CHAPTER 13 KAYLEE
Hm…beer or wine? Seltzers or a bottle of vodka?
Life is full of tough decisions.
Does it strike me as a little odd that he sends me off on some quest moments after his ex-girlfriend asked him for some time alone?
Absolutely.
But I trust him.
It’s not like he’s going to run back to her after what she did to him. We’re in a good place, and I’m confident that what we share far outweighs whatever it is he thought he had with her back then.
And I saw the way he was talking to Jerry. He’s digging. He wants to talk to his mom. He wants to get to the bottom of things, and he doesn’t want to leave me to the wolves while he works, so to speak.
I take a minute in the Scout to pull up the GPS to the nearest store, and then I head in that direction.
A weird feeling twists in my stomach. That same underlying feeling of nausea that has plagued me for the last week or two is back.
It has to be from the concussion, and I wonder if I should get my head checked out again.
I’m sure it’s just my imagination, but my stomach rolls at even the thought of beer versus wine and seltzer versus vodka.
I find the store relatively easily, and I grab a case of beer for Ben. I get some vodka for myself, too, and some Sprite for mixing, and then I decide to do a little shopping. I grab my Diet Dr Pepper and Ben’s favorite morning energy drinks.
I grab some chocolate peanut butter candy because suddenly I need chocolate, and then it strikes me.
The only time I crave chocolate is when my period is a week away, but I usually take the active pills continuously so I don’t get a period at all.
Missing those couple pills after the concussion must’ve messed up my cycle, and that has to be where the nausea is coming from.
I take my time going up and down every aisle. We’ve got plenty of time, and I want to be sure to give Ben the space he needs to have the conversations he wants to have.
I’m midway down the candy aisle for the second time when I spot a familiar face. The man is staring down at his phone, but I’m pretty sure it’s him. Well, it’s either him or that actor from Harry Potter. “Craig?” I say, asking his name as a question just in case it’s a doppelganger.
He glances up at the sound of his name, and sure enough, it’s him.
He looks like he doesn’t recognize me for a second, but then something seems to snap into place.
“Kaylee,” he says, nodding at me. He shoves his phone into his pocket super fast, almost like he’s got something to hide…
but I have no idea what he’d need to hide from me.
“How are you?”
He nods. “Fine. You?”
“Great. I spent a little time working on the program this week and I’m really excited to take the plans to the next level.”
He nods absently. It’s almost like he’s distracted by something—maybe whatever was on his phone. “Okay.”
“Will you be at the rehearsal tonight?” I ask. I’m trying to be friendly with someone who Ben seems to be pretty close to, but he’s not really giving me anything back at all.
He shakes his head. “The wedding tomorrow.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs, and then he turns toward the shelves of food in the candy aisle.
I’m a little offended that he’ll barely give me the time of day.
I’m marrying one of his good friends—or somebody who’s supposed to be his good friend, and he’s not even bothering to look at me.
What the hell is that shit? I should let it go, and I start to walk away, but I find that I can’t.
I stop short and turn back toward him. “Is it something I said?”
He looks at me with a bit of exasperation, like he was just trying to get rid of me. “What?”
“Why don’t you like me?”
“I never said that.”
“And yet you’re barely acknowledging I exist,” I point out. “Is there something you want to say to me?”
He stares at me for a beat, narrowing his eyes as if he’s studying me. He draws in a deep breath, and then he shakes his head. “Nope. Just looking out for my old pal.” He shoots me one of those cursory fake smiles you give strangers.
I nod. Fine. If that’s how he wants to play it, I’m not going to expend any more mental energy on it. “I’m just looking out for him, too,” I say softly. I try my hardest to keep the warning tone out of my voice, but I most definitely fail.
He looks at me, and I swear I spot a dash of fear in his eyes.
It makes me wonder what the hell he’s doing. Is he really the type of friend Ben should be trusting…let alone someone he should trust with his gym and his house keys?
The two run-ins I’ve had with him haven’t exactly given me the warm fuzzies, but Ben’s a big boy. He knows what he’s doing.
I just hope he’s placing his trust in the right people. Just because they’ve been around the longest doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the most trustworthy.
Look at Dane. What a dick that guy turned out to be.
The fear in Craig’s eyes dissipates quickly, and it turns into a bit of a sneer. I feel like he’s about to make some dig about how he’s known Ben longer and yada yada yada, but I don’t give him the chance to reiterate it since I don’t really have any fucks to spare for him.
“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, and I shove my cart down the aisle so I can get away from him.