Reaching out and grabbing Chelle’s hand she pulled her through the sea of people until they reached the small VIP area. Chelle smiled. The small grouping of tables in the corner was the same one that they had sat at for Sophie’s bachelorette party a couple months back.
She saw a lot of the same faces there now as she had that night. There were Riley’s cousins, Haley, Krista, Jessie, and Becca Sloan - aka The Quad Squad. Sitting next to them was Amber and also some of Sophie’s friends from school. Chelle looked for Katie but didn't see her.
“Hey, is Katie running late?” Chelle asked after Sophie had ordered a round of shots.
“No, she said she was too ‘tired’ to come out tonight.” Sophie smiled and rolled her eyes, “But she didn’t sound ‘tired’ when I talked to her, if you know what I mean.”
Sophie waggled her eyebrows up and down.
Chelle knew exactly what she meant. And, truthfully, she couldn't blame her diamond friend. If she had the option of having a ‘Girl’s Night Out’ or staying at home with Riley, there would be no contest.
“But, hey, promise - if you’re not working tomorrow you
have
to come over. We’re having a BBQ for Jason and Katie. They’re the guests of honor so they have to show up to that one!” Sophie giggled.
“That sounds great,” Chelle smiled, “And, as it happens, I do have tomorrow off. What time should I be there?”
“Any time after one is great. Oh, and would you mind making your peanut butter fudge? It’s always a big hit. Please? Pretty pretty please?” Sophie batted her eyelashes.
“Sure, no problem!” Chelle laughed. She loved making people happy, and it was true - her peanut butter fudge did tend to make a lot of people happy.
Amber leaned in, “I can’t believe you didn’t stay home being ‘tired’ with Bobby tonight Soph.”
A blush rose on Sophie’s cheeks, “Well, Bobby had to work late. With Jason being gone the last couple weeks he’s had to put in some long hours. He texted that he’ll be home around 11.”
Amber looked at her watch, “Well, it’s 8:45 right now, so let me guess - you’re going to get ‘tired’ in about two hours.”
Sophie smiled, “It’s so weird, it’s like you’re psychic!”
They laughed and after some of the girls had taken shots, they all decided it was time to dance.
After about an hour of letting loose and tearing it up on the dance floor, Chelle and Amber dragged themselves back to the comfort of the black leather couches in the roped off area that Sophie had reserved.
“I don’t know where that girl gets her energy.” Amber said nodding her head towards Sophie as she took a large drink of water.
Chelle sank back into the cushiony paradise of the couches they were seated on as she took a long pull on her own bottle of water, “She’s been like that since we were kids. She was always go, go, go.”
“Chelle?” A woman said behind where they were seated.
Amber looked up before Chelle had a chance to turn around, “Hey, Megan.”
Chelle turned around and smiled, “Hi.”
Megan was a few years older than Chelle. Although she vaguely knew who the other woman was, Chelle didn’t think they had ever actually spoken before. Megan had always reminded Chelle of a Barbie. In high school, she had been a cheerleader, popular, blonde…perfect.
“Are you seeing Riley?” Megan’s voice was shaky. She wasn’t smiling.
Chelle was completely caught off guard. She didn’t exactly know what to say, so she went with the truth, “I haven’t seen him since we got back to Harper’s Crossing.”
“OKAY,” Megan’s voice started getting louder as her indignation grew and she seemed to be teetering closer to the edge of losing control, “then would you please explain to me why - after we have been together for three months - he spends a couple of days with you, and now all of a sudden he doesn’t want to see me anymore?”
“What?” Chelle stood in shock, not believing what she was hearing.
“Riley and I have been together for
months
and now he’s not even returning my calls,” she yelled.
Amber quickly moved and stood protectively in front of Chelle. She spoke calmly but firmly, “Megan, you need to calm down, sweetie.”
“No, I don’t,” she wailed as she tried to step around Amber. Her eyes burned with fury as she jabbed her finger accusingly at Chelle, “Just because you don’t know how to keep a man doesn’t mean you get to steal other people’s.”
“Megan, stop,” Amber commanded.
“It’s fine, Amber,” Chelle moved so that she was standing closer to Megan and the entire bar didn’t overhear their conversation. Luckily, the music was so loud and the place was so packed that no one had seemed to notice the drama so far.
