The Favor

I sensed she thought the answer was a resounding “no.” It wasn’t surprising that Heather had assumed I wouldn’t be forthcoming about my past. She judged people by her own standards, and she wasn’t exactly the most honest person when it came to relationships; she wouldn’t hesitate to hold back any detail that wouldn’t give her the advantage. “Yes, I have,” I told her, almost smiling when her act faltered for just a moment.

She faked a sigh of relief. “Oh, good—I was worried I might have said too much.” She looked at Dane. “It was such a terrible time for her. And to think he dumped her over the phone.”

“Yes, I heard.” Dane turned to fully face me and pulled me flush against him, drawing us into our own private cocoon to make her feel shut out. “But I’m glad he was dumb enough to let you go, or you wouldn’t now be mine.” He lifted one of my salt-covered fingers and sucked it into his mouth, licking away the salt; warmth bloomed low in my stomach. “Actually, that’s not entirely true,” he added. “I would have lured you away from him somehow.”

“I’m not so easily lured,” I said.

“But I would have managed it,” he assured me, pitching his voice low. “Because what do I always get?”

“What you want.”

“Exactly, baby girl.” He gently tapped the tip of my nose. “Never forget it,” he whispered.

Later on, when the temperature cooled and the sun began to set, people started making moves to leave. Nancy left first, swiftly followed by Ashley and Tucker. Simon left soon after.

Not wanting Melinda to have to tackle the clean-up job alone, I crossed to the patio table. “I’ll help you trash the left-over food and—” Something crashed into my back, sending me stumbling into the table. The wrought-iron edge dug painfully into my waist.

Worse, my weight made the table sharply tip up like a goddamn seesaw. Bowls and plates flipped and tipped over, and I found my front splattered with sauces, pasta, casserole, potato salad, spicy dips, and chocolate frosting.

For a moment, I just stood there, my lips parted in stunned surprise. Then I heard snickering behind me. I slowly turned to see Heather and Jana giggling like a pair of schoolgirls.

“Oops, I’m so sorry,” said Heather, her eyes sparkling with devilish delight. “I didn’t mean to bump into you like that. Really, are you okay?”

My cheeks burned. Not with embarrassment. With anger. God, I wanted to punch the piss out of her. Wanted to slap that damn smirk off her face, and maybe even stab her with a fork like she’d once done to me.

There’s a child a few feet away, there’s a child a few feet away, I chanted to myself. Junior was currently napping in his little tent, but it wouldn’t be hard to wake him. I wouldn’t frighten him by brawling with his mother.

Dane and Melinda stood on either side of me, checking that I was fine and trying to flick away the food that had stuck to my blouse. I only had eyes for Heather, who was still fucking giggling.

There was once a time I’d been afraid of her. Bitterly afraid. But that time had passed. Because when you looked beyond the surface of a bully, you saw them for what they were—a goddamn twisted coward who needed to slap down others just to feel good, and that was plain pathetic.

I lifted my chin a notch and gave her an indulgent smile. “Feel better now?”

Heather’s giggle died off. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you’ve put some major effort into annoying me over the past few hours. Clearly this makes you happy or is good therapy for you or something.”

She let out a little huff. “Just because you’re embarrassed doesn’t mean you need to take it out on me.”

“Why? You take your shit out on me. Like all the time. Especially if, God forbid, I’m happy. I guess old habits really do die hard, because I can always count on you to make a fool out of yourself.”

Her spine snapped straight. “I’m the fool? I’m not the one who crashed into a table and got food all over me.”

“And I’m not the one who spent the afternoon flirting with a guy in a way that was plainly cringe-worthy. I honestly felt embarrassed for you.”

“You little bi—”

“Heather, no,” Melinda cut in. “Now, girls, we’ve all had a really nice day; let’s leave this here.”

I didn’t blame her for not jumping in to defend me—taking sides would only cause things to escalate. I knew that from past experience. And then Heather would punish Melinda by not letting her see Junior for a little while.

Wyatt nodded, but his eyes were hard on his daughter. “Heather, you should take Jana home.”

Heather, her face blazing, ignored her parents. “Think you’re so much better than me, don’t you, Vienna?”