Chapter Sixteen. Zero-Sum Game
Chapter Sixteen
ZERO-SUM GAME
As Drew predicted, Danny was fine, reappearing moments later with a tray of food.
Cam made sure to order them a round of real drinks, and when they finished eating, Drew took to the karaoke setup.
He belted out one of their favorite songs from their college years, even bravely—and impressively—attempting the rap verse.
After karaoke, Drew spent fifteen minutes chatting up one of Francesca’s friends, and when the ladies left for the next round of their bar crawl, Cam swore she saw a number exchange.
It certainly explained Drew’s behavior when he returned to their table with fresh beers for him and Danny, wearing a goofy, lipstick-stained smile.
“And how did that go?” Cam asked, savoring the last sips of her drink. Esme might’ve been a pain, but she made a great margarita.
Drew relaxed into his seat. “Fan-fucking-tastic. She lives in Boston, so we’re going out next weekend.”
“Sounds like serendipity to me,” Danny replied, and Cam was relieved to see he’d returned to his usual state of calm, cool, and collected. “Maybe she’ll be the one.”
“Well, this place is magical,” Drew joked. “See anyone who catches your eye?”
Despite her best efforts, Cam was a little too curious about Danny’s answer. She shifted towards him, awaiting his response. But instead of playing into Drew’s teasing, he rolled his eyes.
“This is my place of business.”
“Hey, that works for me,” Drew said. “You already know who I want you to end up with.”
When Danny groaned into his beer, she bit her lip, not understanding the inside joke. “And who would that be?” she asked, hating how stilted her words sounded.
“Naomi,” they responded in unison.
She relaxed, laughing. “What? You must be the only guy in the world who actively wants his sister to date his best friend.”
Drew scoffed. “It’s perfectly reasonable.
Who wouldn’t want to pick out their in-laws?
To decide who fathers their nieces and nephews and joins for every Christmas and Super Bowl?
” He crossed his arms, practically pouting.
“I have one sister, and I’d love to handpick my brother-in-law.
There’re only two guys I’d consider, and with Cory engaged, that leaves Danny. Ergo, the universe has decided!”
Static filled her ears. Drew winced, his face scrunching up and a soft “Shit” leaving his lips.
Beside him, Danny stared at his drink, mindlessly twisting the bracelet on his wrist. She blinked a few times, trying to process the casual declaration.
But it was hard to focus on anything with the bright lights and overwhelming noise.
“Cory is … engaged?”
Drew glanced at Danny, who met his gaze for only a moment before returning his concentration to his beer. “Camille … shit. This wasn’t how we meant to tell you.” Drew cleared his throat. “The wedding is in August. Invites went out earlier this month.”
“Why didn’t anyone say anything?”
There was nothing on social media. Cory had mentioned a girlfriend in September, the last time she saw him, but that was it. There was no talk of a fiancée, of a pending wedding, of forever and always.
She gripped the table, feeling faint. Danny had shifted his attention to her, and his dark stare put her even more on edge. Left her feeling even more unbalanced. Like she was on the precipice of descent.
Except she was already spiraling. She was seconds from rock bottom, moving so fast she was a blip on the radar.
“We didn’t know how,” Drew explained quietly. “Especially with the reception being held at Beau’s.”
Beau’s had become a second home during her stay in Elswick.
She found comfort in the beachside eatery, in Pauly’s cooking, in Danny’s playful presence at every corner.
But it was still just a restaurant. Just a place where people ate after work, and drank on vacation, and married the woman of their dreams without telling one of their so-called best friends.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Cam turned to Danny. “We?”
“Us and Morgan,” Danny said. “We didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Right. Nobody wanted me to get hurt. Because apparently, I’m a fragile fucking flower who wouldn’t survive hearing about her ex’s engagement.”
“No,” he replied, straightening in his seat. “What you are is our friend, and after you and Cory broke up, we changed. All of us. We still…”
“We don’t know how to navigate this,” Drew finished. “We’re trying our best.”
“Your best was lying to me. Every single one of you.” She stood, unsteady on her feet. “I’m going to head back. I don’t feel well.”
Before either guy could respond, she hurried out. She walked as quickly as her legs allowed, stopping only once to send a few frantic texts to Morgan.
Thanks for telling me Cory is engaged.
Was this another story you edited for my sake?
The longer she thought about the news, the faster she walked, her sandaled feet slapping gray dust from the sandy roads onto her bare legs. These were her friends and none of them had thought to tell her. Cory was her friend and hadn’t invited her to his wedding.
In her turmoil, Danny’s words circled, forming a cyclone of rage and regret.
After you and Cory broke up, we changed.
We changed.
The memories were suffocating. The graduation trip to Miami they discussed for months, canceled with a click.
The agreement to meet in Boston to join Danny at the airport before his trip to Asia, lost in the breakup chaos.
The promises to have FaceTime catch-ups every few weeks, to visit each other on yearly trips, to maintain their college traditions like Secret Santa and Group Breakfast …
All casualties.
Yet despite the dwindling communication and the canceled meetups, she’d thought things were okay. She and Cory would never resume their closeness, but they were polite. Friendly. Their group may’ve been battered and bruised, but they were alive.
