Page 113 of Keep My Heart
‘Lyndsay, I don’t want to talk about this. It’s the past, and I’m with you, and you’re the only woman I want to think about.’
I rest my head on his chest as the song nears the end, closing my eyes as we sway side-to-side.
‘Hey, Lyndsay,’ a guy says.
I open my eyes and see Chris’ friend, Ted, beside us, dancing with a girl I don’t recognize. She looks at least ten years younger than him.
‘Hey, Ted,’ I say, feeling my shoulders tense up and a knot forming in my stomach. I knew Chris’ friends would be here, but I was hoping I could avoid them.
‘How’s it going?’ Nick says to him, turning me away from Ted, knowing I don’t want to talk to him.
‘Nick?’ Ted’s eyes widen as he looks Nick up and down. ‘Shit, you been working out?’
‘I spend a little time in the gym,’ Nick says, standing up straighter. ‘How about you? Still playing football? Hitting the weights every day?’
I try not to laugh. Ted’s gained about 50 pounds. He probably hasn’t worked out since high school.
‘Nah, I don’t do that shit anymore. I got a job. A kid to support.’
Ted got a girl pregnant a few years ago. He never even went out with her. He hooked up with her at a bar one night and a few months later found out he was going to be a dad. The little boy is six now and lives with his mom. Ted sees him a few times a month. Sometimes I wonder if Ted’s the one who convinced Chris to not have kids. He’s always complaining about being a parent.
‘So what are you doing with Lyndsay?’ Ted laughs. ‘Living out your teenage fantasy?’
‘We’re kind of busy here,’ Nick says, his jaw tightening. ‘Why don’t you move along?’
‘I’m just joking around. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘I’m getting a drink,’ the girl next to Ted says as she leaves.
I turn toward Ted and put my arm around Nick’s. ‘Nick and I are dating.’
‘Yeah, right,’ Ted says, assuming I’m joking.
‘We actually are,’ Nick says. ‘And I’d like to get back to our date, so if you could—’
‘Wait—does Chris know this?’ Ted directs the question to me.
‘Why would I tell Chris? We’re divorced.’
‘Yeah, I guess. Okay, well, I gotta go find Andrea.’ He takes off, then looks back at us and laughs.
‘I never liked that guy,’ Nick says.
‘He was okay back in high school, at least to me. I don’t really know him now. He’d call Chris once or twice a year to catch up, but that was it. They didn’t really stay friends.’
‘You want to go back to the table?’ Nick asks as the song ends.
‘Yeah.’
We return to our seats.
‘Have you recovered?’ I say to Tom, kidding with him.
‘Barely.’ He swigs his drink.
‘Hey!’ Diane scowls at him. ‘I spent an entire day freezing my butt off ice fishing with you last winter. You owe me!’
He turns to her and smiles. ‘I promise you, you’ll never have to ice fish with me again.’
