Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
L evon
Friday night was in full swing.
I clapped Ryan on the back. “We're glad to see you getting hitched, buddy.”
He smiled. “I'm glad you could come back for the celebration! It's good to have everyone here. I can't thank you guys enough for putting this whole thing together.”
“It's the least we could do,” Gabe said. “Besides, what else does a best friend do for his best friend's wedding? He throws a sick bachelor party!”
All the guys in the background cheered. I broke away from Ryan and Gabe to sidle up to the drinks table. Although I had sworn to myself to get through this entire event with meditation, it just wasn't cutting it anymore. I needed something a little stronger: whiskey, preferably.
I poured myself a whiskey on ice and swirled it as I glanced around at the guys in attendance. Everyone was having a great time. I smiled at the small collection of guys parked in front of the flat-screen television, nudging into each other while playing a street fighting game. A few others were perched in the corner with a board game and Ryan, being the groom, was in the center of it all, basking in the attention.
I leaned back against the table. Gabe strolled up to me with a beer in his hand. “It's good to see him happy.”
“Yeah, he really deserves it.”
“How are you holding up?”
I shrugged. “I'm doing just fine.”
“I'm sure this is less exciting than Paris.”
“Hey, you don't know that for sure.”
He laughed. “Well, I'd love to find out.”
“Of course. One of these days.”
“I wish Clara had the traveling spirit. She would have loved visiting Paris, I'm sure. I wanted to get her a dog to keep her company. You know, one of those service animals.”
I gulped down a mouthful of whiskey. I sighed when it sank into my belly, hitting hard into my organs. “Yeah, that sounds cool.”
“Dogs are such receptive creatures. They're good at helping people calm down.”
“Yep.”
“I do wonder if that would have helped her along with my decision. Maybe if I had gotten her a dog before inviting her to move, she would have gone for it.”
I shrugged. “Well, it's in the past now.”
“It sure is, isn't it?” He tipped back his beer. “Do you want to do a round of beer pong?”
I frowned at the table. There were already people crowded around it. “I don't know.”
“Hey, come on, man. You should loosen up. You can't be moping about Clara for this long.”
“Who said I was moping about Clara?”
He chuckled. “I mean, it's all over your face, dude.”
“How nice of you to point that out.”
“I'm just being a good friend. That's all. And good friends get their sad friends to drink.”
“That doesn't sound healthy.”
He tried to laugh it off. “It's not a big deal, dude. I'm still warped over Clara, too. Mine is way more fresh than yours. I wish she hadn't done that to me.”
“Well, it sucks.”
“It does suck,” he sighed as he relaxed against the table. He cradled his beer in his hands. “It feels like she totally ditched me.”
I swallowed more whiskey. It was needed.
“And I bet she'll look gorgeous at the wedding. She's always looked good in gowns. I wish she would have worn them more. She liked going out, but she didn't always want to do the fancy thing with me.”
I shook my head, trying to find another focal point.
“She used to take pictures of us every time we went out. I've been looking at them almost every night, dude.”
“You sound deep in your drink, Gabe.”
“It's a party. I'm drinking. So, yeah.”
“Maybe you should have some water soon.”
He cackled. “Water is for the weak!”
“So said the guy who got rejected.”
“Hey, you got rejected, too.”
“Well, at least I didn't make the monumental mistake of getting warped by her. At least I moved on to better things instead of moping around about it.”
He scoffed, standing up away from the table. “Oh, did you? That's not how it sounded the other day, my guy.”
“Well, the other day was different. I was taken aback by you dating Clara.”
“Are you still mad about that?”
I shook my head, shrugging away the whole mess. “I don't have time for this, dude.”
“If you didn't have time, why did you start it?”
“You're the one who brought up Clara.”
“And you're the one trying to ruin my chances of getting back with Clara!”
The room throbbed with silence. I could have likely dropped a pin and heard it were it not for the cheesy pop music playing in the background. The music didn't sound like Ryan's style. But then again, I didn't know much about Ryan's style. I hadn't spent enough time home to get to know him.
I glared at Gabe. “Is that what you think I'm doing by pointing you toward hydration?”
“I don't think you get it, man. Clara doesn't want to mess with you again.”
“Oh, she seems so keen to the idea of hooking back up with you.”
He growled. “You don't even know her!”
“It was rude of you to throw me under the bus like that, Gabe. I can't believe you would drag me into your drama like that.”
“You're the one who had a conniption over Clara and I dating in the first place.”
“Yeah, it's almost like you swooped right in as soon as I left. How long were you waiting for Clara to be single? I saw how you stared at her in high school.”
He shook his head. “You're just a jealous old man.”
“And you're a punk.”
“You practically broke us up. If you hadn't damaged her with your career, she might have actually moved to New York with me.”
I gaped at him. “Whoa there, Gabe. I haven't even been around for almost three years. How could you possibly blame me for Clara breaking up with you? I'm not sure that even makes sense!”
“You hurt her, dude. You messed her up. Now, she won't ever leave Oklahoma.”
