Chapter 18 #3
“You love it here,” I said. “You love the chaos. You love the insanity. You love—”
“If you say I love Fitz right now, I will end you.”
“I was going to say you love me,” I said quietly.
She looked at me for a long moment, and I watched some of the tension drain from her shoulders.
“Yeah,” she said finally. “I do.”
“So we’ll figure it out,” I said. “You’ll break up with him tomorrow. Or the next day. Or whenever Fitz stops being his new best friend.”
“That could take weeks.”
“Then it takes weeks.”
“Quinton.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly. “I don’t care if it takes weeks or months, or if Fitz and Colton end up as roommates. I’m not going anywhere.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m patient.”
“You’re really not.”
“I’m patient when it matters,” I corrected.
From across the room, Fitz cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry.”
Vivian didn’t lift her head. “You’re going for drinks with my boyfriend.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to talk about women and workouts.”
“Presumably.”
“And you’re going to bond.”
“It’s possible.”
“I hate you.”
“That’s fair,” Fitz said.
Winnie stood up, grabbing her bag as she headed for the exit. “I’m going home. Where I will drink an entire bottle of wine and pretend this day never happened.”
“Want company?” Fitz asked hopefully.
“Absolutely not!”
“Worth a shot,” he muttered.
Gabriel, Nathan, and Hayden were already edging toward the door.
“We should go too,” Gabriel said. “Before anything else insane happens.”
“Wait,” Fitz said suddenly, his eyes lighting up with that particular brand of mischief that made me deeply uncomfortable. “You can’t leave. I need you to come with me.”
Gabriel stopped mid-step. “No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”
“You’re going to ask us to come for drinks with you and Colton,” Gabriel said. “And the answer is no. I have a wife and a daughter waiting for me at home.”
“I also have plans,” Nathan added quickly.
“I’m on call,” Hayden lied.
“You’re not on call,” Fitz said. “I checked the schedule.”
“Then I’m going home to enjoy my Friday evening in peace and quiet like a normal human being.”
Fitz turned to me. “Quinton?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Come on,” Fitz pleaded, his voice taking on a desperate edge. “I need backup. I need someone to make sure I don’t say something offensive or start another international incident.”
“You’re not going to start an international incident at a sports bar in New Haven,” Gabriel said.
“You don’t know that.”
“I’m very confident.”
“What if I get arrested again?” Fitz tried. “What if I end up in jail and one of you has to bail me out at 3 AM? Again?”
“Then we won’t,” Nathan said cheerfully. “We’ll let you sit there until Monday.”
“That’s cruel.”
“That’s consequences,” Hayden said.
Fitz looked genuinely panicked now. “Please. I’m begging you. I can’t do this alone. I’ll die of boredom. Or say something stupid. Or both.”
“You’ll be fine,” Gabriel said, already reaching for the door handle.
“We have faith in you,” Nathan added, not even trying to hide his grin.
“Minimal faith,” Hayden clarified. “But faith nonetheless.”
They were almost out the door when Fitz said, very casually, “Well, I suppose if you’re all abandoning me, I’ll just have to entertain myself.”
Something in his tone made us all freeze.
“What does that mean?” I asked slowly.
“Nothing,” Fitz said innocently. “Just that I’ll be at a bar. Alone. Getting drunk. And you know what happens when I get drunk and lonely.”
The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees.
“No,” Gabriel said.
“I get very... communicative,” Fitz continued. “Very emotional. Very prone to making phone calls. I might text people,” Fitz mused. “Long, rambling texts about my feelings. My regrets. My deepest desires.”
“Fitz,” Nathan warned.
“Or I might call someone,” Fitz said, looking directly at the reception desk. “Someone specific around 3 AM. Maybe I’ll serenade her again. Or confess something. Or both.”
“You wouldn’t,” Nathan gasped.
“I wouldn’t want to,” Fitz said. “But drunk me has very poor impulse control. You’ve all seen the evidence.”
There was a long, horrible silence.
Then Gabriel said, “What time?”
“Seven o’clock,” Fitz said, grinning. “The Rusty Nail on Chapel Street.”
“I hate you,” Gabriel muttered.
“I’m only coming to protect Winnie,” Nathan said quickly.
“Same,” Hayden agreed. “This is entirely for Winnie’s benefit.”
They all looked at me.
I looked at Vivian, who was staring at us with an expression of pure horror.
“This is the worst decision I’ve ever made,” I said. “But I’m coming.”
“Excellent!” Fitz clapped his hands together. “Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”
“I hate you all,” Vivian sighed.
Fitz just grinned. “See you gentlemen tonight. We’re going to have a wonderful time.”
“We’re going to have a terrible time,” Gabriel corrected.
“A disaster,” Hayden muttered.
“The worst,” Nathan agreed.
“But we’re going,” I said, resigned to my fate.
“For Winnie,” Gabriel added.
“Absolutely for Winnie,” Nathan confirmed.
Fitz’s grin widened. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, lads.”