Somehow, we had fallen into a comfortable routine where we could just be ourselves with each other. As if we had some common bond. It felt natural to not pretend around him. For a while, I had to make believe I wasn’t desperately attracted to him. But between his girlfriend and our growing friendship, those feelings faded to the background and stopped weighing on me.
“Hey, you want a beer?” Chloe asked, shoving a red cup in my direction.
I scrunched up my face and shook my head. “Ew. Definitely, no.”
She laughed and passed it off to one of the guys who happened to walk past. “I don’t blame you. It tastes foul. Now, if someone had some vodka and cranberry juice, I would drink the shit out of that.”
“Ditto,” I agreed with a smile. I didn’t know if I would, but I said it just to have something in common with her. I hadn’t ever had much to drink beyond a sip of beer, and that was more than enough to never want it again.
“Hey, have you seen Gwen?” she asked stretching her neck from side to side, looking past people.
“Ummm . . .” I thought for a minute. “Not for a while. But I’ve been in the living room most of the night.”
Just then we heard a loud yell coming from outside. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “Sounds like Gwen.”
We turned and headed out onto the deck. There were a few people standing there, looking out across the yard. When I moved toward the steps, I could see Kevin running his hands through his shaggy hair with Gwen facing him. Furrowed brows, pinched lips, and flushed face were not her best look.
“I can’t believe you’re breaking up with me. Here. In the middle of the party. What the hell, Kevin?” She threw her arms up and glanced around. Her glare settled on me and her eyes filled with rage. My eyes widened. What the hell did I have to do with this? “It’s because of her isn’t it?” She jabbed a finger at me and, even though she stood over five feet away, I stepped back. “You guys hang out all the time, and you claim she’s your closest friend. Or is that a lie?” she demanded. “Do you want her? Is that it? Is that why you don’t have sex with me anymore?”
My feet were immobile. I was frozen to the spot as she kept throwing accusations around, shocked that she thought I was the reason Kevin was breaking up with her. Hell, I didn’t even know he was thinking about it. No matter how close we were, we never talked about him and Gwen. I’d never wanted to know details about their relationship.
But regardless, I’d never made a move on him. Gwen and I were friends. At least I thought we were. Yet, there she was yelling to all who would listen that I was the reason this was going down. Kevin turned and looked at me over his shoulder, where I was still frozen in shock. I could only stutter in denial while my eyes flicked between them.
He tried to calm her down. “This has nothing to do with her. I didn’t want to break up with you here, but it just came out. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? You’re sorry?” she yelled. “Well fuck you, Kevin Harding!”
Kevin threw his hands up in the air. “I’m done here. We can talk more when you’ve calmed down.” He stalked off toward the side of the house, leaving the rest of us staring at Gwen, who stood there with her mouth flopping open like a fish out of water. She finally pulled herself together enough to clench her jaw and storm back up onto the deck and into the house, making sure to clip my shoulder on her way.
I fought the urge to follow Kevin and console him. He had to be hurting, but I feared adding any more fuel to the fire Gwen had started.
Hunching my shoulders, I couldn’t help but notice all the people staring at me. This was more attention than I wanted and it was freaking me out. I wanted to be impartial, neutral, like Switzerland. I didn’t want to give anyone a reason for feeling too strongly about me. And yet, there I was at the center of a huge argument.
Even if I wasn’t going to chase after Kevin, it was time to go. Head down, I pushed past the group on the deck and made my way inside to grab my purse. Walking down the blessedly empty hallway, I heard crying coming from the bathroom. Gwen. It had to be. I gently pressed my forehead against the door and closed my eyes, resigning myself to what I was about to do. I went back to the kitchen, grabbed an unopened bottle of tequila, and dropped a handful of cut-up limes into a cup. When I’d reached the bathroom, I lifted my hand to knock, but decided against it. I tried the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.