“And that's my fault?”
“Yeah, why not? If you hadn't been such a jerk, she might have wanted to explore more than just this lousy state.”
“So, now this state is lousy, huh?”
Ryan came up between us. “Hey, take it outside.”
“I'm far from finished, dude, and I want to finish in front of everyone ,” Gabe insisted. He tossed his beer in the trash and grabbed another. “I'm ready to destroy you like she destroyed me.”
“You're such an exhibitionist, Gabe. Why wouldn't you want to take it outside? It's almost like you want to ruin Ryan's party.”
“You act like such a victim. You keep running around, talking about how Clara hurt you in this or that way when you're the one that actually hurt her.”
“You're just saying that so when word gets back to her, it sounds like you're defending her.”
He scoffed. “I am defending her. She deserves that much. She deserves more than you.”
Ryan stepped back, mortified. It seemed like he didn't know exactly what to do. And I didn't blame him.
But I also couldn't stop myself from pressing on.
“I don't see why you need to defend her. You should try defending yourself.”
Gabe laughed. “And why would I do that? Do I need your permission to do that?”
“You're the one who betrayed me by seeking out Clara in the first place.”
“Clara isn't property! You can't claim her if you left her!”
“I didn't say she was property!”
He drew close and swigged his beer before continuing, “There's no way in hell she would have waited for you. You would have had her waiting for three years!”
“You don't know that for sure. You don't know what she would have done.”
“I know exactly what she would have done—she would have dumped you within the first year after realizing you weren't coming back.”
I groaned. “You're just drunk, Gabe. Get over it!”
“You get over it!”
“I'm not doing this with you anymore. You're being ridiculous, man. You're ruining everything right now for Ryan.”
“You're just trying to get the focus away from you. How about Clara's birthday? Did you ever apologize for ditching her birthday for your job?”
“How do you even know about that? And I didn't ditch her!”
“She told me all about it on our third date. She told me everything , man. There's nothing you can hide from me.”
I shook my head. “You're a real piece of work. Maybe you should have been a lawyer instead of whatever crappy job you're doing now.”
“I see you've run out of material, buddy. Now, you're attacking my job. What else do you want to tear down about me?”
“How about all the gawking and coveting from the past? We could always drag that right out since you're willing to drag out my history.”
“Dude, you must have been imagining things. Clara and I were just friends back then.”
I arched my eyebrow curiously. “Oh, really? Is that why you always invited her to parties?”
“That's what high school kids do—we invite people to parties and we party hardy. What's wrong with that, Levon?”
“I don't know, man. It was pretty shady.”
“You act like she's property. Are you a realtor looking for an investment?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, but you seem more than invested in winning her over.”
“And why not? We worked well together! We did better than your relationship ever did. She told me that herself .”
“Take that back.”
He smiled smugly. “Nope, it's already been said.”
“I can't believe you would toss me to the wolves like this. What did I ever do to you?”
“You did plenty just now. I was more than willing to let bygones be bygones, but you can't get over it. Why should I forgive you if you're not even willing to let it go?”
“What I do is my business.”
“Then, leave me out of your business.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, dude. Save it for the begging party you're about to have with Clara.”
He squared up. “What did you say?”
“Do I need to repeat it with the subtitles on?”
“Sure, why not? It would help me read you better.”
“I said, save it for the begging party. You'll need to do a lot of groveling for Clara to even consider looking in your direction again.”
“You just made a monumental mistake, dude.”
Gabe shoved me, sending beer splattering over my shirt. He stepped back for a moment with a look of rage over his face, staring me down. My shocked expression seemed to knock him out of the anger he was locked in. Almost instantly, his features fell.
“Dude, I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I didn't mean to do that. I got mad.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“I'm serious. I just got frustrated.”
“Like you frustrated me? At least I didn't shove you.”
I wiped some of the foamy beer from my shirt and set my glass of whiskey down. It was ruined. The whole night was burned. I grabbed a napkin from the table, dabbed my face, and headed for the door.
Ryan ran up after me. “Hey, come on. Stick around. The party is going to lighten up in no time.”
“Congrats, pal. I'm glad you're marrying my sister. She's a real keeper.”
“Thanks, buddy. Why not stay? I'm sure you and Gabe can work it out over a game of beer pong.”
I shook my head. “I'm not in a partying mood, Ryan. I just want to go home.”
“Alright, tell Jen I said hey.”
“Sure.”
And with that, I left.
I pushed through the double doors and wandered out to the parking lot where my rental was parked. I tore off my shirt, shaking out the rest of the beer. If I got pulled over, I would surely be given a field sobriety test. I didn't want that to happen. I hadn't even had more than a few gulps of that whiskey. I tossed the dirty shirt in the back and reached in the front for a new one.
I sniffed the shirt. “I still smell like beer—great.”
I hopped in and turned the key in the ignition, peeling out of the parking lot. I wanted to put as much distance between Gabe and me.
The more distance, the better.