• • •
I pull up outside Beth’s granny’s house at eleven thirty and wheel my bike into the garage. If Beth has her way, there is no way I’ll be using my bike again today. Beth has lived with her granny since her parents left when she was a baby. They joined some commune somewhere and didn’t want to be burdened with a child. Granny Betty was more than happy to raise Beth rather than let her waste of space parents take her with them.
Granny Betty isn’t your typical granny. She is young and vivacious and full of life. Always beautifully dressed and has the softest wrinkle-free skin I’ve ever seen. She said it’s because she stays out of the sun as much as she can and it has certainly paid off. Because my mom left when I was quite young, I spent as much of my childhood at her house as I did my own. Christmases and birthdays would be spent with them, and whenever I was in town, I always made sure to say good-bye to Granny Betty before I left.
Beth and Granny Betty are generally sitting out in the yard, so I don’t bother going into the house and head around to the back. Granny Betty is under a big parasol, but Beth is sitting with her face turned up toward the sun. A pitcher of some fruity cocktail is sitting on the table, and my stomach lurches at the sight of it. I’m not much of a drinker, and I know that all sense will fly out the window when I’m with Beth. I might as well just write off tomorrow and resign myself to staying in bed with a hangover all day.
“’Bout time you got here,” Beth grumbles good-naturedly. “The ice in the cocktails is melting.”
“Quit your whining and have a drink.” I pour her a cocktail and thrust the glass at her. She winks at me as I pour myself one and sit down. Maybe today will do me good. Spend the afternoon with my best friend, have a few drinks, keep my mind off a certain Max Morgan, and chill out. No such luck.
“So where did you go last night?”
“Uh?” I choke, swallowing too much ice and spit it back into the glass.
“You and Max, at the end of the race. Where’d you go?” Her eyes are closed the whole time she is interrogating me. Maybe it hones her other senses, and she can sniff out a lie.
“Ah, just up to the buff above the quarry.” Which is the truth; she doesn’t need to know about the exhilarating ride up there, or the even more exhilarating kiss that took place while we were at the top, or what it could have led to had I not put a stop to it.
“That’s all?”
“Yup, that’s about it.”
“So why was Max so pissed when we saw him later?”
“He was at The Three Monkeys?” I try to keep the curiosity out of my voice. Of course, he was. He no doubt had a girl waiting for him there. One who wouldn’t halt his advances.
“No, we saw him drive past as we were leaving, and Aaron waved him down.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, he looked pretty mad. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”
“Me? No, of course, not. He dropped me here for my bike, and I went home.”
“Uh-huh.” She casts me a sidelong glance, and I know that she doesn’t for one second believe me.
“About this wedding planning… what are you thinking?” If she sees the dramatic subject change for what it is, she doesn’t let on. Instead, she nods toward a large pile of wedding magazines. I stifle a groan and pick up the first one and flick through it. At least if I pretend I’m looking through the magazines, I might be off the hook.
After the first few magazines, they all start to blur together. Maybe it is because Beth keeps topping off my glass; I’ve lost track of how many cocktails I’ve had and how many times she’s reappeared with a fresh pitcher. I’m pretty sure I’ve agreed to any number of things to do with this wedding and there is no way in hell I’ll remember any of them in the morning. Hopefully, she won’t either.
Drinking in the middle of the day under the hot sun is so not a good idea. We’ve stripped down and the baggy t-shirt and skinny jeans I was wearing have been replaced by a tank top and denim shorts, courtesy of Beth. I opted for longer shorts because the other ones she offered me exposed my ass when I bent over but that’s just because Beth is a short ass.
Not much food has been consumed, so when Beth suggests we go to The Three Monkeys for some bar food and drinks, it sounds like the best idea she’s had all day. Granny Betty drops us off on the way to her weekly book group, with a strict warning that we have to eat something and stick to water. Trying our hardest to keep our faces straight, we promise, but as soon as Beth reaches the bar, she orders us some chicken wings, nachos, and two beers.