Page 7 of The Last Dance

‘Come on now, girls…’ Ben lowers his voice. ‘You’re making him uncomfortable. He’s celibate, remember? He’ll be doing no panty-whispering any time soon.’

I casually flip him off. I never asked to be celibate. It was chosen for me. I’m not the guy who sleeps around with anyone who will let me. Neither is Ben, actually. He and Claire have been married nearly five years and they’ve been dating since high school. All his wild experience is hearsay from his crazy buddies at work. Despite his mouth he’s a really good guy and I wouldn’t wish him any other way.

Claire holds her drink in the air. ‘I think it’s about time to toast our college graduate and birthday girl.’

Ben and I both lift our beers. ‘To Ambri,’ I say, clinking my drink to hers.

Her cheeks flush as we all toast her. She is easily embarrassed. ‘It’s really not that big a deal. It’sjusta degree.’

‘And another trip around the sun,’ Claire adds in.

‘Which is days away,’ she says.

‘First a degree, then your dream job, next thing you know you’re more successful than the rest of us.’ Ben grins. ‘You know I’m right. I’malwaysright.’

‘Doubtful but thank you. I appreciate your enthusiasm. I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Your insanity somehow keeps me sane.’

We all laugh because she’s exactly right. Hanging out with the four of us you could get anything. ‘You’re gonna do great,’ I say. ‘You got this.’

Ambri’s a smart woman. She’s quick-witted, humble, funny, she always seems to know the right thing to say and she’s beautiful, inside and out. I’ve no doubt she’ll go so much farther than the rest of us.

‘That’s right, girl,get it!’ Ben laughs, downing the rest of his beer within a moment of clinking Ambri’s glass. I don’t know how he always knows how to lighten the mood, but he does and I’m thankful.

‘I need to use the ladies’ room.’ Claire stands from the table.

‘I’ll join you!’ Ambri says, nudging me to let her out. ‘But first…’ she points to the menu now on the table in front of her ‘… this, and this.’ She grins.

‘Got it,’ I say with a nod, standing as she slides out, only sitting down again as soon as she’s out of sight. ‘I might have done something weird tonight…’

‘Justtonight?’ Ben asks with a grunt.

‘Ambri got shoved into me upstairs and I might have held onto her a tad longer than would be considered normal.’

‘What do you mean? Like you held her down against her will?’

‘No…’ I laugh nervously as I shake my head. ‘We were close, I had my arm around her, I think I—’ I hesitate, rubbing the back of my neck like I’m in pain. I’m not. Not physically, that is. ‘I almost kissed her.’

Ben almost drops his nearly empty beer onto the table, catching it just before it hits.

‘What?’He lowers his voice, leaning across the table.

‘It’s that bad, huh?’

‘Notbad… but unexpected. Well – nottotallyunexpected.’

‘What’s that mean?’

‘That means you’ve been telling me for years you’ve never had a romantic feeling for Ambri, yet you practically spend every single second with her. You’re the only guy I know whose best friend is a woman. She’s the first person you talk to when you wake up and the last person you talk to before you go to sleep. It was bound to happen.’

A waiter comes over, taking my and Ambri’s order.

‘I don’t think it’s a good thing, though. Something inside me is telling me it’s wrong.’

‘Could that something be the ghost of your late wife?’ Ben lowers his chin my direction, giving me a concerned stare.

I nod, almost ashamed of myself. ‘Probably,’ I kind of groan out, dropping my head in my hands, trying to process the evening.

‘Why don’t you talk to her about it? Isn’t that what you guys do? Tell each other all your secrets. Like a couple of girlfriends?’

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