Southern Comfort (Southern 2)

“Hey, sorry we’re late,” she huffs out. Jacob just pulls the chair out and side-eye glares at her.

“What is that?” I say, taking out what looks like a twig from her hair. “Is this hay?”

“No.” She looks around. “It’s grass.”

“How could grass get stuck in your hair?” Casey asks, his eyebrows pinching together, and I throw my head back and laugh.

“You guys banged on the grass?” I say. Hitting the table, I’m still laughing at them. The crowd around us looks at us, and I just shake my head.

“Your lawn faces the road,” Casey says with a grimace on his face. “Oh my God.”

“We were technically behind the truck.” Jacob leans over and takes Kallie’s mouth. Then he whispers something in her ear, and her cheeks go pink. I’m about to say something else when a guy comes up to the table, and Casey gets up to greet him.

“Literally, it’s like everyone knows your name.” I smile at my joke. “Cheers. The bar? The show?” I look at Kallie, who shrugs. “You never watched Cheers?”

“Nope,” Kallie says and stops talking when Grady comes in with Monica, the receptionist at the station. “Hey, guys,” she says, waving at them, and the two of them walk over to us.

“Look at what the cat dragged out,” Grady says, looking at Casey and then smiling at me. I look over just in time to see Casey just glare at Grady while he talks to another guy who has come over, this one wearing a huge black cowboy hat. I sit back just watching how everyone just melds together.

“I get why you left.” I lean over to speak to Kallie. “But I don’t know if I would have stayed gone this long.” I smile, moving to the new tune that just started. Looking over, I see a woman in tight acid-wash jeans and a white tube top saunter up to Casey. My stomach falls, and I try not to let it get to me. He’s been here his whole life, so it’s only normal that he would have dated her. Or at least she should have tried. I try not to look at them, forcing myself to look back at the dance floor. But my eyes have a mind of their own, flying back to Casey and the woman.

“Hey there, Casey,” she says, batting her eyes. “Haven’t seen you in here in a while.” I try to swallow, but my throat is tight.

The waitress comes back with a tray full of beers, ten shots of tequila, and a glass of wine. “Beau sent this,” she says, and I look over to see that he is chatting and laughing with Savannah.

“So on the grass?” I say, picking up my shot of tequila and downing it. The liquid burns all the way down. “Bet that was itchy.” I try not to look over at Casey and take in the conversation that I’m having with Kallie. But when I see that she put her hand on his arm and fakes a laugh, I grab another shot and down it.

“Are you okay?” Kallie asks quietly. I pretend I’m fine, but she knows me. “He isn’t interested in her.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I’m not here for long anyway.” I take another shot. The chair next to me is pulled out, and Casey sits back down. This time, he leans over and grabs a beer, bringing it to his lips. I am about to look over at him when Beau comes back to the table followed by Jacob. Grady and Monica head to the back where the pool tables are.

“Why were you guys late?” Beau asks, taking a bottle of beer, bringing it to his lips.

“They banged on the lawn.” I pick up my glass of wine, smiling when Beau looks at both of them and shakes his head.

“I just got a visual.” Beau gags. “It was not good.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Casey says, making the whole table laugh again.

“How are you doing?” Beau asks, looking straight at me, and I just shrug.

“I’ve been better,” I say. “But I’ve been worse, so I don’t know which is worse.” I avoid everyone’s eyes as I look down and grab the glass of wine. I do not want to see the pity in their eyes.

I feel arms around my shoulders, and I’m pulled to Kallie’s side. “Love you,” she says. I just smile at her, blinking away the tears.

“Love you, too,” I say, and I’m about to say something else when I spot a guy come into the front door holding a bouquet. “Damn you, Southern gents.” The whole table looks over, and I hear Beau groan now.

“Who is that?” I ask as we watch the man dressed just like everyone else in the bar. His shoulders are broad, and a smile on his face lights up even more when he sees Savannah.