Page 40 of F*ck Marriage

“Seriously, Billie?” He shakes his head, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

“Wendy was the mature one!”

He peels off and I stare at the melting puddle of mint chocolate chip wistfully.

Chapter Seventeen

I’m somber that night at The Viable Vine, my fight with Satcher hanging heavily on my heart. I pick at the appetizers they order and only half listen to their conversation. There are five of us, nix Courtney who claims she doesn’t drink but always carries a bottle of water around that I’ve long suspected is vodka. The girls are giggling, already on their third drink and getting sloppy. I’m toying with the stem of my glass, my lemon drop tepid, and wondering if Woods is actually going to show up. I’ve had a headache for the better part of four hours, one I feel like I deserve, which is probably why I haven’t taken the Tylenol in my purse. At nine thirty they stand up, looking at me expectantly.

“Billie,” Annalise says. “Earth to Billie…”

“What? Oh. Sorry.”

“We’re heading back to the hotel, you comin’?”

“I’m going to stay a bit. You go ahead.”

Annalise looks unsure, but then her phone starts ringing and she walks out with it pressed to her ear, waving at me. I throw back my lemon drop and order another.

I’m getting ready to close my tab and head out when Woods saunters in. He’s already buzzed and I realize he must have been out with Pearl before this. Where did he tell her he was going? Surely not to meet with me.

“Hey.” He slides into the seat Annalise had occupied not thirty minutes ago.

“Hey, yourself.”

He takes a sip of my lemon drop. “Like candy.” He grins.

“So,” I say casually, “what’s up?”

“What do you mean?”

I stare at him. “You said you needed to talk to me about something.”

“Oh, right,” he says. “Let’s just visit for a minute.”

Visit.I forgot that he used to say things like:Let’s visit.It’s painful when you remember good things about the person who broke your heart. It’s better to remember the things you hated, if only to keep the anger stronger than the sadness. He asks about how my parents are and if I dated while in Washington. I tell him about Keith Gus.

“You dated a guy named Keith Gus? Wow. Tell me the part about the crying again…”

I roll my eyes. “He used to sob when the Seahawks lost. One time he was so depressed, he wandered drunk into the woods in his boxers and didn’t come out till the next morning.”

“And where were his boxers?”

“Oh my God, Woods.” I can’t help but smile. “They were gone.”

He doubles over at the waist he’s laughing so hard. When he comes back up, there’s a curl hanging over his eye and I have to stop myself from touching it.

“Wow,” he says. “I forgot how fun you are.” His eyes are glowing warm like honey.

“You’re drunk.” I shake my head, pressing my smile into a tight, disapproving grin.

“Keith Gus…” He shakes his head.

“So,” I say. “You and Pearl…”

He pulls out his pack of Juicy Fruit and offers me one. “Had to go and kill the mood…”

“That’s nothappy in lovespeak,” I say. “What gives?”

---