Page 24 of Awakened
“We were drunk, watchingThe Howling. Well, I was watchingThe Howling, and he was watching me. We were goofing around,and then boom, kisstown. Shirts came off, hands roamed, and then Seth called.” I looked down at my lap. “And I answered.”
“No! You didn’t stop kissing that hot-ass man to answer the phone. What the hell is wrong with you?” Sarah slapped my blanket-covered legs.
“Ow, stop it.” I weakly shoved her hands away.
She glared but kept her hands to herself.
“I had to. I’d been avoiding him since Monday, you know, the great text debacle and all.” I burned with embarrassment at the memory of that fiasco. Falling back into my pillows, I covered my flushed face.
Sarah lay down next to me. “What did he say?”
I peeked between my fingers. “Seth or Zach?”
“Both, I guess.”
I sighed, dropping my arms to the side. “Seth said he was checking in since he hadn’t heard from me. It was two in the morning, so he must have been drinking. He told me he missed me.” I bit the inside of my cheek, annoyed at how my voice caught. “Zach noticed the change in my mood and left after promising a rain check.”
Sarah didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Finally, she turned onto her side and faced me. “Be honest. Is there something between you and Seth? It’s weird that you would stop a hot hookup for a friend’s late-night call. Or that you sent him the picture you did on Monday. What’s really going on?”
Not being open and honest with your friends can certainly bite you in the ass. I never flat-out lied to Sarah, although I would often omit, but if she asked, I dished.
“Honestly? I think I have some feelings for Seth, but I don’t know what those are. I care about him. He makes me laugh, is my friend, and something kept me from hooking up with Zach after hearing him say he missed me.”
“And nothing’s ever happened?”
“There was one kiss years ago, but he didn’t kiss me back. Itwas when Aiden broke up with me during our freshman year. Seth stopped anything from happening.”
Sarah sat up and stared down at me wide-eyed. “A kiss. Why didn’t you tell Em and me?” She frowned, her hand going to her chest.
“I-I just couldn’t. I was embarrassed and confused. Aiden and I got back together the next day. I figured there was no point getting Seth in trouble when he didn’t even kiss me back.”
Sarah’s anger melted into disbelief. “I can’t believe he didn’t kiss you back. You’re fucking hot!”
“Oh, don’t worry, he knows I am.” I chuckled. “He admitted he was attracted to me. But that was so long ago. I am sure there’s nothing there on his side anymore.”
Sarah smiled in a menacing way. “We’ll see.” She hopped off the bed and went to the door. “Get ready. We need to leave in an hour if we are going to make the Amazon Pack meeting.”
After a long drive to St. Clair, we pulled up to a large house. Marie owned a breathtaking piece of property along the river. Tight dirt and gravel roads wound through the backwoods until the dense trees opened up to a fantastic venue space.
We heard loud voices and laughter as soon as we got out of the car. Coming around the side of the house, we walked into the coolest backyard I’d ever seen. The river ended in a lake only a hundred yards from the backdoor, and a massive wooden structure stood three stories above the deep water. Attached to the top was a zip line that ran to the bridge that connected the two banks. About fifty people, mostly women, were milling about, lounging on fold-up chairs, laughing and cheering as people jumped from the scaffolding into the river.
“You made it!” Marie hollered from the back deck, where she was flipping meat on a large grill.
Sarah waved wildly and then made a beeline for the sameredhead she had met at happy hour. I wandered over to Bonnie and Taylor, who were setting food on a long buffet-style table.
“Wow, this all looks amazing.” My stomach growled, begging me to dig in.
“Thanks! We only have one monthly get-together, so we try to make them an event,” Bonnie explained while dipping her finger into what looked to be a chocolate pie.
“Go ahead and fix yourself a plate. We’re going to eat first and discuss business after.” Marie handed me a thick paper plate and gestured to the long table.
“You’re speaking my language.” I loaded up with a pork steak, mustard potato salad, baked beans, mac ‘n’ cheese, and some cheesy potatoes. On the way to an empty patio table, I grabbed a beer. When I looked up after finishing the last bite, I was surprised the table was full.
“Welcome back to reality, Les,” Sarah said with a two-finger salute.
“That was the best pork steak of my life.” I sighed dramatically and reclined in my chair. Everyone at the table laughed and nodded.
They get it.
