Page 95 of Broken Butterfly
“What’s up Sara’s brother,” Meredith greets him.
“Trivia night looks to be popular,” Sara comments. She leans over the bar when Bryce taps her on the shoulder. It’s too noisy to hear what he tells her, but her raucous laughter comes out loud and clear.
“Bryce, I’m not going to give you her number. Dude, she’s with Ryder Cutton.”
“No shit?” he says, looking at me again to see if Sara is telling him the truth. I give him an affirmative nod while sipping my soda. “I’ve seen him race. That guy is badass.”
“Yes, he most certainly is,” I agree.
“Ryder is uber-protective of her. He would totally hand you your ass for flirting with her,” Meredith happily informs him.
Bryce looks at me again. “Damn, girl. Got it. Don’t mess with the hot blond chick.”
“Bryce, for fuck’s sake. Stop hitting on my friends. Come on.” Sara turns to us and pulls us to the back of the room where the pool tables are. “My brother is such a manwhore.” Sara sidles up to a pool table and throws a dollar bill down to claim the next game.
Selecting a pool stick off the wall rack, Meredith pokes me in the butt with it. “Where are your boys tonight?”
“At the bar down the street.”
“Hey, Sara, did I ever tell you about Elizabeth’s unicorn pussy?” Meredith bursts out loudly.
For the second time tonight, I about spew my drink all over the place. “Jesus, Mer, dial it down a notch,” I splutter as several male heads turn our way at her outburst. Meredith just bends over laughing. This girl is out of her mind.
Wiping tears from her eyes, she sings, “Or maybe it’s the milkshakes that have all the boys running to the yard.” Suddenly, the group of guys at the pool table we’re waiting next to join her in chorus, singing the song in the style of Maverick wailing, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” fromTop Gun. Both Sara and I whip out our phones to video the performance, which includes a lot of chest and ass shaking from Meredith. At the end, the room erupts in applause and whistles, and Meredith high-fives all of the guys who played back up to her diva performance. One of them, leanly built with dark auburn hair and blue eyes, whispers something in Mer’s ear that has her blushing crimson. She bites her bottom lip up at him and nods yes.
“Keep this warm for me. I’ll be back in a minute.” She thrusts her pool stick in my hands and walks off with the guy.
“You bitch! It’s girl’s night! No boys allowed! Hoes over bros!” Sara shouts after her.
“I’ll be back in five minutes!” Meredith shouts back and grabs the guy’s ass as they make their way down the hall that leads to the restrooms. I cringe at the thought of getting it on in such an unsanitary place, especially with some random guy. There isn’t much I would say no to Ryder about, but restroom sex at a bar would be on my hell-no list. Just, yuck.
“I swear, sometimes I worry about that girl,” Sara tells me. “And I’m truly sorry about my brother’s behavior. In high school, I had to stop bringing my friends home because he would always hit on them.”
I wave off her concern, not wanting her to worry about it. “Honestly, it’s fine. So, what are your plans for the holidays? Going back home?”
The guys finish their game and give us the table. Sara chooses a stick and I use the one Meredith handed me. Racking up the balls, Sara says, “That’s the plan. Bryce and I are driving together. Might as well, ya know.”
I help Sara get the rest of the balls from the corner pockets so she can arrange them in the plastic triangle. “Where’s home?”
“Myrtle Beach.”
“I love Myrtle Beach. I used to call it the Las Vegas of the South.”
Sara thinks about it then chuckles. “You’re right! What about you? You heading home too?”
Once she’s done racking the balls, I chalk my stick, aim, and shoot. Two stripes and one solid go in. “Stripes,” I state and move over to the side and eyeball the cue ball to determine the best angle to get the side pocket. “The guys and I are heading to Seattle and then coming back to spend Christmas together. After, Ryder is taking me to Wintergreen for New Year’s.” I nail my shot and set up for the next one.
“Never been to Wintergreen.”
“It’s in Virginia.”
“Let me know how you like it. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at skiing. So, you’re from Seattle?”
Once my shot falls in the corner pocket, I hold my pool stick at my side and lean on it. “How much has Meredith told you about me?”
“Other than the two of you being friends, she hasn’t told me much of anything. Why?” I motion for Sara to take the next shot, even though it’s still my turn.
“I know we really don’t know each other well, but my life comes with a shit ton of baggage. Stuff I’m not really comfortable talking about. I don’t mean to sound like a cagey bitch, but it’s hard for me to talk about personal stuff. You’re a really nice person, Sara, and I’m glad we are becoming friends. Just know that if I clam up or don’t answer a question, it’s not because of anything you said.”
