Chapter 6
Koen~
When Leandra had gone to speak to her friends, a part of me had hoped that she’d bring Rya back with her, but when she didn’t, I’d had no choice but to suck it up.
I also couldn’t help but notice just how.
..how in sync Rya and Dalton were. I couldn’t help but keep throwing glances their way, and denial really was no place to live.
Now, while they hadn’t kissed or anything intimate like that yet, it was still hard not to believe that they might be a couple.
If they weren’t, then they had to be the two closest friends on the planet.
Like a well-choreographed dance, they moved together like they didn’t know how to exist without the other, and I could admit to being jealous.
Now, while I had no real issues in my life to complain about, and while I was only twenty-seven, it was hard not to wonder if true love was going to be in the cards for me or not.
Though my last name did open a lot of doors for me, it also paved a road of deceit that I was always going to wonder about.
I mean, how was I ever going to know if a woman was really interested in me for me, or if she was just chasing what my last name could do for her?
Deciding not to torture myself any further, I turned from Rya and Dalton, then got back into the spirit of celebrating Ivan and Netti.
It wasn’t often that we got together like this, and so I needed to make the most of it.
Sure, I could do without Teddy’s drunk ass, but there wasn’t anything that I could do about that.
He was Ivan’s friend, and it wasn’t my place to object to his presence.
Besides, if he started to become too belligerent, I could always just leave early.
Hours later, the party was in full swing, the bar was packed, and everyone seemed to really be having a good time.
While I was feeling myself, I wasn’t drunk, and I didn’t plan on getting there.
I had driven here, and a DUI was the last thing that I needed.
Though we weren’t celebrities by half, my family was still rich enough to make the news if anything scandalous ever happened.
I’d also done a fairly good job of ignoring Rya and Dalton, but it wasn’t until Leandra said that she’d be right back that my eyes followed her to where her friends were still playing pool at the same table from before.
They’d been there all night long, and it was almost as if everyone in the bar knew that the table belonged to them.
I watched as Leandra spoke to them for a little bit, and when she wrapped her arms around Rya in a tight hug, I knew that Rya and Dalton were leaving, and it was stupid that I felt bothered by the possibility.
I’d only spoken to Rya for a few short minutes, so she really shouldn’t be living rent-free in my head like this, but she was.
When Leandra finally made her way back to our group, I couldn’t help but ask, “Are your friends leaving?”
She smiled sweetly as she nodded her head. “Rya’s feeling pretty buzzed, and so Dalton always takes her to Shakes when she gets drunk.”
“Shakes?”
Leandra nodded again. “It’s over on Riverwarf.”
Now, like all towns, there was a good side and a bad side, and I knew enough to know that Riverwarf was on the seedier side of town.
It was no place for pearl-clutchers, and it definitely wasn’t the area to be in if you didn’t know how to fight.
However, to his credit, it looked like Dalton could fight just fine, and I couldn’t imagine that he’d take Rya there if he couldn’t take care of her.
“Good food?” I hedged.
“Yeah,” she grinned. “In fact, their fries might just be worth getting your tires slashed for.”
“No thank you,” Teddy snorted. “Who in their right mind would head over to that side of town right now? I wouldn’t even go over there during the day.”
“Well, if we’re with Dalton, then we’re okay,” Leandra replied. “No one messes with him.”
“Protective?” I asked, shamelessly fishing for information.
Leandra shrugged. “Well, I mean...he’s a gentleman whenever a woman is around, but he’s very protective of Rya.”
“Rya, but not you?” Teddy huffed. “What an asshole.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she quickly rushed out, automatically defending her friend. “He’d defend any woman that he was with. I just-”
“Well, from the size of your friend, she should probably be defending him,” Teddy chortled drunkenly, and that was enough for me.
“How about you shut the fuck up?” I finally snapped.
“Oh, c’mon,” he drawled out. “I was just kidding.”
Leandra looked pissed, but since she seemed like a people-pleaser, I seriously doubted that she was going to do anything. So, rather than kick Teddy’s ass and ruin Ivan’s evening, I stood up, then headed over towards the bar for another drink.
Now, while it was pretty packed, there were two bartenders working the line, so I didn’t have to wait long for someone to help me. Plus, since I was only ordering a beer, it wasn’t like the bartender was going to have to create some complicated concoction for me.
I also always paid cash because it was easier to pay and tip that way. I didn’t want to risk forgetting my card, getting ripped off with unnoticed charges, or cheating the bartender because the servers didn’t always get the full amount of their tips if you tipped on a card.
“Here you go, man,” he said as we traded the cash and beer.
“Thanks,” I replied, but before he went about his business, I decided to pick his brain. “Hey, the girl that just left...Rya? Do you know anything about her?”
The bartender eyed me, and I could appreciate his wariness. “You’re partying with her friend,” he pointed out. “Why don’t you ask her?”
“Because I don’t want to be obvious, and even if I was that clueless, I seriously doubt that she’d tell me anything,” I answered honestly. “She’s not as flighty as she pretends to be.”
The guy just smirked. “Look, I’m not about to go spilling the dirt on our customers. But what I can tell you is that she pops in here every random Wednesday, and I can also tell you that you’re not her type.”
My head jerked back a bit in surprise. While I’d been expecting him to be tightlipped, I hadn’t expected him to call me out like that. “Wow...straight to the point, I see.”
I watched him sigh before saying, “Rya’s a good girl. She doesn’t bother anyone, so she doesn’t need whatever bullshit you’re about to bring to her doorstep.”
“What in the fuck does that mean?”
Just then, the other bartender called out to him, so he just shot me a look before getting back to work, leaving me to wonder why he’d say such a thing.
I mean, while I understood that I wasn’t a regular here, I still wasn’t sure why he’d assume that I’d cause problems for Rya.
Not only was it untrue, but it was also an unfair assessment of my character.
Forgetting about him, I headed back to the table, wondering if I should just bite the bullet and ask Leandra what all she could tell me about Rya.
Yeah, it reeked a bit of desperation, but I just needed to know if she and Dalton were a couple or not.
If they were, then that was that. However, if they weren’t, then I could figure the rest of it out.
When I finally got back to the table, Teddy was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Teddy?”
“In the bathroom,” Natalie drawled out. “I’m not sure why he insists on going so hard as soon as we get here.
“Yeah, he always ends up drunk too early,” Aaron added.
I didn’t say anything as Joseph and Leandra were now sitting next to each other, and it looked like it was going to be Teddy’s loss.
Granted, it wasn’t like I felt sorry for the guy, but it always sucked when you were stuck babysitting a sloppy drunk, not that I was going to take responsibility for him.
He was Ivan’s friend, so Ivan could see to him.
Trying not to sound too obvious, I said, “I gotta say, now that you’ve mentioned Shakes and food, we’re definitely going to have to hit a drive-thru after this.”
“Well, Rya and Dalton will be gone way before we leave here, so I wouldn’t recommend Shakes,” Leandra replied just before her eyes widened in embarrassment. “I mean, not that you guys aren’t...uhm, I didn’t mean that you guys aren’t tough enough-”
I put my hand up to stop her rambling. “It’s fine, Leandra. We weren’t thinking that. Besides, it’d make sense that Dalton would do anything to protect his girlfriend.”
“Oh, no,” she said, grinning. “Rya isn’t Dalton’s girlfriend. They’re just best friends, but...but the kind of best friends that are too close for most people’s liking.”
My brows immediately furrowed. “Meaning?”
She grimaced a bit. “They’re a package deal, and a lot of people that they’ve dated in the past couldn’t handle it.”
While I believed that it was possible for males and females to be friends without any sexual undertones to taint the relationship, how close was too close?