Page 5 of So This Is War
It would be cute if my stomach wasn’t growling, so I clear my throat and step in. “Hey, Dale,” I say. “I’m Wylie, Sandie’s best friend.”
Dale glances at me, and to his credit, he keeps his eyes on mine, never drifting any farther south where the restraints of fabric are being tested. “Wylie, it’s nice to meet you. I heard so much about you when Sandie and I were in a study group together.”
I shake his outstretched hand and look over at Sandie. “Wait. Is this D? The guy you talked about constantly?”
Sandie’s face heats with embarrassment.
“You talked about me a lot?” Dale asks, looking very pleased with that information.
“All the time,” I say, knowing Sandie would deny it. “She even told me about the night that you two stayed late?—”
“Okay, that’s enough from you,” Sandie says, stepping in front of me. “Anyway, are you just here for tonight?”
He nods. “I leave tomorrow.”
“Oh.” I can feel Sandie’s defeat from here.
“Well, good thing I’m here for more than one night,” I say. “Because look who just became available for dinner.” I nudge Sandie toward Dale.
“You’re available?” Dale asks, his expression morphing into utter joy.
“Uh.” Sandie glances in my direction, then holds up her finger toward Dale. “Give us a moment.” She tugs me a few feetaway, and with her back toward Dale, she says, “This night was supposed to be about you and me.”
“It was, but now it’s about you and Dale.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t ditch you.”
“You’re not ditching me when I’m telling you to go. Seriously, Sandie, I’m here another night. We can catch up all day tomorrow and go to the drag show tomorrow night.”
She bites on the corner of her mouth and looks over her shoulder at Dale, who now has his hands in his pockets as he waits for us. When she turns back around, she says, “I feel guilty.”
“Don’t. I can see how excited you are to see him, and it’s been a while. You look . . . happy around him.”
“I am,” she says softly. “We sort of lost touch when he moved, but seeing him now, it almost feels like we were meant to run into each other.”
“Perfect, then go have fun, and we’ll hang out tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” She winces.
“I promise, I’m good. Go have fun.”
She gives it some thought, then reaches out and pulls me into a hug. “You’re the best friend ever.”
“How does that taste?”the bartender asks me as he leans against the edge of the bar, his arms propping him up.
I take a sip of my dry martini and let the liquid roll across my tastebuds before I swallow. Pleased, I smile up at the bartender. “Perfect.”
His eyes momentarily drop to my exposed cleavage before lifting back up to my eyes. “On the house,” he says beforetapping the bar top and moving toward the end to help another customer.
I should be disgusted with his blatant perusal and offer of a free drink, but it’s a pretty good martini. If I’ve learned anything by my fourth year of college, it’s to take a free drink from the bartender when you can.
I spin around on my chair and find Sandie in the corner with Dale. They’re both laughing, and her hand is precariously perched on his thigh. I smile over the rim of my glass, excited to see the start of something new. She used to talk about Dale a lot, so her hanging out with him tonight doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It actually makes me excited about the possibilities of what tonight could be the start of.
Maybe a fragrant love affair.
Or the beginning of a lifelong coupling.
Or perhaps a rowdy night in the sheets.
