Page 66 of Beauty Beneath the Sorrow
Avery folds her arms across her chest. “Are you catching some feelings?”
“I have no idea.” Rubbing my lips together, the thoughts of him and what he does to my body rush back. “He doesn’t look at me the way other guys have. It’s almost like he knows me deeper than I’d like, you know?”
Bailey nods. “That’s heavy.”
I run a hand through my tousled hair, pulling it to one side. “Hell yeah, it is.”
“So, what happened after you guys hooked up?” Piper’s words come out anxious.
My eyes drop to my fingers while I shred up a napkin. “We snuggled.”
“Good evening, ladies.” Bailey’s boyfriend, Mason, struts over to the table and leans in to press a kiss on top of Bailey’s head. “Hi, B.”
She tilts her head up to him, smiling. “Mason.”
“What are you all having tonight for dinner?” he asks, resting his hand on the back of her chair.
We all take turns ordering, but he doesn’t write down any food. Piper and I are the pickiest ones in the group, and I get anxious if he’ll get my order right.
“You drive me crazy when you don’t write anything down,” I say, annoyed.
“Have I ever gotten your order wrong,Lina?” he retorts.
“No.”
“That’s what I thought.” He turns to Piper. “How’s Jack?”
At the mention of her husband, Piper’s face flushes a bright red, which is noticeable even under the dim light and the night sky. “He’s good. He’s bummed that he couldn’t come down this weekend.”
“I bet. I’m glad everything is going well with the winery. That man is a marketing machine.”
“I’m hungry,” I jokingly say out loud, hoping Mason will hear me.
He responds precisely how I imagined. “I’m going,” he drawls.
As soon as Mason heads back into the restaurant, all three sets of eyes hone back in on me.
“You guys snuggled?” Avery’s voice comes out dreamily.
Shoving my face inside my hands, I cover my eyes and nod.
“Oh my god. Lina! What does this mean?” Piper asks.
“I don’t think it means anything.” I look up, resting my chin in my palm. “We like each other—a lot. It’s clear, but that doesn’t mean we can do anything about it more than this.”
Bailey opens her mouth. “But—”
My hand comes up to silence her. “No, B. It’s not like that. Carter and I would complicate things more. I glance over to the couple sitting at the table next to ours. “It’s lust, that’s all. I’m smarter than to fantasize about a love like that.”
Piper rubs my shoulder, and I can feel she’s about to refute everything I’ve said now that she’s experienced what real love is. That doesn’t mean it’s meant—or even suitable for anyone else.
“I’m done talking about it, okay?” I straighten in my chair. “It happened. I don’t know what it means or how we’re moving forward. All I know is”—I pull my lips to the side of my mouth—“that it happened, and it felt nice.”
A dense silence fills the air around the table as these three women, who I know have my best interest at heart, try to romanticize the confusing emotions I have going on with Carter. But they also know that I’m more of a skeptic and cynic than all three of them.
I’m in control, and I know myself. Carter and I slept together a couple of times, but it isn’t going to change anything. It had been so long since I’d gotten laid, and we’re both adults. We can handle ourselves around others without it getting complicated.
Everything is going to be fine.
