Page 81 of The Cupcake Standard

I nodded, keeping it together as Gina poked her head in.

“I’m going to go home with Josh, okay?” She beamed, clasping my hand. “He came for me. Isn’t that the sweetest?” Though she tried to whisper, it came out overly loud.

My smile was forced, but it was enough to satisfy her.

After a whirlwind rush to grab her things, she was gone, and I locked up behind her. I sat down at the island, feeling empty, Derek’s absence even bigger in the wake of Gina leaving. I crossed my arms, then laid my chin on them.

“That’s what I should have done with Carla, isn’t it?” Liam came over and took the other chair, assuming a similarly dejected position.

“If you really loved her, yes. Us girls want to be fought for. Definitely.” I sighed.

He was quiet for a moment, then he looked at me. “What happened back there? When you almost fell over?”

It was ridiculous, and I didn’t want to say it out loud. “I’m so used to having Derek here that I thought you were him. I went to lean on him, share the moment with him. I remembered at the last second.” I paused. “Thanks for catching me.”

“You’re welcome.” His answer was gruff.

My thoughts were loud, but our mouths were silent. Until I asked, “Does that make me pathetic?”

“What? Leaning on someone else? Counting on them being there?” He shook his head. “No. I’d say it makes you lucky.” He downed the rest of his drink.

I knew he was hurting, but I had to say something. My words came out softly. “Carla wasn’t right for you, Liam. She’s great, don’t get me wrong, but you two didn’t work, and it wasn’t your fault. It’s like trying to use ice skates on a football field. If you want to gain some ground, you’ll need a pair of cleats.”

His mouth twitched in a ghost of a smile. “Know where I can find any?”

They just walked out that door. But I didn’t say that, instead I patted him on the back and stood up. “The way I see it, we have two choices. Pitch Perfect 2 or cribbage.”

He frowned. “How are we going to get drunk doing either of those?”

I scoffed, waving a hand at him for underestimating me yet again. “Drinking cribbage is easy. Every time someone scores a point off you in the opening, you drink. You drink for Muggins and skunks and if you lose. Pitch Perfect—you drink whenever anyone says certain words which I’d have to look up.”

He gave me a doubtful look.

“I could make a cheat sheet.”

This time he smiled. “That sounds Acca-amazing.”

And I laughed. “Okay. Let me find some paper.”

When the end credits rolled, neither one of us could walk straight. He stumbled to my room, and I careened into Derek’s. I noticed an earlier text from Derek saying he’d made it safely to his hotel. Since I had no judgment, I hit his name on my phone.

“Avery? Everything okay?” He yawned.

I lay on my back, looking up at the ceiling. “Aside from you not being here? Yep, everything’s just fine.”

“Wow, it’s really late. I’m surprised you’re still up.”

The clock finally came into focus, and it was almost two in the morning. “Oh, geez, did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“No, Cupcake, you’re fine.” There was a pause. “Are you drunk?”

“Just a bit.” I held my fingers a little apart. “Gina’s boyfriend ditched her, so she came over, and Liam’s girlfriend dumped him, and my boyfriend flew away to Canada. So we had a ‘get ditched’ party. We drank and watched Pitch Perfect and played Never Have I Ever.” I hiccuped. “Gina told Liam about us having sex on his floor. He wanted to know where the blanket had been.”

Derek chuckled. “I’m sorry I’m missing out.”

“Josh came for Gina. It was so sweet.” I sighed. “And then I went to lean on you because I’m so used to you being here, and you weren’t, and I remembered at the last second.” A big, fat tear slid down my cheek.

“Oh, Cupcake.” His sigh matched mine. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to catch you this time. Or put you to bed.”

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