Chapter Twelve
Caroline
A wave of heat makes its way from my face to the tips of my fingers, and yet I feel like Elsa has me frozen in time. I came out for a good girls night to let loose, but am instead greeted by the one man that I can’t seem to escape, no matter how hard I try.
I am brought back to reality by Bree yelling out, “Shut the door so I can piss!!”
Next thing I know, Kate is grabbing my left hand and yanking me towards the stalls.
“Wait, was that who I think it was?” Kate blurts out in realization after the door is shut.
Catching my breath and rolling my eyes, I finally came to. “Reid Perry? Yes, yes it was.”
“Holy shit, like THE Reid Perry from high school?” Sydney chimes in.
“That’s the one… I’ve somehow managed to run into him three times now since being back in town.” I confirm to my friends, over Bree’s loud stream of urine.
“What are y’all whispering out there? Wait for me!” Bree has no clue what’s going on, but I’ll catch her up later.
“Oh my god, is he trying to get back in your pants again after everything that happened?!” Sydney is fully invested now.
“Syd, that was forever ago. Let’s not bring that shit up now.” Kate interjects and tries to redirect the conversation. “We bumped into him at the coffee shop last week and you would’ve thought Caroline saw a ghost. But wait, you said three times? When else did you see him?”
“Ugh, I found this little kitten at the park and tried to take it to the shelter, not realizing he’s apparently now the town veterinarian?” I groan.
“Oh… yeah, honey. The rest of us that live here could’ve told you that.” Kate clarifies as if it’s common knowledge.
“Well, I think I need someone to fill me in on the town gossip because I’ve been gone far too long for this shit.” I feel like I’m the only one out of the loop and I can’t tell if they have purposely avoided telling me any updates on my exes life or if I’ve just had my head in my ass.
“Forget about him, we’ll worry about that at a different time. Let’s just go out there and have a good time and do what we came here to do.” Kate, our voice of reason, shuts the conversation down and gets us out of the bathroom.
“Great, now who wants to sing ‘I Love Rock n Roll’ with me?!” Sydney is back to party mode in no time.
“Nooo thank you, that’s all you, girl.” Karaoke is so not my thing and no one better try to get me up on that damn stage tonight. The only thing I need is a vodka redbull and some giggle time with my girls.
∞∞∞
“Come here often?” I hear a deep voice interrupt Billie Eilish from behind my right ear as I am met with a delicious musky wave of cologne. I turn around so fast, not expecting him to be so close and spill my drink on us both.
“No, actually, it's only been about… Oh, I don't know… eight years since I was here last? I tend to avoid these parts of town if I can.” I respond with a smirk.
“Oh that's right, I forgot you're too good for everyone here ever since you discovered the big city.” Reid snaps back and I can’t tell if he’s messing with me or genuinely hurt. Two can play this game.
“Maybe I am. Or maybe it's just better for me. Believe it or not, there's more out there in the world, beyond the radius of Melwood Views. Might be good for you to broaden your horizons too.” I’m not falling for whatever act he’s trying to put on.
I take another swig of my drink and leave him with that thought.
“Eh… been there, done that. I've actually found that everything I need is right here.” Again, unsure what his cryptic tone is portraying. What does he mean by ‘been there, done that’?
“I'm glad that sort of method has worked out for someone as small-minded as you.” Too bitchy? I don’t care, I gotta shut this down.
“Last I checked, you didn't think anything about me was small.” Oh, he did not just go there. And that smirk? Good lord, can we not. Are we fighting or flirting?
“I haven't been in your presence in a decade, so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd regressed in a few areas.” I will definitely be thinking of a better comeback when I lay my head down tonight, but I was unprepared for this harassment and I'll be damned if I go down without a fight.
“Maybe you'll just have to find out for yourself then.” Wait, okay, that was definitely flirting. What is happening? How did he go from insulting me to… whatever that was?
“How many drinks have you had tonight?” I quip in realization.
“Enough to forget that I know better than to try and speak to you,” he slurs. Ahh okay, he’s definitely going to regret this conversation in the morning.
“Yeah… clearly. You're lucky I have nothing better to do than to entertain this conversation right now.”
“Come on, loosen up a bit. Maybe you could learn a thing or two by having a little fun.”
Before I can disagree, he's putting my glass on the bar and pulling me out of the chair towards the dance floor.
“Sweet Home Alabama” has gotten everyone in here singing together, and as it wraps up, the DJ goes straight into “Sweet Caroline” which gets everyone joining in even louder.
I roll my eyes at the cliché of everyone singing this song to me my whole life.
As I’m pulled to my feet, I feel the alcohol rush to my head and decide to join in on the ridiculous singing.
There’s a circle of friends in front of the DJ booth.
The girls give me some all knowing glares and smirks, but continue to allow him to join in on the group escapades.
Finally, I allow myself to let go and just enjoy the night without overthinking every decision that has led me here.