Chapter Fifteen. Tongue-Tied
Chapter Fifteen
TONGUE-TIED
They took off for Beau’s at sunset, both Drew and Danny dashingly handsome in their best beach-approved night-out clothes. And as promised, Drew kept wearing his BIRTHDAY BOY sash, smile obnoxiously wide.
Cam felt equally dressed up. After so many shifts at the restaurant, wearing anything but a Beau’s T-shirt felt like overkill. But it was a day off, and they were celebrating, so she broke out a pink summer dress and put beachy waves in her otherwise humidity-wrecked hair.
At Beau’s, the party was in full swing. Every table—except two reserved, one for Drew, and one for Francesca—was filled with locals and tourists alike, and an older couple was already singing karaoke at the corner stage setup.
Danny was a celebrity in the space, being tossed greetings from every local in attendance.
As a part of his entourage, Cam was tickled by the attention, waving at the people she knew, and smiling at those she didn’t.
Their first stop was the bar, and well rehearsed, Drew leaned across the surface to smirk at Esme.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “You miss me?”
“As much as anyone misses a plague,” she replied, monotone, making drinks. “Nice sash. Are we turning six today?”
“Twenty-six,” he corrected, not put off by her tone. “And I agree. It is a nice sash. My friends got it for me.” He threw his arms around Danny and Cam. “My best buds. If only Cory and Morgan were here.”
Danny patted his chest. “You’ll have to settle for the two of us.”
“You two are more fun anyways.” Drew beat his fists against the bar, all excited energy.
“Okay! How about we start this night off shredding our exes?” He produced a small stack of pictures from his pocket, flicking through them like a flipbook.
Cam had watched him use Danny’s computer not even thirty minutes ago, printing the pictures from social media.
“I’ve got a few to pick from,” he continued. “Will it be Jessica, my high school girlfriend?” He slammed the picture down. “Lena and Michelle, my college girlfriends? Aditi, my most recent ex? Or … dearest Morgan?”
The pictures of the women collaged on the bar. Cam picked up the shot of Morgan, recognizing it as one she had taken last summer during a night out. “Drew, you never dated Morgan.”
He clutched his chest. “But as much as I love and support her, she broke my heart and that counts for something!” He grinned. “Like a free shot.”
Danny laughed, collecting the pictures in a neat stack and leaving Aditi on top. “You get one shot no matter how many pictures you shred. I pick Aditi. You called me drunk at least three times when she dumped you.”
Drew winced. “Yeah. That one hurt.”
Cam looked between them, frowning. Three drunk calls? How much had she missed? She wasn’t na?ve—she understood friendship dynamics, and that Drew was more likely to call the guys for a digital shoulder to cry on, but …
Esme handed him a handheld shredder and a metal bucket, the container half filled with shredded memories from other patrons. “Your move, bud.”
After shredding the top picture, he went through the stack, hooting as the strands fell into the bucket. When Esme slid over the shot of J?germeister—his request, to the disgust of everyone around him—he took it and cheered.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” he cried. He turned to Danny and Cam. “Now. You two!”
As Drew continued cheering, she pulled a freshly printed picture of Cory from her purse and watched as her ex-boyfriend’s handsome face transformed into scraps. “Okay. That was admittedly fun.”
She handed Danny the shredder, and he produced a picture of an unfamiliar brunette—Francesca?
The photo disappeared in seconds, and as if her thoughts beckoned forward the subject, a feminine voice said, “Danny Brennan! You better not be shredding my picture on my bachelorette night!”
Cam turned, coming face-to-face with Francesca. The resemblance to her family members was easy to spot. She shared her father Pauly’s megawatt smile, and her brother JP’s curly dark hair and big green eyes.
In her little white dress, with natural makeup and shiny hair, Francesca was effortlessly beautiful.
Danny laughed and gave her a hug. “Now seems like the perfect time to shred your picture considering you’re officially off the market.”
Francesca grinned, poking his chest, and the more Cam watched them, the more her stomach flooded with discomfort. Hunger pangs, clearly. Their chips and watermelon on the beach hadn’t exactly been lunch.
“I am off the market,” Francesca confirmed. “Unfortunately, I won’t be shredding your picture tonight.” She held up one of a stocky white guy with blonde hair. “I have Peter for that honor.”
Three more women appeared, wearing matching T-shirts, and cheered as Francesca shredded the picture. One by one her friends joined the celebration, and feeling left out as they flirted with Danny, Cam went to their reserved table.
Drew followed. “Such a heartthrob, my Danny.”
Cam rolled her eyes. “It’s a bachelorette party.
