Page 43 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

“I got it,” Joe interrupted, immediately walking over to the bar. He needed to be liked. People that didn’t like themselves always sought approval from others. And I knew Joe hated every fiber of himself. Guilt will do that, rot you from the inside out.

Charlotte took a seat across from Grace at thehigh-toptable and cleared her throat. “You feeling better from your fall?”

“Much better. Calvin took good care of me.” Grace smiled, and her blue eyes almost seemed to twinkle when they met mine.

“Yeah, he sure knows how to take care of all types of animals,” Charlotte teased.

If Grace realized the dig, she didn’t react to it. She simply grazed her hand against mine as she reached for her glass of beer. She brought it to her lips and took a long, slow drink.

“You’re leaving soon, right?” Charlotte asked as if she were just making small talk, but there was nothing small about this exchange.

“Five more days, but who knows? Maybe I’ll extend my vacation.” Grace smiled, or maybe it was more of a smirk. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or if she was just being catty with Char.

Before either of us could respond, Joe set down a beer for Charlotte and a tray of shots for the table.

“Let’s get this party started,” he said.

Without saying a word, Grace picked up a shot and tipped back the whiskey. This time her face was expressionless. Char narrowed her eyes, picked up a shot, tipped it back, and made a refreshing sound when she was done. Grace grabbed another. These two were going to kill themselves trying to outdrink one another.

“Whoa, slow down.” I took it from her and drank it myself.

Joe did the same, slamming the other one.

“I’m just trying to keep up,” Grace said in a cutesy voice.

Char rolled her eyes.

“Don’t try to keep up. Set your own pace. That’s the key to life.” I tilted my head.

“Let’s play pool,” Joe said. “Teams. Grace, you can be on mine.”

“Sounds good to me. Calvin and I are undefeated. Aren’t we, Calv?” Charlotte smiled.

I brought the glass to my lips and took a big drink. “We actually are.”

A couple of hours later, we were on our third game of pool. Char and I had won the first, but Grace surprised us all by pocketing six balls in one turn. I got the feeling she was holding back on the first game, a true shark. We were neck and neck on game three, which would decide the winning team. Joe’s words slurred and his eyes were aboutthree-quartersopen.

“You’re up, Charlotte,” Grace said, taking a sip of her beer. Her eyes were glassy.

“I know.” Char stepped up to the table.

When she went to shoot, her pool cue slipped off the white cue ball and it only moved an inch. “Damn it.” She had drunk a little too much. I’m the only one that slowed down because I knew I had to get Joe and Grace home in one piece.

Joe placed his stick behind the cue ball. “Let me show you how it’s done.” He shot and knocked in a solid.

“Knocking in the other team’s balls? That’s how it’s done?” Grace teased.

“Shit.” Joe rubbed his brow.

Charlotte laughed and fell into me, but I held her up. “Easy there,” I said. Her hand rested on my chest and she looked up at me with a small smile.

The song “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” ended, and Char’s face lit up as her mind registered the next song the jukebox started playing. “Amazed” by Lonestar.

“I love this song. Come dance with me.” Before I could answer, Char was pulling me toward the dance floor where several couples had already started dancing. I was about to protest because I didn’t want Grace to get the wrong idea about us. We were just friends. But before the words left my mouth, Joe was asking Grace to dance.

We were all on the dance floor in a matter of seconds. I rested a hand above Char’s hip and took her other hand in mine—just a friendly dance. But I knew she thought it was something more. I thought I made it clear there was nothing between us, but it was obvious it fell on deaf ears. My eyes went to Joe and Grace. They were positioned the same way as us. Grace looked like she was having fun. She was smiling and laughing while Joe clumsily tripped over his own feet and hers. He was going to make a fool of himself.

“Hey,” Char said.

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