21. Ryan
CHAPTER 21
Ryan
I t’s been nearly a week since that morning I spent with Summer in her bed. If it weren’t for Jared, I’d be floating on cloud nine. Summer hasn’t told me the specifics of what was said between them on Sunday, but I can tell whatever happened wasn’t good. She hasn’t sounded like her usual self. Just when she seemed to be getting better, she saw him again on Wednesday, and her mood darkened again. I’m sure she’s going to tell me, but it isn’t a conversation to have over the phone.
She’s still trying to honor her agreement with Jared and not have me meet Emma until he approves. So when she has her, I don’t come around. I respect the rule, but man does it suck for me. This is the first time I’ve ever been with a woman who has a child, and it’s a whole different ball game.
I set out to clean my house since it’s been a bit neglected the last few weeks. I throw in a load of laundry, blast my music, and go about scrubbing down my bathrooms and kitchen. I’m belting the chorus of Don’t Stop Believing by Journey into my broomstick when my phone rings, blaring through my Bluetooth speaker. It startles me so much, I yelp and drop my broom stick/microphone .
“Hello?” I manage, after my soul returns to my body.
“Hey, man. Want to get some drinks and watch Victor and Chris annihilate each other at pool?” Luke asks.
I look around and shrug. My plans weren’t great for this Saturday night, anyway. Being with friends will probably offer me a good distraction. “Sure. Let me hop in the shower and I’ll meet you guys there. The Taproom?”
“Yep. See you there.” We hang up and I go get myself showered and dressed. I shoot Summer a quick text letting her know I’ll be out tonight. She tells me to have fun, and I grab my keys.
I pull into The Taproom and have a hard time finding parking. It becomes abundantly clear why when I hear Like a Virgin by Madonna being sung off-key in a falsetto, male voice.
According to the chalkboard sign at the bar’s entrance, Karaoke Night is a monthly thing. A small stage has been erected in the back of the bar that typically has booths and tables. On stage is an older guy, probably in his mid-to-late fifties, belting out the song. I quickly avert my gaze when he starts gyrating a little too enthusiastically and look for my friends.
I push through the crowd to get to the pool tables. I break through the thickest band of patrons and see Luke laughing, a hand splayed across his chest as Victor fumes from the side of the pool table. Chris is wearing a smug look that tells me that he probably just won the game. “Hey, guys,” I say, clapping Victor and Luke on the shoulders. “Guessing Chris just won?”
“For the third time in a row!” Victor yells over the still-gyrating Madonna fan.
“I’m on fire tonight,” Chris says, coming around to greet me. “Beer?” I nod and Chris gestures to Victor. “Go on, beer boy. Fetch us another round since you’re losing so hard tonight.” Victor rolls his eyes and cuts through the crowd to get to the bar.
“He’ll probably be a minute,” Luke says, pulling up a chair from the wall to sit on .
“Want to play a round?” Chris asks me a bit too gleefully for my tastes.
“I think I learned my lesson last time,” I say, holding my hands up to ward off the offer. Chris shrugs and begins to gather the balls, already arranging them for another game.
“I’ll play. What’s another ten bucks?” Luke asks, standing from his chair. I take his seat gladly. It’s much more enjoyable to watch someone else lose to Chris than to lose yourself.
In no time at all, Chris is poised to win and preparing to take his last shot. Just as he’s lining up, a slurred voice behind me says, “Fuckin’ bitch is cheatin’ on him. Told him since she baby trapped ‘im she was a no good whore.” My lip curls at the foul language. I hate when men call women whores. I feel something cold splash down the back of my neck, and I jump to my feet.
“Ah, shit! Sorry, man,” the drunk asshole in question slurs my way, half-empty beer mug tilted towards the floor, a slow drip of beer pouring out. The guy he was talking to uses the distraction to slink away into the crowd.
He’s got the look of someone who drinks too much, too often. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy. His clothes are a little too snug, with unidentifiable stains splattering the fabric of his t-shirt. His beard is scraggly and his hair is thinning on top.