It’s like throwing a male stripper into the mix.
” As the girls fawned over Danny, he slipped behind the bar, promising everyone a drink on the house.
“Sometimes I feel like he’s too nice for his own good.
He’s just … always doing things for other people. Including me.”
Drew shrugged. “That’s because Danny is … Danny. When Aditi dumped me, he drove up twice and helped me get my shit together.”
She frowned, watching as Danny handed out the drinks. One of Francesca’s friends touched his arm, and she quickly averted her gaze. “I know. I’m lucky to have him.”
“We’re lucky to have him.” When another person took the stage for karaoke, Drew cheered. “One of us has to sing tonight.”
“I vote you.”
“I vote me too!”
Danny joined then, with a round of beer for the table. He sat beside Cam, cheeks red, and she wondered if it was from the attention or the humid summer night. “Sorry about that. I was being heckled for breaking up with Francesca way back when.”
“What … happened?” Cam asked.
“She wanted something serious, and I was figuring shit out. Still trying to get my feet on the ground with Beau’s. I shouldn’t have even started seeing her but…”
“But look at her?” Drew teased.
Danny laughed, glancing at Francesca and back to his beer. “Pauly liked us together. Started building up a fantasy of us running Beau’s in the future. I think he’s a bit peeved her fiancé lives up in Vermont. They’re moving after the wedding.”
The bachelorette party ordered another round of shots, and as they slammed their glasses down, Cam replied, “Then it worked out. Since she fell in love and you’re doing so well with Beau’s.”
“I agree.”
But as she studied Francesca and her bejeweled sash reading brIDE TO BE, one thought consumed her. It joined flashes of movement blurry at the edges. A faceless girl in a sea of neon lights and close bodies. An Australian accent crying out, “Danny!”
Cam jolted forward, eyes wide. The question tumbled out, her voice staticky as she asked, “Why didn’t you mention her?”
“It was a while ago,” Danny replied, shrugging.
“I know. I mean then. You never mentioned her.”
“Cam, it was only a few months.”
“A few?”
“Four,” he clarified, and her stomach plummeted. He’d dated someone for a third of the year and she wasn’t hearing about it until nearly two years later. Apparently, her friends didn’t feel the need to tell her anything. “It was casual. I was focused on Beau’s, and you were … you know.”
“I was what?”
“Doing your own thing. You were focused on work and shit. I didn’t think it was necessary to bring up. And … you said it before. We don’t always talk about the people we’re seeing.”
She wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much, but it did. She and Danny lived separate lives, but they found time for catch-up FaceTime calls and weekly text exchanges. A four-month-long relationship seemed like normal conversation fodder.
But just like Drew with his breakup, Danny didn’t agree.
“You’re right.” She dropped her gaze to her freshly painted nails. “But … I just don’t understand why you never mentioned her. Or … Gemma. Or … Indianapolis.”
“Indianapolis?” Drew repeated. “Is that the girl you hooked up with in—”
“Come on!” Danny crossed his arms, eyes narrowed. “Cam, we don’t share everything.”
“Maybe not, but it feels so … secretive! I share my life with my friends.”
From across the table, Drew added, “Mainly because you like to complain.”
“Shut up, Drew!”
He lounged in his chair, limbs loose and grin smug. “No, I don’t think I will.” His gaze boomeranged between her and Danny. “Camille, since you hate secrets so much, did you share the juicy one?”
“Drew!” She kicked him below the table. “Again, shut up.”
Danny looked between them, eyebrows furrowed. “What is he talking about?”
Her “We kissed” was drowned out by Drew’s much louder, much more animated “We made out.”
Amber liquid splashed across the wooden table until it cascaded off the edge. Danny jumped to his feet with a curse, waving a passing Xavier over. Once he had a rag in hand, he worked on cleaning the spill, focus locked on the table, lips curled so tightly they whitened.
“We did not make out!” Cam said to Drew.
“Technically speaking, we did,” Drew replied. “You put your tongue in my mouth and if there’s tongue, it’s a make out.”
“Are we really getting into semantics right now?”
“You two kissed?” Danny sounded casual, his words breezy, but he worked the rag so hard Cam worried the fabric would disintegrate. Once he’d handed off the soaking wet towel, he dropped back to his seat, gaze shifting between her and Drew. “Sorry.” He laughed, the sound brusque. “Made out.”
“I’m just sticking to the facts—”
“Was this”—Danny cleared his throat, interrupting Drew—“recent?”
“Oh god no!” Cam cried. “You think with a fully formed brain I would’ve touched Drew?”