Page 52 of Hunt for the Roses
I make a face at him and then turn to take a sip of my beer. Once I swallow my sip, I turn to smirk at Dane. “Let’s not ignore the fact that Dane enjoyed the dancing.”
Dane just wears a tight-lipped smile as he stares back at me, then looks to Trent with the same expression. “Fuck it. She got me.”
“Noooo,” Trent says, feigning disgust, and Kate and I are laughing at Dane’s admission.
“Trent, you better watch out because I’m coming for you too,” I joke.
Trent places a hand on Dane’s shoulder. “Well, unlike my friend over here, I havezerorhythm on the dance floor. It won’t be a pretty sight.” I smile as I take a sip of my beer, and Dane and I just hold each other’s stares across the table. It’s clear we’re both reminiscing about how fun that night was with just the two of us.
When I bring my glass to rest on the table, Kate places her palm on top of mine. “In all seriousness, it’s great to see you smile like this again.”
I turn to grab the side of her face, and rest my head on top of her shoulder. “Well it wouldn’t be possible without any of you.”
“I’ll toast to that,” Trent says as he raises his beer, and we all clink glasses to take respective sips.
When I swallow my sip, I lick my lips and say, “Okay, enough sappiness. I don’t want to spoil the mood tonight.”
Kate touches my shoulder. “Sorry, Ari, I didn’t mean to bring-”
“No, I’m okay. I promise,” I interrupt with a genuine smile. I look between Kate, Trent, and Dane as I explain myself further. “I just don’t want to make this about my emotional baggage, that’s all.”
“That’s not how we see it,” Trent chimes in.
“I know. Thinking about Kyle doesn’t automatically make me cry or upset. I can look back on memories of us and smile now. It’s just, sometimes I feel like if I think about him too much, I’ll take too many steps back.”
Kate gives me a sympathetic shrug. “I don’t think anyone can blame you for thinking that way, but you have so much to look forward to. I promise.”
I decide to rip the Band-Aid off, judgements be damned. “Speaking of looking forward to things, I have a date tomorrow,” I say.
“You have a date?” Dane asks.
I nod at Dane before speaking. “With Blake.” Dane looks at me with furrowed brows, and I gather he doesn’t remember who Blake is. “The guy I met on the Fourth of July.”
“Oh,” Dane says, but his facial expression only gets slightly softer. Once he takes a sip of his beer, he casually sinks back into his seat and asks, “So where are you guys going?”
I make a face as if I’m thinking to myself. “I’m actually not sure of the exact place, but he promised me drinks, greasy food, and live music.”
“Fancy,” Dane says sarcastically.
“Hey, why are you judging?” I respond.
“No judgments. But if I actually liked a girl, I’d bring her to a more romantic place,” Dane quips back.
I roll my eyes while bobbing my head as if to say “yeah, yeah, yeah,” but Dane’s eyes linger on me tentatively for a few seconds, and I’m a little thrown off by Dane’s reaction. I assumed he would be the last one to judge me out of my three friends.
Luckily, Kate chimes in next with a wide grin. “You’re going to have a great time. In fact, I think we need some girl talk in the bathroom. Shall we?”
I just shake my head and laugh at Kate as we get up from the table and make our way to the restroom.
“You think you’re gonna kiss him?” Kate asks as she closes the bathroom door behind her.
“Are we in sixth grade now?” I joke.
Kate rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
I sigh as I turn my head to look off to the side. “If you’re asking me if I’m ready to be with another man, the answer is that I don’t know if I am.”
“He’s so cute though,” Kate emphasizes.
