Page 38 of An Uphill Battle

“You ready?” she asks him, gazing up at him with love written all over herface.

“Sure thing. D, be strong, brother. Oh, and don’t worry ’bout your truck. Your dad and I went and got it this morning, it’s parked outfront.”

“Thanks. For everything,” I tell them, locking up after theyleave.

Not quite ready to check my phone, I kill time washing the dishes and vacuuming the entire house, which only delays the inevitable by about forty-five minutes. Resigned and agitated, I stow the vacuum and make my way back to mybedroom.

With rocks in my stomach and butterflies in my throat, I grab my phone off the nightstand where it was charging. My heart soars when I see that I have two unread texts. My hands shake as I pull up my message screen. One from Magnolia telling me Azalea is home safe and sleeping it off, and one from Cash asking me if I want to grablunch.

Guess that settlesthat.

I fire off a text to Cash telling him lunch sounds good and to invite Simon to tag along. Guy time is just what I need to get a certain blonde heartbreaker off mymind.

* * *

I’m draggingass as I make my way into Buster’s, our favorite sports bar. “C’mon, D, we’ve been waitin’ on your slow ass forever,” Simon calls out the second I round the hostessstand.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s eat,” I tell him, trying not to sound like a whiny-ass.

The hostess’s eyes dart between us as she gathers three menus. “Uh, y’all can follow me,” she tells us, eyeing Cash hard. Subtly, he flashes his wedding band, and she quickly turns to grab three rolls of flatware. “Right this way, gentlemen.” She guides us out to the patio section, facing MainStreet.

Once we’re seated, Simon bursts out laughing. “At least you let ’er down easy,Cash.”

“Dude, at least she stepped down. Some girls don’t care onebit.”

I sit silently—hiding behind my menu, obsessing over Azalea—while Cash and Simon talk up a damn storm. They talk about everything, from Simon’s students trying to prank him to Cash swearing up and down that Brody said “Da-Da” yesterday. I’m torn from my thoughts when our waitress comes by to take ourorder.

“Hey there, fellas, my name’s Kasey, and I’m gonna be takin’ care of y’all this afternoon. Can I start y’all off with a craft beer or maybe a sweettea?”

Cash orders a Coke, Simon a draft Heineken, and I guess I must’ve drifted back into my pity party, because next thing I know, I feel a hand on my shoulder. “And what about you,sweetie?”

“Oh, uh...” I stumble over my words. “Lemme get an ice water fornow.”

“You betcha, and be sure to let me know if I can get youanything else.” Kasey turns and saunters off, her full hips swaying from side toside.

“Hey, D,” Simon says, elbowing me in the ribs. “You be sure to let her know if you need something. Anything.” He cracks up at his own joke, but all I offer him is a blank stare. “Oh my God, enough with it,Sir-Sulks-A-Lot. Pull your man-panties out of your ass and get your shit together.” I’m guessing someone—presumably Myla Rose—filled him and Cash in on what happened withAzalea.

I shake my head at him because he just doesn’t get it. “I know you don’t get how I’m feelin’, Simon, but one day, you will, and I can’t friggin’wait.”

“Look, I don’t mean any disrespect, but...” He pauses, feeling me out, and I nod for him to continue. “I know you’ve been into Azalea since practically the dawn of time, but, brother, at some point, you gotta know when to cut yourlosses.”

“You really think so?” I ask, my gut churning withunease.

Simon opens his mouth to answer me but snaps it shut when we hear a burst of familiar feminine laughter from the sidewalk. Turning, we’re all met with the sight of Myla Rose, Seraphine, Magnolia, and Azalea as they stroll past. My eyes cling to Azalea, to the wide, carefree smile gracing her face. She looks so damn happy and light—like she didn’t rip apart any chance we had together. Like she doesn’t even fucking care. The fact that she’s so unaffected by everything that went down between us has my heart feeling like it’s weighted withlead.

We all look on, tracking them, watching as Azalea exaggeratedly gestures toward a group of guys jogging down the other side of the street, Magnolia and Seraphine noddingvigorously.

I watch on in shock and anger as she blatantly checks them out, damn-near drooling. Once the girls are out of sight, Simon speaks up. “Yeah, Drake, I really thinkso.”

“Now, hold on,” Cash interjects. “You don’tknow—”

“Don’t know what?” I demand. “Don’t know that she’s smilin’ and carrying on like she hasn’t got a care in the world?” I laugh, low and angry. “What I do know far outweighs what I don’t. And everything points to me needing to move on. Clearly, she’s not losin’ any sleep over this shit, so why should I?” Simon and Cash exchange a worried look while anger and hurt churn in mygut.

I’m pulled from the chaos that is my mind when our waitress, Kasey, reappears to take our orders. “What’ll you boys be havin’today?”

Simon orders a cheeseburger and fries, and Cash gets an order of smoked buffalo wings. “And how ’bout you? What’d you like?” Kasey asks me, popping her hip to theside.

“Lemme get...” My words trail off and I take a minute to really look at little miss Kasey, with her caramel-colored skin and her wide blue eyes. I start at her feet, appreciating the way her legs and hips look in her tight khaki shorts, and how her raven-colored hair hangs just long enough to dust the tops of her breasts. All-in-all, she’s not bad. Quite a looker, really, and most importantly, she’s Azalea’s polar opposite. “Lemme get whatever you think is best. You look like a woman with good taste.” The words taste bitter in my mouth, but Azalea wasted no time moving on, so why shouldI?

---