"I don't mind," Eric insisted.
"Go sit down in the living room," Mrs. B said.
Eric had no choice but to obey.
Father Blake, or Bill, as he insisted Eric call him, looked up from his war movie when Eric sat in the empty recliner beside him. "Did you get shooed out of the kitchen?"
Eric nodded. "Apparently I'm a guest, but Isaac is family."
Bill chuckled. "Isaac is family." He patted Eric's forearm. "Great kid. He's a doctor, you know."
"Yeah, Reb mentioned that."
"He just got back from Africa. He said taking over his father's practice could wait a year. Wanted to go where people needed him most. You don't come across many men as selfless as Isaac in this day and age."
True, but Eric still hated him.
"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. B called.
Eric rose to his feet. Mrs. B steered him to the end of the table. "Guests get the seat of honor," she said.
Eric sat at the far end of the long table, and Bill sat at the opposite end. A chair had been removed from the side of the table to accommodate Dave's wheelchair, and his mother sat beside him. That left Rebekah and Isaac to sit next to each other. The dinner was delicious, but though Eric ate everything on his plate, he scarcely tasted it.
Everyone was so enthusiastic for Isaac's tales of Africa, which were amusing and heroic. Eric couldn't deny it. He felt like an unwanted outsider. Rebekah scarcely glanced at him the entire meal. She was too busy laughing with and fawning over Isaac, who was so fucking charming, it was nauseating. When Isaac started passing around pictures of himself treating the sick and wounded in some village in the Congo, Eric said all the appropriate things, but his heart sank. How could he compete with that? He'd never done anything remotely honorable. After dinner, Mrs. B brought out a cheesecake smothered in cherries.
"I know it's your favorite," she said, beaming at Isaac as she served him a huge slice.
"You're spoiling me," he said, his knockout smile charming even Eric.
Fuck. The guy could at least have the decency to be ugly or stupid or boring. Something!
"It's the least I can do for our heroic, life-saving physician."
"Seems to me Isaac isn't the only lifesaver at this table," Dave said. He grinned at Eric, who shook his head slightly, not wanting to bring up his little attempts at CPR.
"Oh yeah?" Isaac questioned, looking genuinely interested in what Dave had to say, the bastard. It was really difficult for Eric to maintain his hatred for the guy. "What happened?"
"Eric saved two lives this year alone," Dave said. "One of them mine."
Eric stared at the slice of cheesecake in front of him and speared a cherry repeatedly. "It was nothing. Anyone would have done the same."
"That's not true," Isaac said. "Most people look the other way when someone is in trouble, even if they're capable of helping. They just … don't."
Eric poked at his cheesecake, trying hard not to feel pride due to Isaac's words.
"Who else did you save, Eric?" Rebekah asked.
"It was nothing," he said again.
"Trey," Dave said. "He had a seizure, and Eric kept him breathing until the ambulance arrived."
"How have I not heard this story?" Rebekah said, glancing from Eric to Dave, then back to Eric.
Eric shrugged. "Trey doesn't like us to talk about it."
Rebekah leaned closer and whispered, "And I thought I was witness to the first time you locked lips with Trey." She giggled and squeezed his knee under the table.
Eric stared at her with wide eyes. He prayed no one had heard her little aside.
"Who's Trey?" Isaac asked.
"Sinners' rhythm guitarist," Rebekah said.
"Sinners?"
"Yeah, Eric's band. Sinners."
"So you're in a band? Like a local band or what?" Isaac asked in all seriousness and took another bite of cheesecake.
Rebekah laughed and hugged Isaac's arm. "You're so sheltered! One of the most famous drummers in the world is having dessert with you, and you're totally clueless."
"This guy's famous?" Isaac asked, eyes wide with wonder. "Should I be asking him for his autograph or something?"
This caused Rebekah to laugh even harder. She released Isaac's arm to hold her stomach. "Stop. You're killing me."
Eric thought he was the only one capable of making her laugh that hard. Apparently not.
"So you're a rock star? For real?" Isaac asked. "How'd you meet him, Rebekah?"
"Dave was Sinners' soundboard operator. When he got hurt, they let me fill in until he's back on his feet." She realized her slip a second too late. Her eyes widened, and she whipped her head around to look at her brother. "Oh Dave, I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean … "