Pregame(20)

We all grabbed a slice and dug in, Luke's focus remaining on the game  while Wes caught Reese up to speed on everything he's missed out on  since he's been incarcerated.





"You seen Ariana lately?" Reese asked with a mouth full of pizza.





"Nah, not since school started but she's loving it over there. She'll be excited to see you." Wes replied.





"So that deadbeat's actually being good to her? Who'd have thought?" Reese said, taking a swig of his beer.





"Yeah, he's helping her with her college applications and everything.  Says he'll cover all of her tuition, too." Wes answered, and I enjoyed  seeing the peace return to his eyes as he reconnected with his brother.





Reese huffed, "It's the least he could do."





Wes nodded in agreement.





"This is BULLSHIT!" Luke roared over the television. Everyone stopped  talking and looked to him. He gave us an embarrassed smile and muttered  an apology, grabbing the remote and shutting the TV off. "Are we going  to Dusty's or what?"





"Fuck yeah, man!" Reese jumped from the couch and grabbed the empty  pizza box and our empty plates, bring them into the kitchen and tossing  them in the garbage. Jade got up and grabbed one of the other boxes and I  helped her with the other. We grabbed a plate and piled all of the  leftover slices onto it, covering it with saran wrap and placing it in  the refrigerator.





The boys all went to grab their jackets and keys and so I turned to Jade, my voice low. "Is this a good idea?"





"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.





"What if Gabe's there? He probably will be." Understanding flashed in her eyes.





"I never thought about that." She said.





"Should we bring that up … " I trailed off, not knowing if I'd be overstepping any boundaries.





She shook her head, "Reese is going to be staying here until he gets a  job and saves up for a place, since Wes had to sell their mom's house.  He's going to run into Gabe at some point."





"I don't like this," I groaned, placing my forehead against the wall.





"Me either. But he's a grown man. He's going to do what he wants." Jade rationed.





"You pretty ladies ready for some fun?" Reese asked, bouncing over from the bathroom, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.





Wes came up behind him and smacked him on the head.





"Hey!" Reese rubbed the back of his head with his hand.





Luke finished putting on his sneakers and we headed out, piling into Wes's truck.





"Where'd you get this shitbox anyway?" Wes asked Reese, indicating the  car Jade and I had seen in the driveway when we had shown up.





"I knew you'd try to sell her when I got locked up so I had Kenny keep her safe while I was away." Reese smirked at Wes.





"How that thing is still running after all of these years makes absolutely no sense." Wes muttered, backing out of the driveway.                       
       
           



       





"All it takes is a little tender, love, and care to get her goin',  baby." Reese turned around in his seat up front, "Ain't that right,  Brookelyn?"





He winked, and my cheeks caught fire.





~~~~





Dusty's was only a little less busy than usual for a Saturday night. The  bar was easier to get to, and there were a couple more open tables, but  I found that I still had to push through masses of bodies to get  anywhere.





I was enjoying spending time with Jade, and although she was with Luke,  the three men were enjoying reminiscing about old times so I had her to  myself for the most part. She was a lot like Elle, I realized, and I was  glad that I had met her. She was the type of person who gravitated  other people to her just by her smile. She was friendly to everyone,  with the exception of Emmy, and her loyalty knew no bounds.





I had ordered a Jack and Diet Coke but I wasn't drinking much. I was  sure Gabe would most likely be here tonight and I was nervous that there  would be a confrontation, assumingly ending violently. Jade could sense  my worry and told me that everything was fine but my stomach was in a  knot and I couldn't help but glance around the room to see if Gabe was  around.





After we had been at Dusty's for about an hour, it was only ten o'clock  but the boys were starting to get a bit rowdy. I didn't know anything  about Reese's situation but I would have assumed that he was on  probation following his release, which means no alcohol. It was bad  enough that he was probably breaking his probation but if he were to get  into a fight and got caught than he'd be in big trouble. There were a  few guys that had come over to the table and greeted Reese like they had  known each other and so word was getting around that Wes Walker's  brother, the one that Gabriel Harris had gotten thrown in prison, was a  free man. With each thought, and every new beer the guys ordered, I was  feeling more and more anxious.





I knew he had arrived before I had even seen him. Hoping I was wrong, I  turned in my seat as Gabe strolled through the doors with Archer and  another guy that I remembered helping Archer get him away from Wes the  night that Wes had punched him. He stumbled slightly, and I could see  that he was already intoxicated. I looked around my table and was  relieved that nobody else had noticed his entrance.





I said I had to run to the bathroom and walked in the direction I had  seen Gabe and his friends go. Pushing through sweaty bodies, I finally  spotted them at a corner table positioned diagonal to ours. I turned and  was thankful to see that the two tables weren't visible to one another  due to the dozens of people on the dance floor.





Gabe was laughing with Archer and the other guy when he noticed me  approach. I felt awkward but I tried not to let it show. I didn't want  anybody getting hurt tonight, and with all of the guys being  intoxicated, I knew that'd be unlikely. I wouldn't be able to convince  Wes to leave since Reese was so excited to be hanging out outside of a  jail cell, so I hoped that Gabe would listen and understand. Hopefully  his grudge against me had lessened with time.





Gabe's smile slid off of his face but he didn't appear angry at my appearance, just confused.





"Brookelyn? What are you doing here?" Gabe asked, and I was relieved  that he wasn't slurring his words. Although, the pitcher of beer being  split between the three men at the table meant that it wouldn't be long  until he was.





"Um, just wanted to say hi." I lied, sliding into the seat beside Archer, across from Gabe.





"Don't take me wrong, I love seeing you, but why are you really here?" Gabe was a smart guy-I'd give him that.





I sighed, "Reese is here."





All three pairs of eyes shifted to mine and widened.





"What? Really?" Archer pressed, astonished.





"Yeah, he got out today." I answered, "Listen, I'm just worried about a fight starting and someone getting hurt."





Archer nodded his head in agreement but Gabe just let out a harsh laugh and shook his head.





"I'm not hiding from that fucker." He told me firmly, "So if you want us to leave, just know that it's not happening."





"Dude, come on. You know it's a bad move to stay here." Archer told him, and turned to me, "Thanks, Brookelyn."





I nodded but kept my eyes locked on Gabe's, measuring his actions.





"So, what? You're with Walker now?" He asked in a harsh, disgusted tone.





"Gabe … " The other guy warned.                       
       
           



       





"I'm not with anybody. What does it even matter?" I asked, exasperated. I  wasn't over here to talk about my relationship-or lack thereof-with  Wes. I just wanted everybody to be okay and have a good night. Why  couldn't he see that?





"Of all the guys out there, you had to go falling for him." Gabe sounded  sad and I felt a stab of remorse for how everything had happened.





I reached out and grabbed Gabe's hand on top of the table, "I'm sorry, Gabe. I really am."





He didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me, but I could tell  he was considering the fact that I had never denied falling for Wes. I  knew that it was the truth, despite how much I had tried to fight it  initially. I didn't want a relationship, and I was scared, but being  with Wes didn't seem like a choice. I was too far-gone to try to walk  away now.





"Alright, fine. We'll head out. But I'm not going to run every time he's around."





I understood. It would make things easier, but it wouldn't be a solution.