Page 75 of Outcast
“You sure you don’t want anything else?” Simon asked.
Parker shook his head. “Early morning in class. Hungover is a really bad look in the second grade.”
I bit down on a smile and watched Gail grab the beers from a cooler behind her.
“We could leave,” Simon said. “Katie looks like she’s going to be here for a while.”
“I don’t feel great about leaving her with Dallas. He gives me bad vibes.”
No shit. Too bad I hadn’t had Parker’s instincts when Dallas asked me to get into that car. And how weird was it that he’d fucked around with Gray back in the day? Left him in quite the mess too, by the sounds of it. Did that mean he’d been screwing around with guys secretly while dating women like Katie in public for a whole decade?
My stomach turned at the thought of doing that. I might not beout,but I’d never fake it like that. I hated that people assumed Allison and I were together, so I couldn’t imagine intentionally misleading them.But that made me wonder…did it bother Gray, knowing I wasn’t telling anyone about us?
You’re just hooking up, remember? It’s not serious enough for him to care.
Still, I could be honest about one thing. I leaned over, interrupting Simon and Parker.
“Dallas is a creep. You should definitely keep an eye on Katie.”
Parker glanced across the room with a frown. “Seriously? Maybe I should go remind her of how early the morning bell will ring.”
I nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
“Thanks.” He hopped off the stool, then paused. “You work at the bank, right? You’re one of the Golds?”
“Yeah, Emory.”
Parker nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up about Dallas. As outsiders, me and Simon don’t always know the full story about people in this town.”
They were hardly outsiders. They had lived in Riverton a few years now—and as former college football stars, they were popular. Riverton was nothing if not a football town.
But it was also a small town full of gossipy history that they probably didn’t know.
That wasn’t the issue with Dallas. He was a shark gliding under the radar of most people. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. I couldn’t possibly explain why he was sketchy if Parker asked.
Luckily, he didn’t. He took off across the bar, and Simon threw down some cash and followed.
I picked up one of the beers Gail had left in front of me and took a swig. Marty jostled me as he took Simon’s vacated seat. “Ditching me to hang out with the popular kids? Not cool.”
“Nah.” I slid a beer over to him. “Just not in the mood to play games.”
“I lost horribly as soon as you left, then Dallas beat the pants off me too.”
I cringed at that imagery, thinking Marty was lucky he didn’t know how close to the truth that could be with Dallas. “Sorry for bailing. I was a bad wingman.”
“It’s okay.” He picked up the IPA, then grimaced and eyed the stout that Simon had left behind. “It would be weird if I drank this abandoned beer, right?”
“Yes.” I chuckled. “But I happen to know he didn’t touch it. So go ahead and be weird.”
Marty snagged it and took a long drink. I cast a glance across the bar. Parker and Simon were nudging a reluctant Katie toward the door. Dallas was off in the corner, chatting up some other woman becauseof coursehe was.
“So, what’s up with you tonight?” Marty asked. “You’ve got storm clouds hovering over your head.”
“I don’t know. Long day at work, I guess. I’m just tired.”
Marty eyed me over the rim of his glass. He knew me too well because he shook his head. “Not buying it.”
I groaned. “Just leave it.”
