25. Chapter Twenty-Five #2
“Yeah, I heard they later fell in love. It’s a pretty wild story, if you ask me,” I murmur, just loud enough for only her to hear.
Before she can respond, Nora suddenly rushes up, announcing, “Bathroom break!”
She barrels toward us, already swaying slightly.
I tried to tell Gareth not to let her drink during the last intermission… but here we are.
Nora grabs Allie’s arm, tugging at it, but she doesn’t budge. She stays planted next to me with her eyebrows drawn together.
“Come with me? I don’t wanna go alone,” Nora whines.
Ana steps in then, linking her arm with Nora’s and gently pulling her away. “Come on, girl. I’ll go with you,” she says, flashing a smile and guiding Nora toward the restrooms.
Nora protests, whining that she wants Allie to go with her, but Ana just drags her away like a toddler.
Best wing woman ever.
I turn back to Allie and catch her smirking. Then I realize we’re finally alone—even if it’s for a minute. The only person nearby is Gareth, but he’s too busy talking to BearPaw’s guitarist to notice us.
I lean in close, my voice low against her ear. “I’ve wanted to kiss you all night. It’s driving me crazy.”
She giggles, quickly scanning the room to make sure no one’s close. Then, standing on her toes, she leans into my ear. “Then do it. But make it quick.”
I raise a brow, grinning. “I can make it quick,” I tease, just as my hand moves to the back of her neck, giving it a gentle squeeze.
I pull her toward me and press my lips lightly to hers. The warmth spreads through my chest as the butterflies go crazy like they always do.
When I slowly pull away, her eyes are still closed, the biggest smile dancing on her lips, still partway puckered.
“Again?” I ask softly. She nods eagerly, her eyes still closed, and I can’t help but laugh.
I bend down and quickly press our lips together again, and she smiles against my mouth, feeling the corners of her mouth twitch.
“Hey man! Oh, sorry—”
I quickly pull away, my hand falling from the back of Allie’s neck, heart slamming in my chest, while I slowly turn around. Then I sigh in relief.
It’s just Taylor. Thank fucking God.
Ana and Nora return from the bathroom, giggling their way over before stopping beside us.
“Ana, Nora, Allie,” I start, gesturing to each of them as I say their names. “This is Taylor. We met at Overcast last year.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” Nora practically gushes.
Taylor gives her a friendly smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Then his eyes flick to me while he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, man, it’s been a while. I always wondered what the missus looked like,”—he gestures to Allie—“so I figured I’d come over and say hi.”
Allie’s face goes white.
I shake my head quickly, a nervous laugh escaping. “Oh, no, no—we just met a few weeks ago,” I say, hoping he’ll take the hint and shut the fuck up.
His face twists with confusion. “Oh, shit. Sorry, dude. I just assumed—”
“So, a man and a woman can’t be just friends?” Nora chuckles, stepping in.
Fucking hell.
Taylor’s eyes flick from me to Nora.
I shake my head, silently pleading for him to just walk away.
He snickers awkwardly before his eyes return to Nora. “Of course they can,” he says, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “But usually when they kiss, they’re not just hanging out. I guess you just never know nowadays, right?”
Fuck . Me.
Everyone goes quiet. Not a single sound is heard aside from my heart pounding in my ears.
Nora laughs, still oblivious. “What do you mean?”
She looks between Allie and me, scanning our faces like she’s waiting for some punchline.
“I’ll… uh… catch you guys another time,” Taylor says, raising a thumb over his shoulder. He backs away, clearly wanting to get out before he digs himself deeper.
If only it had been three minutes ago.
Nora’s smile fades, and her head snaps toward Allie. “What did he mean, Allie?”
Allie reaches for Nora’s hand, but Nora yanks it away, her eyes widening as if the pieces are finally starting to fall into place.
Nora takes a few steps back, her gaze darting between Allie and me. “How long?”
“Come on, Nor. Let’s talk at the house,” Allie urges, reaching for her hand again.
But Nora holds both hands up, out of Allie’s reach. “ How. Long ?” she demands, her voice rising with each word.
Allie stammers, her chest rising and falling with her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. And I’m completely helpless. Unable to do anything but watch this all unfold.
Allie closes her eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose. Then, with a deep breath, she presses her lips together and blurts out, “Four weeks.”
Nora’s eyes go wide in disbelief, and she scoffs. “ Four weeks? ” She shouts it so loudly that Allie actually flinches.
I take a step forward, ready to step in, but Allie’s eyes snap to mine while she slowly shakes her head.
“It’s been almost an entire month, practically the whole vacation, but you didn’t bother to tell us? Your two closest friends ?” Nora throws air quotes around the words, and I watch Allie’s face crumble.
Nora grabs Gareth’s hand, yanking him toward her as she turns on her heel.
Ana throws up her hands in frustration. “Where are you going?”
But Nora doesn’t respond. Doesn’t even turn around; she just keeps walking straight for the double doors.
Allie bolts from the bar, her shoes slapping against the sticky linoleum while she rushes after her.
I move to follow, but a hand catches my forearm, stopping me in my tracks.
“Let them deal with it,” Ana says softly.
“She shouldn’t be the one getting yelled at,” I protest, jerking my other arm in the direction Allie ran. “It was my idea. This whole thing was my idea, not hers.”
Ana nods, sliding her hand off my sleeve.
“I know. But what you both need to understand is how it feels to be the last to know. Everyone else already figured it out, Jax. You guys really weren’t as slick as you thought,” she says with a small, sympathetic laugh.
“But Nora? She was so wrapped up in Gareth that she missed it. And now she feels left out. She feels lied to. And she’s allowed to be upset about that. ”
Then we hear screaming so loud it whips both of our heads toward the door.
“Alright, scratch that,” she says, taking off at a full sprint.
Adrenaline floods my veins. My feet move before I even register it, charging toward the exit, pulse hammering in my ears.
It was just one more day.