Chapter Ten
Linc
A udrey and Jax both agreed that they didn’t want separate bachelor and bachelorette parties, so they thought it would be fun for all of us to go out for an evening together instead. It’s the weekend before the wedding, and it feels like they just got engaged yesterday. To be honest, I’m glad we’re almost at the finish line. Jax and Audrey have had Mel and me all over the place. After the tableware appointment, there was a meeting with the DJ, then with the florist, and lastly, we had to make the seating chart for the reception. Jax and Audrey are lucky we love them because if this is what being the best man entails, I don’t think I want to ever do it again.
Mel and I got through it all without arguing, which I see as a win. She listens to my opinions, we’ve learned to compromise, and there has been a lot less eye rolling. I like spending time with her, hearing about her day, and listening to her logic when working with coordinators. I hope she has started to reshape the image she has of me because making her smile or hearing her laugh has become a habit I don’t really want to give up after the wedding is over.
The men got ready at my place, since I live closest to downtown, and the women were getting ready at Jax and Audrey’s penthouse. I check my reflection one more time, making sure I don’t have toothpaste on my face. I blow out a breath and drop my shoulders.
“Linc, you ready? The girls are almost here,” Jax yells through the bathroom door.
I open the door. “Ready. Did they decide where we’re going yet?”
“Audrey said she wants to go to Melrose. Said she wants to dance.”
“Cool.” I nod my head.
Great, we’re going to the club where I met Melonie for the first time. Now I’ll be fighting images of her from that night the whole evening.
We gather wallets and keys, Marcus finishes his beer, and we head downstairs. The car pulls up and Jax opens the door to the SUV. I see Audrey’s eyes light up just at the sight of him.
“Hey, handsome.”
He kisses her as he sits in the seat next to her in the back row. “Hey, beautiful.”
Marcus climbs in, sitting next to Gigi, leaving me in the seat next to Melonie. She’s wearing a red dress that should be fucking illegal. It’s an off the shoulder sort of thing and it shows off her legs. My hands itch as I see the creamy skin of her thighs, and I’m fighting the urge to touch her. God bless America, I need to keep some sort of control tonight.
“You ready to dance tonight, pretty boy?” Gigi breaks my train of thought from the seat behind me.
I clear my throat. “You bet, Gigi.” I grin at Mel. “Hey, Mel, you look nice.”
“Thanks, Linc. You do, too.” She quickly looks out the window, but I could have sworn I saw a touch of pink on her cheeks before the interior lights of the car turned off.
I turn in my seat to face Gigi. “Is Lewis meeting up with us?”
Gigi has been dating the guy that she met the same night I met Mel. But he seems to always have an excuse not to hang out with our group,
“Um, no.” She glances at Marcus for a split second. “He didn’t want to intrude on wedding party stuff.”
“He’s always welcome to join us, Gigi. Text him and tell him to meet up with us,” Audrey suggests.
“Nah, he’s out with his friends. But thanks.”
Marcus looks at Gigi with concern on his face, and she looks a little annoyed before looking down at her phone.
We get to Melrose and head for the bar. Jax leans over the bar top to flag down a bartender.
I turn to Mel and lower my voice. “Prosecco tonight?”
She turns to look me in the eye. “No bubbles for me tonight, pretty boy.”
I don’t miss the double meaning in her words. Guess she doesn’t feel the bit of the nostalgia that I do being here, because damn, she just shot me down.
“Alright, then, what are you drinking?”
“Gin martini, please.”
“Dry with an olive?”
She focuses back on my face. “You know how I take it?”
“It was what you drank the night of the fundraiser. I’m not a total ass, Mel. I remember stuff.”
“Never called you an ass, Linc. If I were to call you names, it would probably be a different one.” She has a smug look on her face, and it’s setting me off.
“You know what? Forget it.” Jax hands me a beer. “Jax, get Mel a gin martini, dry with an olive. I’m going to make a round.” He looks at me, then at Mel, and nods.
Maybe I’m blowing this up a little more than I should. Maybe I just want a reaction out of her.
She turns to me. “Why are you upset?”
“Not upset, Mel. Just a little tired of playing nice.”
“So, you just pretend to be nice to me?”
“No, I don’t pretend. I’m just tired of being the one who has to be nice to you, but you get to make snarky comments.”
“That’s not true, Linc, but go ahead and walk away. It’s what you’re good at, after all.”
“And there it is. Thanks for confirming that I’ll never live that night down.” I start to turn from her. I’m pissed, and this isn’t turning into the night I had imagined. She grabs my elbow, and it makes me even more aggravated.
“Linc, stop.” When I look at her, her shoulders drop, she tightens her grip on my arm, and she moves us away from the group. “I’m sorry I said that.”
“I’ll say it again, Mel. If I could go back and change that night, I would. I just wish you could drop this grudge. I’m not telling you how to feel, that’s not my place, but I really like hanging out with you and I don’t like fighting around my best friends.”
She stares at me for a moment. “I’m sorry, Linc. I haven’t been nice, and I took it too far.”
“I’ve been trying to prove to you that I’m not who you thought I was that night, and when you say things like that, I feel like you don’t see me trying.”
“I see you, Linc. I really am sorry.”
Somehow, her apology just feels like a Band-Aid. “Thanks. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a walk.”
I grab my beer and walk away.