard, aka the boyfriend.’

I raise an eyebrow at Ben, wondering what exactly that was supposed to mean.

‘Nice to finally meet you.’ Noah extends his hand my direction.

‘Likewise.’ I shake his hand, firmly. He gives it right back. He must know the entire story and he’s not impressed. You and me both, buddy.

‘Did you know that our seven-year anniversary is coming up?’ Claire changes the subject.

‘I did know. I’m glad to see you guys have made it this far.’ I lift my beer as a toast.

‘Of course, we have! We’re lifers.’ Claire gives Ben a quick peck on the lips.

‘That’s right, we’re not only serving the same life sentence, we’re sharing a cell.’ He winks, Claire smacking him on the arm and him ducking as if she beats him.

‘Life sentence? You have it pretty good if you’re a prisoner…’

‘Only a prisoner of love, sugar.’ He pulls her against him, laying a sloppy kiss on her as she tries to escape, giggling the entire time.

‘Yeah, so if you aren’t into all this—’ Noah motions to Ben and Claire ‘—maybe we could be friends.’ He laughs.

‘I wasn’t sure I’d like you but that’s a good call.’

He clinks his beer against my own.

I have so many memories here with these guys. I glance around the room, stopping at a booth near the front windows. The last place I ever sat with Rory before she was admitted to the hospital for the last time. I stare over at the booth, almost able to see her sitting across from me. She had a lemon drop martini sitting in front of her and a smile on her face that I’ll never forget. A smile that didn’t say I have cancer and might not live. It was real joy on her face that day. I have to force myself to take a breath, finally looking away.

‘We’re gonna grab a table,’ Claire says, nudging me.

I nod. ‘Meet you over there. I’m gonna text Karmen and see how things are going.’ I make my way outside. I’m not really going to text Karmen, I’m sure her and Ambri are just fine. Really, I just needed to breathe through the memories that are all around me.

I look over and even though I know she’s not really there, I see Rory standing next to me.

This is why I left. This is why I couldn’t keep on the way I was. She was always there when I needed exactly the opposite. I thought hallucinations only happened when you did acid, but my therapist said that my feeling like I’m seeing her is actually some kind of coping mechanism. My head’s way of dealing with the grief.

I look down at the ground, closing my eyes before looking back over at her. I open my eyes and she’s gone again.

I glance across the street when I hear the doors to the record shop open. Ambri and I used to spend hours in that store, going through every single record. It’s been so long since we did that.

*

‘I got you something for your birthday.’ I stop in front of the building’s entry, blocking Ambri from going in ahead of me. ‘It just came in. Interested in finding out what it is?’

She laughs. ‘Um… considering we’re standing in front of one of your favorite places, I’m gonna guess it’s something to do with music? Maybe a record, since you’re kind of obsessed with them right now.’

‘You think you know me so well, don’t you?’ I ask, pulling the door open for her.

‘Yeah, you really need a little more mystery.’ She grins as she passes me walking into the record store.

‘I’ll work on that.’ I roll my eyes. She follows me to the front counter.

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