“Woah, dude. Maybe you should slow down,” Luke says, coming to stand behind me. The cold beer sluices down my back and soaks the band of my jeans.
“Here, Ryan.” Chris hands me a stack of napkins to mop up the majority of the beer. I start scrubbing at my neck, keeping my temper in check. I’m not a bar fight kind of guy, and the Taproom isn’t exactly a place for them anyway.
“Shuthafuckup Luke,” the drunk slurs, half-shutting one eye to focus on him.
“Go home, Duncan. You’re beyond drunk. If Jared isn’t here with you, call him to take you home,” Luke says earnestly, obviously taking no offense.
Ahh, so this is the infamous Duncan I’ve heard so much about.
I instantly feel less forgiving. Then it really hits me: Summer. He was talking about Summer before dumping his beer down my back.
Before I can stop myself, I say, “You really shouldn’t be running your mouth about something you know nothing about.”
Duncan’s glazed blue eyes turn to me and he spits, “Who the fuck are you?”
“Ryan Garett.”
Something like recognition lights his eyes. “Oh shit. You’re the guy that bitch is sleepin’ with!”
“If you’re talking about Summer, I’d use her name if I were you,” I say, my voice lowering an octave.
Duncan steps up to me, nearly toe to toe, and puffs up like an overblown rooster. He’s a much shorter man, so he has to look up at me when he’s this close. He seems to lose a little steam when he realizes how much bigger I am. “Listen, man, there’s no reason to throw a fit over her . I dunno what she told you, but she’s still with Jared. How she can have two guys after her I’ll never know, but get out while you can. I never trusted that b-” he looks at me and despite his drunkenness, wisely adjusts his words. “Woman.”
I sigh heavily and say, “She’s not with Jared anymore. Summer wouldn’t do that.” I take a step back, not wanting to cause a scene.
He laughs, an ugly, braying sound reminiscent of a donkey. “Damn. You poor sucker.” He tips back his mug to swallow the last dregs of his beer. “She’s got you wrapped around her finger too, huh? What is it with that chick?” He leans haphazardly against the wall, belching in a way that tells me he’s about a second from puking.
“What do you have against her? You act like she broke up with you , not your friend.” I cross my arms.
He flings himself off the wall in my direction, poking a finger into my chest, “Now you just shut the hell up!” Spittle flies in my face and I’m about two seconds from decking him. Luke must read my face, because he gets between us and guides Duncan outside. Duncan sloppily pulls against him the whole way, but eventually follows him out the door like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of a store.
I’m still fuming when Victor pops up, a pitcher of beer in hand. “What happened? Where’s Luke going?” He sets the pitcher on the tabletop that lines the wall.
Chris says, “Duncan spilled beer all over Ryan and then insulted Summer. He said she was two-timing him and Jared.”
Before I can even start to defend her, Victor scoffs and says, “No way. There’s no way she’d do that.” I instantly like Victor even more than I did before.
“Exactly. She knows my relationship history. She wouldn’t do that to me or anyone else,” I say, pouring myself a beer from the pitcher. Despite my shirt sticking to my back, I won’t let Duncan ruin the night for me.
“He was just piss drunk,” Chris says, waving his hand, “He’s never liked Summer either. Duncan didn’t really pay her any attention until our senior year of high school when Jared and Summer started dating. Jared started spending all his free time with her, and I guess Duncan didn’t like being on the back burner. Especially once they had their daughter, Ellie?”
“Emma,” I correct.
“Emma, right. Anyway, once they had her, Jared obviously had even less time for his friend. And since Summer didn’t like Duncan either, they only ever got to hang when they played video games or occasionally on the weekend.” Victor and Chris start adding chalk to the ends of their pool cues.
“How do you know all this?” I ask, taking a sip of the cool beer and feeling my shoulders creep down from my ears.
Chris shrugs and says, “Most people in town know at least some of it. I work with Jared and have for the last few years, so I heard the rest from him. We aren’t exactly friends, but we talk at work sometimes.”
