Sin City Baby

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said, a smile on his lips. “Maybe I should get her number next time.”

“Uh huh. Go for it,” I taunted. “See if I care.”

“You two,” Gabe said, shaking his head – he was the only one not smiling. “Just ask her out already, Jared. I'm not stopping you.”

The table grew silent and a little bit awkward and tense again. Gabe certainly knew how to bring the mood down. Grayson picked up his straw wrapper and tossed it at me, making everyone chuckle again.

“Look, you've taught him bad habits, Jared,” I said.

“I bet he learned it from you first,” he shot back.

Gabe slammed his napkin down on the table and pushed his seat back, the legs squealing across the floor loudly. Without saying a word, he walked off, heading back into the restaurant, leaving the rest of us to stare after him in shock.

“What got into him?” I asked.

Evan shrugged, but wouldn't meet my gaze. Jared wouldn't either.

“Seriously?” I asked, looking between the two of them. “What's going on, you guys?”

No one said anything.

“Fine,” I said, tossing my own napkin on the table. “Keep an eye on Grayson. I'll be right back. If you're not going to give me answers, I'll get them myself.”

I stormed into the restaurant, looking for any sign of Gabe. When I didn't see him, I walked back toward the restrooms. Standing before the men's room I knocked gently on the door before shouting through it.

“I'm coming in,” to warn any guys who might be standing at the urinals.

Thankfully, when I walked in, there was no one else in there.

No one but Gabe.

He wasn't using the urinal or in a stall. Thankfully. He was standing over the sink, leaning on his arms, looking into the mirror before him. When he saw my reflection in the mirror, he turned around quickly, the expression on his face a mix of anger and something else. Something I couldn't quite identify.

“Jesus, Hadley,” he said, his voice low and irritated. “This is the men's room.”

In the past, I might have teased him about how there were no men in sight, but his ego was obviously hurt as it was, and he obviously wasn't in the mood to play. So, I decided to avoid any and all jokes. I flipped the lock on the door to make sure we had a little privacy and weren't interrupted. Not, at least, until we had a chance to talk. There was obviously something he needed to get off his chest – and God knew, I had some things to say.

“Now it's our room,” I said. “Talk to me, Gabe. What was that about back there? What's on your mind? Because there's obviously something you want to say.”

He leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms in front of him. In his blue polo shirt and jeans, he looked like a normal, everyday kind of guy. He certainly didn't look like a multi-millionaire CEO. To me, he just looked like Gabriel Walker, the man I swore I'd marry one day. The man I loved, once upon a time.

I wanted to believe that man was still in there, somewhere deep down, under all the baggage and hurt feelings he was obviously carrying around.

“I'm just having trouble pretending like everything is all hunky dory,” he said dryly. “Because it's not, Hadley. It's really not.”

“Excuse me for wanting to hang out with my friends,” I said.

“We were more than just friends, Hadley,” he said. “Way more than that. And you damn well know it.”

“We were,” I said, my voice cracking with each word. “But if either one of us has a legitimate reason to be pissed about what happened the past, it's me.”

Gabe scoffed, making my bite off my words, and shook his head in disbelief.

“What? You don't agree?” I asked.

I crossed my arms too, mirroring him. The old hurts and anger – emotions I thought I'd long since buried – rising up within me again.

“No, I don't. I don't agree at all,” he says. “I didn't run off and marry your best friend.”