Page 6 of It Happened Back Then
Her eyes light up and she pulls me in for a hug.
“Oh! Um, well, hi.” I sputter as she grabs my arms and holds me out in front of her, assessing me like I’m a little kid. Our differences are quite apparent. Where I’m kind of short, curvy, and have dark hair, she is tall, thin, and blonde. It makes me hate her instantly.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you! Bennie always talks about his childhood best friend.” She brushes my hair back off my shoulder and I jerk away from her. “He’s right, you are just the cutest!”
I screw up my face. “The cutest? I’m not a pupp?—”
“Isn’t it Meadow’s birthday?” Bennett cuts in and I side-eye him. “I figured that’s why the place is packed.”
“Yeah, it is. In fact, I’m going to go find her.”
“Great! Birthday shots sound like a good time to me!” Savannah says.
I give Bennett another distasteful look and mouth, ‘talk later’, before I turn my back on both of them and look for my sister. And of course, the minute I do, I see her dancing on top of the bar. I shake my head and walk toward her.
“That’s your sister?” Savannah asks.
“Yup. Center of the show, as usual.”
“Some things never change around here,” Bennett retorts.
Bennettand I are sitting at the back booth watching Savannah and my sister go head-to-head with shots, both dancing atop the bar now.
“She’s kinda wild,” Bennett says with a laugh.
I retort snarkily, “Is this what Seattle breeds? Modelesque party girls?”
“That sounds like jealousy, bestie.” He bumps my knee with his.
“Just surprised to see you with someone like her. You’re a big-city type now, huh?”
He huffs a laugh. “Just because I haven’t been back in a year doesn’t mean I'm a city boy now. You know I’m still country, through and through.”
“Sixteen months.” I reply sharply. “And you can understand how I have my doubts. You broke a promise that you’d be home, so who knows how else you’ve changed since being out there.”
I try to play it off like I don’t care, like I’m just giving him a hard time, but it does bother me. Seeing him with someone else bothers me more than it should considering I ended it. And now I have to live with it.
“Bloss—”
“I bet she’d never wear a pair of cowboy boots,” I interrupt, wanting to change the subject before the conversation turns too serious.
He laughs loudly. “Now that isdefinitelyjealousy.”
“No way would they stay on her skinny stick legs anyway.”
“Blossom!”
“It’d be like seeing Big Bird with boots on.”
He throws his head back and laughs before putting his arm around me and pulling me in close. I dissolve into giggles too and lean against him. He’s warm and smells so good.
“She is really tall,” he says affably.
“Freakishly tall.”
“And thin.”
“Too thin. Does she eat burgers?” When he doesn't respond, I look at him. “She doesn’t eat burgers?” I ask with shock. “No way you are dating a vegetarian! Bennett! What happened to you?”
