“How do you feel now?” I ask.
“Terrible,” she admits, her eyes glossing again. “Everything hurts, and I’m stiff as hell. I keep getting dizzy, and I feel super nauseous. The best time is when I’m sleeping.” She blinks. “Except for the nightmares.”
A long pause falls over us, and Skyler sits on the edge of the bed, wrapping her hand around Ashlei’s ankle. “So, talk to us. What does this mean?”
Ashlei sighs. “Well, short term, it means I miss some work and get to wear this lovely accessory for at least a couple months,” she says, gesturing to the monstrosity of a sling fixed to her shoulder and holding her arm. “Long term?” She shrugs. “Physical therapy, I guess.”
There’s a relieved sigh from all of us, and Cassie leans against the bars of the bed, brushing Ashlei’s hair from her face. “Well, that’s all good. I’m so happy it’s not worse.”
Ashlei nods and tries to smile, but her lips quiver again, and then tears slip free and slide down her cheeks even though she hastily wipes them away.
“Lei?” I ask, frowning as I sit on the other edge of the bed opposite Skyler.
She shakes her head, more tears falling as she furiously wipes them away. “No, you’re right. I’m lucky I’m alive. I’m lucky it wasn’t worse. It’s just…” Her face warps, and she looks at her lap instead of at any of us when she says, “I might not ever pole again.”
A violent silence suffocates us all, and our eyes jump around the room, because we know there’s nothing we could ever do or say to comfort her when that’s a real possibility.
Finally, I lean forward and fold my hand over hers, waiting until her eyes meet mine. “We’re here,” I say.
Because if nothing else, I know that one thing for sure.
“DOES IT FEEL WEIRD, being back on campus?” Skyler asks me as she delivers our drinks. She taps her clear plastic up against mine and then we both take a sip, grimacing in equal measure at the awful taste.
“Very,” I admit. “And the drinks suck.”
I make a gesture with my tongue and Skyler snort-laughs.
“We just make ‘em stronger here. Plus, it’s an Alpha Sig event. What do you expect?”
“I’ve become so spoiled by good martinis downtown.”
“Poor baby,” Skyler mocks with her bottom lip protruding.
I shove her on a laugh from both of us, and then we’re watching the stage as the next sorority takes over, ready to karaoke and go for the gold.
It’s been a hard couple of weeks. With work being bananas and finding out that my best friend is in the hospital, it’s been hard to find anything worth smiling over. I debated bailing on Kade a million times before tonight, but he’d given me my space since showing up at the condo that evening, and this was all he’d asked of me — that I come to his first big event as president.
He needs me, and I don’t want to let him down.
As if I’ve conjured him, Kade jogs up on stage, taking over the mic and introducing the sorority about to perform. He’s looking fine as hell tonight, his tattooed muscles popping out under his tight Alpha Sig shirt — a royal blue one made especially for the event tonight. He’s paired it with a light gray, flat-billed hat and matching Chubbies, and they’re just short enough to show his thigh definition.
He looks like Frat Boy Royalty, and I hate that it makes me so hot for him I have to fan my neck to keep from sweating.
I’m smiling like a loon as he does his bit as the emcee, and when he jogs off the stage again and the girls start singing, Skyler leans into me with her shoulder, shaking her head.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re so fucking smitten.”
I blush, but don’t deny it.
Skyler takes a sip of her drink before casually asking, “What about Jarrett?”
My smile slips like a sandal on a freshly mopped floor, and the joy I felt reverberating through me a moment before is doused instantly.
I sigh. “That is the question, isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe they both left you alone for the summer,” Skyler remarks. “Does he know you’re seeing Kade again?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you going to see him?”
I sigh, turning to face her. “Sky, I don’t know. Anything. Like, at all. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here and just trying to hold on. As soon as I know something… you’ll know. Okay?”
She grimaces. “Sorry. I was just trying to be a good friend and ask the right questions.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I tell her. “They are good questions,” I confess, turning back to the stage and taking a long pull from my cup. “I’m just not ready to answer them yet. Just like I’m sure you’re not ready to answer questions about Kip.”