Page 18 of Wrecking Us
I give Alex a double take when I see how close he’s sitting to Mack. I know this table is tight, but they weren’t that close a few seconds ago…
“Has anyone talked to Austen?” I ask.
“Obviously,” Alex says, reaching for his drink. “He’s excited about tonight, of course, to show off his fancy tech shit. I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you guys.”
“Are you all ready to order?” the waitress asks as she comes up to the table.
She’s an older woman with short grey hair and too much make-up.
“Yes!” a few of the guys say in unison.
The waitress goes around the table and takes our orders. We all order a cheeseburger and fries, except Alex who orders the steak.
Trey and I put in orders for drinks—we both get a beer and water—while everyone else gets refills on theirs.
The restaurant is busy, but it isn’t too loud. And though the guys were rowdy when we first showed up, it’s nothing like it was yesterday. We have good conversations, catching up on what everyone’s been doing over the years, where everyone lives, and what their days look like. It’s nice to catch up and be present rather than battling panic.
“Do you think you could get us some tickets?” Alex asks genuinely as he turns to me.
“Us?” I say.
A flash of panic falls over his face, but it disappears just as fast as it came.
Okay then…
“Oh, uh… yeah. You know, I go home a lot these days, and Mack wouldloveto go to a game. Right, Mack?”
“All the way in Minnesota?” I ask, frowning.
Everyone around the table goes quiet, then Mack says, “I think he meant for a game against the Wildcats.”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I meant,” Alex adds with a nod.
They’re being weird. I glance around the table and no one else seems to have picked up on it, but maybe it’s just me over-analyzing stuff because of my own nerves. They have spent a lot of time together recently. They do live in the same town, and Mack was Alex’s physical therapist for quite some time after his knee injury. It’s probably just that.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say.
“You should get them for all of us,” Andre adds.
“Yeah, maybe we can have like an annual meet up,” Trey says.
“Now that is a good fucking idea,” Paul says, tipping his beer at Trey.
I don’t hate the idea of that.
Chapter Seven
Trey
When we get to Austen’s building, the room is already packed, despite it being early. Waiters parade around with trays of hors d’oeuvres, and I nearly piss myself when Paul talks Andre into trying one of the apps thatlookslike literal grey shit. Hudson laughs beside me as he and the others are out of drinks.
“Anyone want a refill?” I ask.
“Fucking yeah,” Andre says, shaking his head. “That tasted like shit.”
Alex rolls his eyes as Mack says, “That’s what you get for being an idiot.”
“Amateurs, all of you,” Alex groans.
