Page 60 of Forever Mine
Resisting the urge to smack the woman, I keep my hands firmly planted on the table. “His what? You can’t even say it.”
My phone starts vibrating in my back pocket, and I take it out to see who’s calling.
“Boyfriend,” she finally says. “Since you’re his boyfriend, I thought that you could help me?—”
“Fuck you,” I seethe, then stop myself from spewing the rest of the vitriol I want to blast her with when I see Elijah’s name flash on my screen.
Beverly stands up. “Julien, please. He’ll listen to you. I just want to?—”
I don’t let her finish.
“Sorry,” I apologize to Laurel on my way to the door.
As soon as I’m outside, I answer the call, but it’s not Elijah on the other end of the line.
It’s David.
“Julien, I need you to come to Belly’s. Hurry.”
Chapter Seventeen
ELIJAH
The neonblue sign behind the bar flashesGood Times Found Here. It doesn’t feel like it, but that’s more psychosomatic on my part as I find myself for the third time in as many weeks sitting at a booth in Belly’s Bar and Grille. The place is packed, students filling every nook and cranny, unwinding after a long day. With the crowd comes the noise. The air buzzes with lively conversation that competes with the hum of indie music being pumped out of the ceiling speakers. Both overlap the loud calls of announcers giving a play-by-play of the football action happening on the big screen.
“April coming this weekend?” David’s deep voice carries over the din, the flickering light from the plasma screen reflecting off his glasses.
I run a hand through my still damp curls that refuse to dry because of the humidity. Today’s sessions went well, but I want to tweak David’s circuit training to include more strength exercises along with the cardio I have him doing.
“She’s driving up Saturday morning. Dinner at the guys’ place that night if you want to come.”
He stretches, his muscles flexing under his T-shirt that show off the physicality he’s built over years of playing football.
“I don’t want to intrude on your time with your step-sis.”
I see right through him and the real reason he’s prevaricating.
“Julien actually suggested it before I ever brought it up.”
David laughs, a deep, hearty sound that draws curious rubbernecking from nearby tables.
“I call bullshit.”
“I’m serious.”
“Your boy doesn’t like me very much. Neither does his twin.”
I get why Julien and David aren’t each other’s favorite people. But that was last year. I just wish my boyfriend and my friend could find some common ground.
“Julien is at least trying.” I can’t control Jayson, but he’ll be nice for my and Julien’s sake.
Our waitress appears with a cheerful smile, which only gets bigger when she lays eyes on David. Like Julien, he gets recognized a lot now.
“Are you ready to order?”
We rattle off two well-done bacon burgers with fries and unsweetened iced tea to drink. She doesn’t write anything down. Instead, she whips out her phone.
“Can I get a selfie?”
