Page 252 of The Perfect Spiral
“Andy!” I hiss, lobbing a balled-up napkin at her.
“Wait a minute! What am I missing?” Sam holds her hands out in front of her, drawing our attention back to her. “Did you and Knox… you know…”
I rest my head on an open palm, bracing myself for the inevitable. I see Hannah’s lips press into a tight line, as if she’strying to keep the secret. But I know better. I give her two minutes before she spills everything.
If she doesn’t, Andy certainly will.
“Alex! Spill it! Did Knox go down on you?” Sam prods, gripping my upper arm. Her mouth hangs open in anticipation.
“Yes! Yes, he did! The night before the fitting when he called her beautiful in front of everyone! He went down on her in the pantry,” Hannah blurts out.
She claps her hands over her mouth, mumbling an “I’m sorry.” She didn’t even last two minutes. I gave her too much credit.
“WHAT! And you kept that detail from me?! What the hell, Alex!” She smacks my arm, earning a glare and a retaliatory smack from me.
“It’s not a big deal… We’re both over it,” I shrug, taking a gulp of the liquid courage Hannah had bought. I don’t know what it is, but it tastes good. It’s strong.
“Not a big deal?! Are you kidding me! Hang on, let me process this!... Was he good?” I smile at the memory but quickly shake it off. I nod in reply, maintaining my best poker face.
“Oh my god…” she whispers. “Oh my god…” she repeats, and my best friends lean in, their hands reaching out to me while I sit there, utterly confused.
My eyes dart around to each of them, waiting for someone to break the silence.
“Oh my god, what?” I ask, feeling my sister’s touch on my arm.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sam. I never liked him and I never will. It was a fling, nothing more. End of story. I’ve moved on.”
“You’re lying, Alex!” She pushes my buttons once more.
“No, I’m not, Sam. I’m over it, and so is he. Let me make this crystal clear. I. Was. A. Fling. To. Him. And. He. Was. To. Me.Understand?
Okay, moving on,” I tell her slowly, hoping she’ll finally get it through her thick skull that I meant nothing to him.
“I think you meant more to him, sis. You’ve always meant more to him than you think. As much as I wanted to castrate him for getting back with that witch, I can still see it.
I think he more than likes you—”
“Let me stop you right there. If I meant more to him than any other girl he’s been with, why aren’t we together, huh? Yeah, so save your sermon, Sam. He doesn’t like me enough to be with me…”
Leaving them all speechless, they knew I was right. He didn’t like me enough to be with me, and that’s something I have to learn to accept and move on from.
It’s exhausting thinking about it all the time. I’ve done my share of crying over him. It’s time to move on.
Andy swiftly changes the topic, and the lighthearted banter picks up again, leaving the brief downward spiral about me and Knox behind.
Drinks are flowing, and I watch Lauren dancing with different guys, flirting with them. We’re all sitting in the booth together, and I see her chatting with a guy at the bar.
I make brief eye contact with him a few times, but quickly return my attention to the conversation at the table. We’re filling Andy in on the many embarrassing stories about Kyle. The one where he thought his little friend downstairs was a worm that would forever be stuck to him when he was three. Sam was the mastermind behind that one.
“Well, I can safely tell you that it looks like a—”
“Stop!!” Sam, Hannah, and I scream, covering our ears. No onewants to hear about their brother’s penis. Ever! Andy starts to giggle.
My eyes scan the room and lock with the attractive guy Lauren is talking to. He smiles at me, and I return the gesture. Blonde hair, blue shirt, and beige slacks.
His body is muscular, and he looks like he hits the gym regularly. He catches the bartender’s attention and orders something, making Lauren bat her eyelashes at him. He’s probably buying her a drink.
“Want to do one more shot and then head back and order some food to the hotel room? Hey, Zara!” Andy suggests, and we all nod in agreement.
