Page 11 of Devour

“Sorry, I—”

I put my elbow on the table and turned in the booth to face him with another smirk.

Eli inhaled and did a mental one-eighty all on his own. “You know what? No, I’m not sorry. I’m pissed. And if you had any idea why, you’d be, too.”

I slow-clapped for him.

Ash decided to return just then. When he saw me in his seat, he raised a brow, but sank into the space beside his sister. Without a word, he lifted the plate with his burger and set it in front of his new spot. Funny how different he acted around his big sis. Also, kind of sad, really.

“And what took you so long?” Ember asked him.

Ash shrugged and reached for the ketchup.

Jealousy still lingered around him, but mostly he shifted to discouragement. Even though I met Em first, I liked Ash. He didn’t hold a candle to my hubby, but still. I liked the guy well enough. And of the many things I was, sadistic I was not. Schadenfreude slowly encompassed Ember at the change to his demeanor. Not so surprising to see her relish in his dejection. She was still holding out for Eli, and onto a lot more resentment toward her brother than she let on. Interesting.

“Hey, Em, would you be mad if Eli and I went out?” I asked her with a smile.

She coughed into her napkin and glared at me. Yummy. “Should I be?”

“Why would you be?” Eli jumped to my defense. Pleasantly unexpected.

Em put the brakes on her argument and took a few very measured steps back. “Eli, you’ve been giving everyone the same song and dance since freshman year. As your friend, I don’t want you to forget what your goals are.”

“Even if he asked you out instead?” I asked with a knowing grin.

“Even if he asked me out,” she repeated. “Eli was the first friend I made at school, and I’ll always be his friend first. That includes supporting his decisions.”

“Right, so you wouldn’t care if Ash went out with him,” I concluded with a wicked smile.

“He wouldn’t.” She snorted and went back to pulling apart her poutine.

“Wait, why’s that?” Ash finally showed some backbone, but I doubted it would last.

“Do you want to go out with him?”

“No.” Called it.

“That’s why.”

“You do realize I’m sitting right here,” Eli said, voice steadily rising.

“If you’re going to get mad, take it out on the guy stirring the shit pot,” Ash said, unabashedly glaring at me.

“Hey,” Eli barked. And holy hell, his friends jumped in their seats. “Of the three of you, he’s not the friend who got me drunk and ditched me.” Em lowered her eyes and Ash continued picking at his food. “Yeah, I haven’t forgotten about that. And you two were so busy being mad at me, neither of you apologized.”

“Well, what did you expect?” Em huffed. Oh no. She was going to go there. I could hear her silently screaming it. Why him? Why not me? “Of course, I brought my brother home when he asked me. You freaked him out. You freaked us both out. I know you were drunk, but that was so not like you.”

Eli rolled his lips and bit his tongue. Em really shouldn’t make such a bold claim when she didn’t know quite a few things about her best friend, especially since he intentionally kept her in the dark. Sure, he might seem prudish in comparison, but he was no altar boy. That being said, Em had been bothered less by Eli’s actions and more that it involved her brother.

Despite not knowing any of this, Em still hit the nail on the head. Eli would never. He wasn’t someone who’d lock lips with anyone in a bar. He’d never shown any interest in Ash, either. Which made Em’s display of cognitive dissonance all the more impressive and her anger over a perceived betrayal even more displaced.

“Is that what happened?” If hubby could count on me for one thing, it was saying the unsaid, regardless of how appropriate it might be.

“I know you dared him,” Em quickly dismissed.

“Did I? I must’ve forgotten that part.”

In the ensuing silence, I could tell Em got it. Anger. Betrayal—a whole helping and a half. Just a smidge of sadness, too. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t approve of lying and I wasn’t too happy with Ash for leaving my hubby holding the bag.

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