CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
“It is so nice of your boyfriend’s parents to have included us as part of your friends and family. It made me so happy.” She had the sweetest smile on her face, like always. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Blair have a frown on her face or say a bad word about anyone.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, feeling a little shy. I usually had Tim with me to be his normal outgoing self and draw me out. I hadn’t seen him yet tonight, though.
“Can you help me out?”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“The bathroom, but this place is huge. I asked someone who works here, and they told me. I got lost halfway there, and it was a struggle just to find my way back here.”
I laughed. “No problem.” I looked around for Heath, but saw he was talking and laughing with a group of guys he seemed to know well. “Let’s go.”
I walked her to the largest restroom that had been built exactly for occasions like this one. It had a few stalls, a sitting area, and seemed like it should be in a five-star hotel, not someone’s house in a neighborhood in Halliwell, Georgia.
“I might as well go while we’re here,” I said.
“Bless you for not leaving me here. I don’t think I could get back,” she laughed.
After we’d finished and washed our hands, we set back out for the ballroom. It was very crowded, though, and we were having trouble getting through the hallway.
“I think I know a way around this traffic jam,” I said to her, and grabbed her hand to pull her along behind me.
We broke free from the crowd and were making our way down a much less crowded hall.
“Oh, look. There’s Scott. Let’s go over,” Blair said gesturing towards her handsome husband.
He was talking with a couple of men I didn’t recognize.
They were standing just inside the closest thing Heath’s dad had to a man cave.
There were no aluminum signs hung up calling it a man cave.
There wasn’t a massive TV and projector with stadium seats for prime sports watching.
Instead, it was an elegant room with a beautiful antique pool table and a bar that would rival a restaurant’s.
I followed her, our footsteps muffled on the luxurious carpet runner over the marble floors. They weren’t being exactly quiet and obviously didn’t notice us getting close.
Too late, I heard their conversation and had to fight to keep from gasping.
“How’d you even land her, man? She’s too damn beautiful for you.”
It was one of the men I didn’t recognize talking to Scott.
Scott laughed. “She’s pretty enough, thank God. That’s about all there is to her. I get so fucking bored. You’re doing things right staying single.”
“You’re an idiot,” the other man shook his head. “If I had a woman like her at home, it would be hard to make me go to work.”
“You say that now but after a year or two, you’d be out there trolling for pussy. Believe me.”
Horrified, I glanced at Blair. She had gone completely pale and her hand laid across her
abdomen as if someone had punched her.
The other man said something we couldn’t hear.
“I can’t even talk to her about anything but kids, food, and doctor’s appointments. It’s like she got stupid as soon as the kids started coming. That’s all marriage is.”
“Blair’s the most beautiful woman here. You’re a lucky bastard.”
Scott laughed again. “Fuck that! If I was single, I’d be all over the blonde with the tits at the bar. Hell, maybe I’ll head over there without being single.”
One of the men laughed while the other shook his head.
I grabbed Blair’s hand. “Come on, Blair. Please. Don’t listen to this.” I don’t know if I’d ever hated anyone more than I hated Scott Hastings in that moment. Well, except for when Tim fucked that other woman when I thought we were together.
She gently pulled her hand away. “It’s okay,” she whispered, two red splotches on her cheeks showing her anger, hurt, and embarrassment.
She walked over, and I saw one man’s eyes widen to the point it would have been funny if it wasn’t such an awful situation.
She stood to Scott’s side and waited for a lull in the conversation.
It slowly got quiet as Scott noticed the other guys weren’t participating anymore. Then he saw Blair and all the color drained from his handsome face. “Oh, shit. Honey…”
She cocked her head at him. “Honey? I don’t think so. In fact, while you’re hitting on the blonde at the bar, I’ll take my chances with him.” She smiled and held out her hand to the man who had told Scott he was an idiot and that Blair was beautiful.
He grinned and took her hand.
“Blair!” Scott’s face had gone red, and I couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger.
“Come on, Natalie,” Blair said with a smile and waved me along with her and her new friend.
She looked at Scott over her shoulder. “Oh, and honey, if you think the bartender with the big breasts is smarter than me and will have more to talk to you about, you’re a freaking dumbass. ” Then she turned and walked off.
Scott’s mouth dropped open and he stared after her while his other friend nearly collapsed from laughing. “You totally deserved that, man.”
“Fuck off,” Scott said, still watching Blair.