Or so she thought. Because not only had Cory not invited her to his wedding, but their friends worked together to hide the news.
And there was more, too. Morgan was purposely not sharing details about her life to avoid upsetting Cam.
Drew was months post-breakup with Aditi, and it took a dating app for her to hear about the end of the relationship.
Danny had taken up homebrewing and was so successful at it he was winning competitions, and yet he’d never mentioned the hobby to her.
Maybe she wasn’t as important to them as they were to her.
Maybe they’d outgrown her.
Maybe they didn’t need her anymore.
And if that was the case, were they even friends?
Hot tears burned her cheeks and as she approached Danny’s place, she slumped into a full-blown crying fit. Because this wasn’t only about friendships and secrets and growing apart.
This was about Cory.
She wanted him to be happy. But did he have to get married when her life was falling apart?
Did he have to be so fucking perfect?
He did everything well. He always had. He was handsome, and brilliant, and kind, and a genuinely good person. She couldn’t even reflect on their time together with anger because she loved the version of him that lived in her memories.
She loved him as a friend. But if he was truly a friend, she should’ve celebrated this life-changing news. Instead, she was brimming with pettiness, crying with jealousy.
Not from lingering feelings or mistimed love.
Just pure, unadulterated envy at his success.
She and Cory had finished school in the same place. Mountains of debt, fresh off a breakup, at big companies in big cities. Yet in four years, he was working at the same fancy investment bank and getting married.
Starting a family. Putting down roots.
But Cam?
She was back where she started, except with an even higher mountain of debt to climb. If Cory had made it to Everest Base Camp, she was still wandering around Kathmandu, begging someone to help her summit in the worst weather possible.
And despite nearly a month in Elswick, a month of briny breaths and sunny strolls, she was right back in DC, obsessed with what she didn’t have. She’d become a leech, a rat, a jaded, disillusioned husk of a person unable to savor even a second of happiness.
A little green monster, disguised by skin and bones.
When she entered Danny’s apartment, she greeted Reggie, hugging him as she cried. The furry embrace was immediately calming, and his eager tongue scraping away hot tears and a layer of makeup was oddly comforting.
She wished she had a pet.
She wished she could afford a pet.
“Fuck!” she sobbed, squeezing him tight.
Because she was doing it again. Taking a moment and fixating on what she didn’t have instead of what she did.
She kissed his head, and after a deep breath to calm herself down, she led him into the kitchen for some of his favorite jerky sticks.
When treat time ended, he returned to his armchair, propping his head on the side to stare at her.
She watched him for a few moments, until her thoughts inevitably returned to Cory and the wedding.
Decision made, Cam approached the drawer she’d seen Danny shove mail into.
A few seconds of digging produced the invitation.
On beautiful cardstock, Cory’s handsome face smiled at her, his arms wrapped around a stunning woman in a white dress.
The Brooklyn Bridge sparkled behind them, like a fairy-tale castle.
Cam traced the gentle embossing, and their glowing faces.
They could cover a magazine. That’s how beautiful they were. Cory and …
Tabitha.
A regal and beautiful name for a regal and beautiful woman.
Cam sat at the island, staring at the invitation for far too long.
It was strange to look at. Strange to conceptualize that in another reality, another version of her would’ve married Cory.
Would’ve followed him to New York, would’ve taken his last name, and would’ve accepted an eternity of quiet contentment.
Except there wasn’t any part of her that wanted that reality. That wanted a future with a man she didn’t love.
But when she felt so low, it was hard to ignore how high he was flying.
Because exes were supposed to do worse. They were there for bad date stories and to have their pictures shredded on themed bar nights.
They were supposed to be reflected on at bachelorette parties and joked about in maid-of-honor speeches.
He wasn’t supposed to leave her in the dust.
When the door opened, she remained seated, still staring at the invitation as Reggie scampered about and Drew muttered something about the bathroom. She didn’t dare look up, but from the way goose bumps pebbled across her skin, she knew Danny was watching her.
“Cam…”
“You guys are back soon,” she whispered. Not bothering to look at him, she went to the fridge and used a magnet to stick the invitation in the direct center. Now, the happy couple was perfectly in her line of sight. “I thought Drew would’ve stayed out as late as possible.”
“We were worried about you. How you left, walking home alone … I wanted to give you some space, but we took off pretty soon after you.”
“Why?” she asked, staring at the invite. “There’s no reason to worry about me.”
“Cam…”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you?”
Finally, she turned to him, forcing a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. This isn’t a big deal. My ex-boyfriend getting married and none of our very close mutual friends telling me is totally not a big deal.”
Danny crossed his arms, nodding slowly as each word left her lips. “Right. It’s not a big deal like kissing your friends isn’t a big deal.”
She laughed through the fresh tears. “Exactly. So, if you’ll excuse me”—she pointed to the den—“I’m going to sleep now.”
Ignoring his pleas to talk, she hurried off. She knew sleep wouldn’t come easily. But at the mention of their kiss, she wasn’t sure which development would keep her up—the news of Cory’s wedding, or the memory of Danny’s lips on hers.
She had an inkling, and maybe that scared her more than Cory’s pending nuptials.