Every Saturday Night (Firsts and Forever 6)

“More than that though, I didn’t want Owen to get attached to someone who was leaving. It’s bad enough that Kathy disappeared from his life. But there are going to be about twenty people at brunch tomorrow, and the baby’s going to be pretty inundated with all these new people and experiences. It’s not like he’s instantly going to bond with Lucky.”

Hal grinned and said, “I still can’t get over that nickname. It sounds like something you’d call a dog you rescued from the animal shelter.”

“That’s exactly what I said! His real name is Elian.”

“That’s as sexy as he is. Gotta love those hot Latin men.”

“Agreed.” We finished our drinks, and then I turned to my best friend and asked, “So, are we going to talk about your boyfriend wanting to get rid of you this weekend? What’s up with that?”

His dark eyes focused on the back fence, and after a moment he said, “I think he’s cheating on me, Lo.”

“Oh my god!”

“I don’t have any real evidence. If I did, I wouldn’t be sticking around. But there are a lot of signs, like the fact that he seems more distant and distracted lately. Plus, he keeps saying he’s working late, and he’s always on his phone, endlessly texting.”

“How does he explain that?”

“He just says it’s a friend from work. What am I supposed to do, call him a liar? If I’m wrong, then I’m the one destroying our relationship, not him.”

“I can’t believe you’re so calm about this,” I said. “I also can’t believe this is the first I’ve heard of it. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He smoothed the cuff of his shorts and said softly, “Because saying it out loud makes it seem real.” Then he sighed and met my gaze. “I really thought he was the one. But what if he turns out to be yet another jerk in a very long line of them?”

“If he is, then you’re going to dump his ass and find a man who treats you like the treasure you are.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that. If it turns out he really is cheating on me, I think I’ll be done with dating for the foreseeable future.”

“No matter what, I want you to know I’m here for you, Hal.”

He squeezed my hand and said, “I know, and I really appreciate it.” Then he looked away and quickly blotted his eyes. He hated letting anyone see him upset, so that told me just how much this was hurting him.

“I want to drive to L.A., kick him in the nuts, and force a confession out of him.”

That brought out a grin. “As much as I’d love to see that, I’m sure all will be revealed soon enough. And please don’t worry about me. No matter what happens, I’ll be fine. I’m like a cat, I always land on my feet.”

I tried to lighten the mood by saying, “That’s true, you are very cat-like. Unfortunately, it’s one of those weird, hairless ones that always looks pissed off.” I was glad that made him laugh.

A few moments later, Lark and Dylan appeared in the doorway and asked us if we wanted to join them for game night. Hal leapt at the offer, probably because the conversation had become more emotional than he’d intended, and we moved to the living room.

JoJo and Yolanda ended up playing too, and then they beat the hell out of the rest of us in a guess the celebrity game. We got the names of famous people from an app and had sixty seconds to give our partners clues to score points. All one of them had to do was say something like, “That actress you don’t like who starred in that movie with that guy,” and the other one would get it.

“I give up,” Lark said after a while, as he slumped dramatically on the sofa. “The two of them share a psychic lesbian connection. We literally can’t win.”

JoJo and Yolanda grinned and kissed each other, and then everyone started throwing out suggestions for other games we could play. While they were debating, my phone beeped. I had a text from Lucky, which said: I’m trying on outfits for tomorrow. What do you think, does this say baby’s first birthday brunch?

That was followed by a photo of him in one of my tank tops, which I’d apparently left behind at some point. It was way too short and tight on him, and he’d paired it with a bright red Speedo. To top it off, he was striking a pose and flashing an intentionally cheesy grin at the camera.

I chuckled and replied: You’re stretching out my shirt with your freakishly huge muscles. Also, why do you own that bathing suit? I need answers.

His next text said: I’m going to take that as a yes on this outfit for tomorrow. And the real question is, why wouldn’t I own an awesome red weenie bikini?

I was still grinning as I wrote: You’re such a weirdo. What are you up to tonight, besides modeling that fantastic look for me?

He told me: Not much, what about you?

I responded with: My best friend Hal flew in from L.A. to surprise me. We’re doing game night with some of my housemates and getting beaten badly by a pair of psychic lesbians.

He replied: Sounds fun, and I should let you go. Good luck with the crushing defeat. I’ll see you tomorrow.