Page 15 of A Wrench in the Plan
“Shut up,” Chry said teasingly as he hopped in behind the wheel. Leaning over the console that separated them, he popped a quick, sweet kiss on Ev’s mouth. “You’re staying with me. I have to make sure you’re both okay.”
This wasn’t a big deal.
Actually, it had kind of become normal for us at this point.
Yeah, I still lived with my parents. The whole moving-out conversation was not one I was ready to have with my dad. Well, he wasn’t ready, I should say. Plus, I had four younger sisters, so I tried to help out as much as I could. I loved living there, but there were some nights when I’d hang out with Chry and Evan when it was just too late to drive home. And more often than I’d probably like to admit, I might have fallen asleep while we were watching a movie. While it might have been what some considered peculiar or extremely unnatural, it never felt that way to me. They didn’t seem to have a problem with it, either. In fact, it was usually them telling me to stay. It was a good thing Chry had a big bed.
Never, not even once, had I spent the night in Chry’s room without Evan. It was just a silent rule I had. Half of it was to protect Evan and not disrespect what they had going on, and the other half was me protecting myself. It was just the smart thing to do. Not because I feared Chry, but because of my feelings for him. Actually, I did my best to limit my time alone with Chry altogether.
I closed my eyes as the tires began to roll.
“I think she passed out,” Chry said.
I didn’t bother to open my eyes or correct him. My lids were far too heavy at the moment.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Evan said lightheartedly. I heard the leather of the seat creak and I figured he’d turned around to look at me. “She had a lot. Well, a lot for her.”
“And how many did you have?”
The leather creaked again.
“One beer with the nachos we got, and then three of the special martinis.”
“Martinis?” Chry sounded confused. “Really, Ev?”
“What? They were good. I bet you’d like a Virgin’s Wedding Night.”
“What the fuck?!” Chry shrieked.
“That’s what they were called.” Evan chuckled. “Rim lined with sugar and cayenne pepper. Raspberry vodka, champagne, and a splash of cherry juice. Garnished with a cherry, of course.”
“Uh, that sounds like too much shit going on. And it’s red, that’s disturbing.”
“Whatever. It was tasty.” Evan laughed lightly.
There was a long stretch of silence that passed. I nearly did fall asleep.
“Is there something going on?” Chry asked.
“No,” Evan clipped out too quickly to be believable.
I cracked my eye open just in time to see Chry reach for Evan’s hand sitting there on the console between them. His fingers slid effortlessly between Evan’s, and the way Evan curled his fingers, holding onto Chry, looked so natural and sweet that it had me feeling both sad for myself and happy for them.
I inwardly rolled my eyes at the stupid thoughts going through my head. Sure, the sunshine thing wasn’t an act, I really did want the best for everyone, but that didn’t mean that I saw how out of place it was in this world. I knew it was rare. Just like I knew that it was annoying to most people. Right now, I was in the camp with those people. I found my ‘I’m so happy they’re happy’ feelings annoying.
Wasn’t I allowed to be sad and maybe a bit heartbroken without feeling like I had to keep the scales level? That was a thing people did sometimes right? Sink to the bottom while wallowing in their misery?
Oh, my. Alcohol made me bitter, and I didnotlike it.
“What happened tonight?” Chry asked, not stopping to give Evan a chance to answer. “And why didn’t you let me know you were going out? You know I would have been there for you guys. I don’t mind driving some drunkies around. Plus, I could have helped watch over you two.”
Evan snorted then said, “It was all Cat’s idea. I think she needed a night out just the two of us. Besides, I’m not really that drunk. You know better than to think I’d leave her exposed like that. I had my eyes open.”
Um, what?! Okay, so it had been my idea, but it was because he seemed kind of down. I had every right to be a little ticked off about the fact that he’d put all the blame on me simply because he didn’t want to open up about what was really bothering him and talk like a stinking adult. Ugh! I was so ticked, in fact, that I couldn’t even be irritated about the fact they practically admitted I needed a watcher. Or worried that the club had something extremely dangerous going on, like to the point that I might be vulnerable to some unseen attack.
“You think this is about the break-up?” Chry asked.
“Yeah,” Evan mumbled— meaning he knew it was a lie! Shame on him! He knew I was fine.
