Page 13 of Somewhere Only We Know
My body coils like a snake ready to strike when the chair next to me now holds a body I know quite intimately. And that familiar cologne mixed with his natural body scent wafts towards me. I do my best to ignore him and focus on my new friend's love story.
“Did he keep using his sister as an excuse?” Kamryn asks.
“Nope. His mom, then his aunt, then his grandma, and then his other aunt.”
“What? The women in my family are readers,” he claims and we all laugh at that. “Soph made me nervous.”
“You? Nervous?” Kam asks, baffled. Which is understandable because on the rare time I visited her, Chance was the class clown of their group.
He shakes his head and they share a look that can only be had from years of knowing one another. “I was never nervous because Liam always made the jokes to ease the tension.”
“That he did.”
Despite Kamryn being best friends with Liam, he and I never had that brother-sister relationship that some might think. Liam was practically a stranger to me. And I’m sure it wasn't on purpose. But once him and Kamryn got together, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Plus, they had James and Emily to do couple things with. So I never truly experienced his fun personality like Chance and Kamryn reminisce about. Mainly because I was locked in Nate-land. It was the safest place for me to be. So I kept to myself the majority of the time. And I liked my life like that.
I look over at Nate from the corner of my eye and see him with his elbows on his knees, looking into his glass of beer. His corded forearms are a beautiful brown ochre decorated with floral prints and an older looking digital camera captured. His wrist is decorated with an expensive looking watch and a gold bracelet. Simple and understated. He shifts my way and I look back towards the group.
“But anyways, after the fifth trip to the bookstore I finally asked her out.” Chance says and looks at Sophie with the gentlest of eyes.
“Fifth?” Bryce asks with humor.
“Yep.” Chance follows that up with wrapping his arms around Sophie. “She was wearing this light yellow dress that dipped low in the front. And when I finally got the courage to speak to her, I called her Belle.”
“So, the nickname makes sense,” Bryce says as he watches them with fascination.
“Exactly. And then I promised to follow him anywhere,” Sophie finishes.
“When’s the wedding?” I ask and don’t miss Nate turning his face in my direction. Does my voice affect him as much as his affects me?
Sophie leans into Chance’s side and they share a look. “We just got engaged a few months ago but were thinking next November with a joint bachelor and bachelorette party after the season ends.”
“Well, if you need a wedding dress, I’ve always wanted to make one,” Kamryn offers.
Sophie’s squeal is piercing enough that I plug my ears and I don’t miss anyone else’s covering of their ears.
“Damn, Sophie.” Chance mutters and wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her back into his side.
“Sorry,” she announces. “But a dress designed by THE Kamryn Brooks is every girl's dream.”
She’s not wrong. It took considerable effort to keep my sister from making her own wedding dress and it’s something she recently dipped her toes into to offer to other brides. While wedding dresses aren’t her brand’s main focus, I can see the wheels turning in her fashion designer brain just ready to tackle something else.
“I’d be happy to do it.”
Bryce sighs. “Since we’re on the topic of love, you all can help us out with Nate and his love dilemma.”
I chose the wrong moment to take a sip as I choke on my beer and continue to cough to clear my throat.
“Are you okay?” Kam asks.
“Yeah,” I wheeze out and grab a napkin from the table to wipe my chin. “It just went down the wrong tube.”
Kamryn rubs my back and looks around me to look at Nate. “Love dilemma?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” he says and tries to dismiss her. But I don’t miss how the grip on his glass has gotten tighter or the clench in his jaw.
“Oh, come on,” Bryce starts.
I for one want to sink through the floor if I know where this is going to go.