“So, you don’t care that I’m with Summer now?” I ask. I never thought to see how these guys feel about Jared or if they have any sort of bond with him. It makes me a little nervous now that I know he and Jared are acquaintances. I hope I haven’t alienated one of my first real friends in years.
“Nah. As long as you guys are happy, who cares? Jared and Summer have been on a downward spiral for a long time. Maybe they’ll both be happier apart,” Chris says, shrugging and lining up his shot. I nod, thankful that I didn’t mess up a new friendship. I sit quietly for a while, watching their game unfold. The Taproom has gotten much quieter since it seems there’s a break in the karaoke singing. Music plays at a volume low enough to allow people to talk without shouting, alternating between pop hits and classic rock.
We’re having a good time, but it’s hard not to replay Summer telling me that Jared kissed her last week. I know she said that she feels done with him, but what if I really am just a rebound? Just a pit stop before getting back with him or finding someone better? Last I heard, Lydia and her British dude got married. Maybe that's all I’m good for: A last bit of fun before settling down. Even if Summer wouldn’t do that on purpose, I can’t deny that I think about it.
Once their game is halfway over and my beer is nearly gone, Luke comes back shaking his head full of shaggy brown hair. “That guy is an idiot. Glad you didn’t hit him,” he says, pulling a chair up to sit next to me. I’m glad for the interruption because I was going down a road that would only end in me being upset. Luke pours himself a beer and refills mine afterward. We clink our glasses in a silent toast that tonight hadn’t ended in violence.
“Yeah me too,” I sigh, “I wanted to though. Even if I wasn’t dating Summer I’d want to punch him for talking about anyone like that.” My anger stokes, remembering the words Duncan said tonight.
“I get it. I really do. Honestly, I think Duncan had a thing for Summer before Jared got with her back in high school. I don’t think he took too well to losing the girl he was interested in and his best buddy all at once,” Luke shares, fiddling with his glass of beer.
I ask, “What makes you say that? Chris said he didn’t pay her any attention until she started dating Jared.”
“I was in the same Spanish class where they did a group project that brought Summer and Jared together. From an outsider’s perspective, it was pretty clear that they both liked her, but I think she was oblivious. I don’t know if Jared and Duncan ever talked about it, but one day it seemed like Jared and Summer were a thing, and then Duncan hated Summer all of a sudden.”
“If they were fighting over her, how did they stay friends?” I wonder.
“I honestly don’t know. Like I said, I have no clue if they ever talked it out or if Jared just went for it. Duncan and Jared have been friends for so long, they probably were able to work it out.” Luke shrugs.
“Doesn’t explain why he hates her either. I mean, come on, a girl from high school rejects you and you hold a grudge for years after? Seems insanely petty,” I say with a shake of my head.
“Not to defend him, but Duncan didn’t exactly have the best home life growing up. A drunk for a dad, and his mom never stood up for him when he got under his old man’s foot. And I guess small towns make rejection a lot harder. Especially if that girl dates your best friend. He also clearly has an alcohol problem, which is not exactly known for boosting critical thinking skills,” Luke says. At my look of incredulity, he continues, “I’m not defending him. I think he’s a total jackass. I honestly wouldn’t have blamed you for decking him tonight if it came to that. I’m just thinking out loud. ”
“What’d you do with him anyway?” Chris asks.
“I made sure he didn’t come back inside and waited with him until Jared could come pick him up. He didn’t seem pleased to hear who Duncan almost got in a fight with, by the way,” Luke says, eyeing me to gauge my reaction.
I shrug and say, “He can be mad, then. Summer and I aren’t a secret, and I’m not going to let some drunk idiot talk badly about her.” I clench my jaw and glare into my beer.
I see Luke’s wide smile out of the corner of my eye. “So. You and Summer are a thing then, huh? I guess you caught her eye,” he says, punching me playfully on the shoulder.
I can’t help the dopey grin that spreads across my own face. “Yeah. Guess so.”