Page 60 of A Better Place

CHAPTER TWELVE

James

“What’s new with you?” Barrett asks me after we get our drinks and place our food order.

This is supposed to be one of the best unknown steak houses in all of Michigan. So far, what I’ve seen is nothing but good things. I would love the chance to take Carly here soon.

“Just getting the house ready for the move since it sold so quickly, cleaning the apartment above Balance so I can move in.”

“Seen Carly since Christmas night?” he asks boldly.

“Umm,” I hesitate, not wanting the guys to hear much. Suddenly, I once again feel like I’m in high school.

Barrett waves Josh and Andy off. “Oh, please. Josh knows… well, about as much as I do because his wife is Lauren. Besides you’ve known him most our lives. And Andy?” He points to Andy, who I’ve met quite a few times, considering he’s one of their employees who’s been with them from the beginning.

“I left my wife after I caught her mounted up on a total Hummer-driving douche, and I haven’t seen her since.” He lifts his chilled glass of Shock Top in my direction then takes a big drink. He settles back into his seat and grins. “Tell me your story. Does love still exist?” he asks, teasing.

I stare at him, stunned by his honesty and a little shocked at the fact that he can be so open about it, not sounding bitter or pissed at all. “Are you…”

“Serious? As a heart attack. Fun times.”

I laugh, slightly uncomfortably, but yet feel a little bit of kinship with him. “I bet.”

“We know that Andy got screwed over, literally. And we know your wife screwed you over too, so you guys have that in common,” Josh says.

“Well, I didn’t have the fortunate experience of seeing her mount up, but I have no doubts it happened. But she’s not worth talking about. Not now, not in the future.”

“Got it,” Andy says and nods once. “You and Carly, huh?”

I sigh heavily and scrub my face with my hand. I don’t know how to begin this conversation, or even if I want to have it, but I think maybe it would be good to hear their insight. “I can honestly say I have no clue what’s happening with us. We hang out a lot. I mean, not as much as I’d like to, but still. And Jack is awesome. He’s such a cool kid — he and I are actually getting pretty close. But Carly? We talk every single day. Man, I don’t know. There’s something that spooked her. I know she’s attracted to me, but she swears she just wants friendship.”

“You’re not dating?” he asks as he takes another drink of his beer.

I look at him out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out if he wants to know for personal reasons.

“Holy shit!” he says, laughing, almost spitting beer out of his mouth. “Did you see the look on his face?” he asks Barrett and Josh, who are chuckling behind their own glasses of beer.

“What look?” I ask.

“Right. You gonna piss a circle around her? Go all Tarzan and carry her off into a tree?”

“Shut up,” I say, laughing.

“Seriously, man, are you sure you guys aren’t together? It seems like you are. And Christine says she’s never seen her so happy.”

“Christine, huh?”

“Shut up.” Andy grins, repeating my words.

He might think that gets him off the hook but really it only shows me where his head is, whether or not the stuff with his wife just recently happened or not.

“I feel like I’m being bombarded with all this information. I don’t know what to focus on first,” Josh says.

“You’re worse than a chick,” Barrett guffaws.

“You’re just as bad as I am!”

Barrett ignores his comment and continues on. “We’re gonna get back to that ball you just dropped about Christine, by the way,” he says, pointing at Andy then shifts his gaze back to me. “Alright, so what’s up? You don’t want to just be her friend anymore?”

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