Kacie’s face lit up as she looked past me and started waving. I turned in my seat, just enough to see Darla’s smiling face walking toward us, dragging a man along behind her.
“Hey, everyone!” Darla said cheerfully as she walked up, looking at everyone except me. “Kacie, Brody, you guys remember Neil. Michelle and Viper, this is Neil, my boyfriend.” She motioned toward the guy in a suit standing just behind her. He stepped forward and held his hand out for me to shake. I looked down at it and back up at Darla, who was biting her lip with her brows drawn in together, clearly anxious about my reaction.
Grasping Neil’s hand tight in my own, I shook his hand and smiled. “Hi, Neil. Nice to meet you.”
He smiled back, showing off a row of perfect white teeth that looked more like pieces of Chiclets gum than actual teeth. “Nice to meet you too, Viper. I’m a huge fan.”
Wonderful.
He turned and shook Michelle’s hand, offering her the same fake-ass smile. Darla took a step behind him and looked to me for my approval. Instead, I rolled my eyes and pretended to gag.
“Why don’t you guys have a seat?” Kacie asked, scooting her stool closer to Brody to make more room. Portland came back from the kitchen carrying my root beer and set it in front of me.
“Is that root beer?” Neil laughed, looking down at my bottle.
“Yeah,” I said firmly, staring him in the eye as Darla rested her head on his shoulder and cringed.
“What can I get everyone else?” Portland asked as she took out her pen and pad of paper.
Brody held up his index finger. “Beer.”
Michelle pointed at him. “Copy that.”
“Make it three,” Darla added.
“Do you have sparkling water?” Neil asked Portland.
“I have regular water,” Portland answered innocently, “but I can put ice in it so it sparkles.”
“Never mind. I’ll take a beer also.” Neil looked annoyed with her, and that annoyed me.
“Can I get a coffee, Anna?” Kacie asked.
“Sure. We don’t have any made, but I’ll get a fresh pot started for you.” Portland smiled at her. “Be right back, guys.”
“Coffee? Now?” Brody looked at the time on his phone. “You’re gonna be up half the night.”
“Yeah, well the girls had that birthday party at the jumpy house place after school, and if I don’t get something to keep me up, I’m going to be sleeping on this table within five minutes.” She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and squealed as Brody caught it between his lips. While Brody and Kacie slurped each other’s faces off, I looked to my left to see Darla and Neil leaned in close, nose to nose as they laughed about something quietly. I sighed and stared straight ahead at the same time Michelle looked back at me and shrugged, a tight smile on her lips. We both felt it, the awkwardness of being the oddball out. I wasn’t worried about being the oddball. I was used to being alone, and it didn’t scare me. But she was new to this alone thing, and I was concerned that everyone else so obviously coupling off would weird her out. I smiled back at her and gestured over toward the pool table area. She nodded eagerly and stood from the table.
“I didn’t know you played pool.” She looked up at me and grinned as we made our way across the bar.
“I don’t,”—I shrugged, pointing straight ahead—“but I like music, and there’s a kickass jukebox in the corner past the pool tables. I figured we could pick out a few songs while the lovebirds all calm down.”
She turned and looked at the jukebox in the corner, with its pink and green neon lights shining bright. Her eyes lit up. “Good call! We can dance while they—”
“Whoa.” I stopped walking, holding my hands up in front of me.
Once she realized I was no longer in step with her, she stopped too and spun on her heel to face me. “What?”
“Viper doesn’t dance.”
She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips together. “But Viper talks about himself in the third person?”
“Sometimes Viper does… as long as he’s not dancing.”
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed my hand and continued dragging me over to the jukebox. “Dancing is easy. You just wiggle.”
“Bullshit,” I teased. “It’s a lot of pressure. You have to wiggle to the beat of the music and hope you don’t look like a complete fucking moron while you’re doing it and people are staring at you.”
“Since when does Viper not like people staring at him?” She nudged me with her elbow as she flipped through the songs on the jukebox.