Page 17 of Wrecked
A tear slips down my cheek as I walk toward the restaurant. I didn’t even realize I was crying, and of course I didn’t bring backup mascara with me. I’ll have to blame it on allergies if anyone asks. I open the restaurant door and I see Katie waving her arm from the table she’s sitting at. She stands up, meeting me halfway.
Here we go.
“Hey Els! You look so nice. Any reason in particular?” she says, lowering her voice, giving me a wink as she walks back toward her seat.
“You remember Dimi, right? Dimi, my sister Ellie. I think you’ve met a few times.”
Dimitri stands up from his seat and pulls out my chair. He smells nice. Really nice.
“Of course. I couldn’t forget if I tried,” he says, giving me a genuine smile. He takes my hand, helping me sit. I smile back and thank him.
We have a round table, and I’m sitting between Nate and Dimitri—because of course I am. I should pull out my phone and schedule a massage because I already know this is going to be a tense evening.
“You look beautiful,” Dimitri leans down to whisper in my ear before taking his seat again.
I can’t help the blush that creeps up my neck and darkens my cheeks.
“Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say,” I say, then startle at the sound of glass slamming against the table. I look up and see Katie staring at Nate in shock.
“Nathan, what the hell was that?” she chastises.
“Sorry. Condensation…the glass slipped,” he grunts, staring directly at me.
I clear my throat. “Nathan. I was going to say hi next. Noneed to cause a scene,” I joke, hoping to ease the awkward tension.
“Pip,” he responds, challenging me.
“Pip?” Dimitri questions.
“Now that you mention it, I have been meaning to ask about that. Whydoyou call her Pip? I’ve heard it a lot since we moved back home,” Katie inquires, adding more pieces to her puzzle.
Nate slowly shifts his gaze back to Katie. “It was my nickname for her in high school. Pipsqueak.”
She huffs out a small laugh. “Well, no wonder she refuses to get along with you. What an awful nickname. Sorry for doubting your feelings, Els,” she says, still snickering. It’s fake. Her laugh, her teasing. She’s arranging the pieces and forming a picture in her head.
“I think if I knew you in high school, I’d have a much different nickname for you,” Dimitri teases, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his kind smile.
“Oh yeah? What would you call me?” I ask in a sultry voice, attempting to flirt back.
“A number of things come to mind. Beautiful, being the main one. But I probably would have been calling you ‘baby’ because there is no way I wouldn’t have been dating you.” He’s not arrogant, he’s confident…and I kind of like it.
“What makes you think I would have wanted to date you?” I grin, raising an eyebrow.
“Please,” he jokes, “I was captain of the football team. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t want to date me.” He rolls his eyes dramatically, like my question was ridiculous.
“Mm, I wasn’t really into jocks, sorry,” I tease back.
“That right? Nathan…you two went to school together. Was Ellie into jocks?” he asks, keeping his eyes locked on mine, an adoring smile on his face.
I wait several seconds, but there is still no response. I lookover and see Nate glaring at me. If my sister’s expression is anything to go by, she sees it too.
“I don’t know who Ellie wasinto,” he says, a shit-eating grin on his face. “I know who was inher,though.” He stares at me as if he’s challenging me to ask who. I’m not even mad at his comment. I’m pissed that he’s doing this in front of Katie.
“Nathan! What the hell has gotten into you?” Katie demands, her face a picture of hurt and anger.
“Nathan, man. That was uncalled for. She’s your sister-in-law, dude.”
“She’s not my sister-in-law,dude.” He looks over to me, his eyes full of regret. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Ellie. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything. Please tell me you know that.”
