Page 4 of Just Forever

“If I have ever given you the impression that I have a soft touch, tell me now or there’ll be blood.”

I ignore him. “What do I say if it goes badly? Or if it goes well, for that matter?”

Kelly snorts and holds up a finger toward the bartender, who moves over to us and hands Kelly another beer.

He takes a sip. “Do you really need advice on what to say if things go well?”

“Have you met me?”

“So, yeah, if things go well you say ‘hey, I’m happy for you and shit,’” Kelly says smoothly.

I steal his bottle and take a sip of my own. “See, I never would’ve thought to add the shit.”

“Amateur.”

I chuckle when he elbows me in the side. “Just be supportive either way.” He eyes me thoughtfully. “How likely is it that his mother will lose her shit?”

I consider that for a bit, even though I’ve already thought about it over and over again from every angle and am about ninety-eight percent sure of the answer. It’s just that those two percent are the scariest ones of all.

“Pretty unlikely,” I concede.

“Problem solved.”

“Oh, well, good. I feel better.”

He laughs. The bartender comes over again and leans on the counter. His eyes move up and down Kelly, appraising him with a slow grin.

“Anything else I can get you?”

“Depends,” Kelly says. “What else is on the menu?”

I watch the two of them flirt for a little longer before I leave them to it and make my way through the crowd toward Ryker. He and Hayes are now chatting with a couple of girls. They have short skirts and very high heels, and I almost manage to ignore the pang of jealousy. Almost.

It helps that Ryker watches me approach, a secret smile on his lips that’s there just for me.

I go and stand next to him. Close but not too close. It’s a careful balancing act, and even after all this time, I’m still not very good at it.

“So?” Hayes says, throwing his arm over my shoulders. “How’s New York been treating you so far? Excited about med school?”

“Uh…”

I open and close my mouth without saying anything for way too long.

“He thinks he’ll jinx it if he says it’s going well,” Ryker says.

My mouth drops open indignantly. “That’s almost slander. I’m not superstitious. It’s stupid.”

Ryker grins at me. “Sure you aren’t.”

“I’m not!”

He keeps grinning at me, but what the fuck? I’mnotsuperstitious! I’m just not.

“I’ve seen you knock on wood.”

“If you’ve ever seen me knock on wood it’s exclusively because I was checking the integrity of the structure.”

“How safety conscious of you,” Ryker drawls. A teasing light makes his eyes sparkle. I grin back and hold my middle finger up.

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