Page 44 of Never Really Mine
“One day we will get it through your thick head.”
I don’t get to reply. The men are returning back to the table, setting their glasses down in front of us. Beau passes me my water, and I sigh discontentedly.
“What?” he asks, instantly wary.
“I just miss their ales,” I reply, glancing at Josie’s drink.
“You’ll be able to have one in a few months,” he says, attempting to appease me.
“Yeah, six-plus months. If I breastfeed, I won’t be able to drink much then either, cause we can’t have drunk babies, Beau,” I snap. I can feel myself becoming irrationally angry, yet another perk of the mood swings I’ve been experiencing.
Beau covers his mouth with a slap, holding back a laugh. “No, we can’t have drunk babies.”
“It’s not funny, Beau!” I shriek.
“I know!” he crows. “I’m not drinking either.” He points to the table, but I’m focused on his face. “If you can’t drink, I figure I won’t either.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff, but when I look down at his drink I see that he, too, has a glass of water. “Stop, you’re being dumb.”
“No, I’m not. I’m trying to do whatever I can to make this easier for you, and if me not drinking makes it easier, then I’ll do it.”
Tears prick my eyes. “Go get a beer,” I answer. When he doesn’t right away, I start to stand and head to the bar. “Fine, I’ll get one for you.” I’m fully aware of how ridiculous I’m being, but he’s breaking down my walls, one crack at a time, making it harder and harder to keep my ground around him.
Beau stops me with a hand to my waist, setting me down in my chair. “Fine,” he mutters.
I sink into my chair a bit, happy that he finally listened to me. “Thank you,” I say.
“Whatever you want, Marley, you tell me, and I’ll do it,” he says, turning to head back to the bar.
A few minutes later, Beau is back, and we rejoin the conversation, laughing and all around having a good time. I notice that Beau hasn’t had more than a sip of his beer, but at least he got one. We haven’t gone out like this in a long time, not since before Josie and Andrew’s wedding, which may be partly my fault. I was avoiding him at any cost.
A hoot of excitement leaves Andrew’s lips as his best friend, Isaac, and his wife, Megan, appear at the table. Megan sits down on my other side, pulling me into her grasp. “I’ve missed you,” she murmurs into my ear.
“Sorry,” I say with a slight wince. “Things have been… hectic.” We haven’t told anyone outside family yet, but Megan is also one of my best friends, so after I spilled the beans at Thanksgiving, I told her I was pregnant. She almost burst my eardrum out with how loud she screamed on the phone.
“You don’t need to apologize,” she says. “Things have been nuts for us too. Isaac’s been prepping for all the holiday events and weddings, and I’ve been picking up some extra call shifts, so don’t be sorry.”
I nod into her embrace.
“I invited Fallon too, I hope that’s okay. She was able to get a babysitter tonight, which never happens.”
“Of course,” I say. “It will be nice to see her again.”
Fallon arrives a few minutes later, sitting in between Josie and Megan. “Hey, everyone,” she greets almost shyly. Her honey blonde hair is down in loose waves past her shoulders, and she’s in a deep green sweater and leggings with the cutest pair of boots.
We chat off and on for a while until Jason pops in from the back. “Hey,” he greets. His eyes scan the table until they land on Fallon. For a brief moment, they hold on to her, but she’s engrossed in a conversation with Josie, so she doesn’t realize.
Everyone else does though. Thomas coughs, clearly trying to gain his brother’s attention. It pulls him out of the trance, and he goes back to making conversation.Interesting.
My eyes start to grow heavy as the night continues, and soon it’s nearing nine-thirty, and I’m ready for bed. I poke Beau in the side when there’s a lull in conversation.
“Beau?” I ask, almost worried he’s going to be disappointed.
He turns on his stool, shifting his full attention to me. “Yeah, butterfly?”
I giggle, remembering how he used to call me that when we were kids. I’ve always loved butterflies and what they represent. “Will you hate me if we go home?”
His brows furrow. “I could never hate you. Are you okay?” His concern is so sweet.