Chelle looked into her eyes and saw real pain there. She knew that she hadn’t done anything to intentionally cause it, but she still felt bad for her. “Look Megan,” she said softly, “I don’t know anything about what’s going on with you and Riley. I haven’t heard from him since he dropped me off the other day. I swear.”
Megan’s shoulders slumped and her lower lip trembled, “I…I just…I love him.”
Chelle wanted to tell her that she could relate, but she didn’t think that would go over so well.
Tears fell down Megan’s cheeks, “I thought it was going to work this time.”
This time?
Chelle had never known that Megan and Riley were a couple. But, then again, no one knew about her and Riley being a ‘couple’, either....but still.
Chelle knew what the deal was because she had seen so many girls strung out over Eddie. The truth was, though, if she hadn’t been privy to those ‘relationships’ and heard how her brother would talk about those girls, she would probably have been just as naive as Megan. She most likely would have thought that she and Riley had something special. She might have been the one making a scene in a bar.
Well, no probably not. That wasn’t really her style. Still, she was glad she had seen up close and personal what the aftermath of loving Riley Sloan could do to a person if she wasn't vigilant. And Megan said they had been talking for months!
Riley had told Chelle he wasn’t seeing anyone.
Hmmmm....
It doesn’t matter, she told herself, whatever Riley and I had is over now.
And so was this night. Chelle had had just about all of the ‘Girl’s Night Out’ fun she could stand. Even her empty bed was better than this.
Riley hadn’t seen Chelle in four days. Well...technically four days, eighteen hours, and about forty-five minutes. He had just heard Sophie tell his cousin Becca that Chelle would be bringing peanut butter fudge to the BBQ, so he knew tha
t at some point this afternoon the, last-time-I-saw-Chelle, clock that had been constantly running in his mind would be reset back to zero.
Every day that he had spent without seeing her felt like a marathon. He had tried tricking his mind. He couldn't face waking up and accepting the reality that he was going to face an entire day without hearing her voice, touching her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile. So instead, he broke his day up into hours. He would tell himself he couldn’t call her for an hour. Then once that hour passed he would add another hour.
Sometimes even the hours had seemed too long for him to handle and he was forced to break it down into minutes. He’d tell himself he wouldn’t call her for thirty minutes. Sometimes it was even as little as ten minutes. So far his no-contact plan had worked.
He hadn’t called. Hadn’t gone to her house. Hadn’t stopped by the hospital when she was working. It had been hell, but he had resisted.
Sitting on the back deck of Bobby and Sophie’s new house, watching his family and friends laugh and talk, he should have been content – happy, even. He hadn’t seen a lot of these people in several years, and he loved all of them.
Not to mention the fact that this party was technically one-third for him, so logically he should feel not only like a part of the festivities, but at the center of them.
Instead he felt like an outsider, like he was simply watching all of these friendly interactions, even the ones that he was participating in, from a distant vantage point completely outside of himself.
When it came down to it, he just hadn’t felt right since he had driven away from Chelle’s house four days before.
He had kept himself busy over the last five days, sure. He had spent most of his time with Eddie and Emily, who had very proudly showed off her chicken pox scars.
She was such a great kid. Eddie had done an amazing job as a dad. Riley knew it
hadn’t been easy for him when Lacey left, but Riley could not be prouder of him.
Then, the night before, Riley had gotten a chance to sit down with his dad, which was good. He had apologized for his behavior in his teen years, which was something that he had been intending to do for years. Bob, Riley’s dad, hadn’t wanted to hear it. He said that he was proud of him and how well he had done in the service as an adult.
He even shared with Riley about some of the trouble that he himself had gotten into as a teen. The conversation hadn’t gone how Riley had pictured it going, but he felt better for having had it.
He was hoping that he would see Grandpa J, aka The Colonel, today at the BBQ. Since he was Sophie’s Grandpa, Riley felt like there was a pretty good chance he would be in attendance. He wanted to thank him for taking the time to talk to him when he had been a punk teen.
Also, since he now knew Chelle would be here, it would be a good time to say goodbye to her. He had gotten a call from Landon the day before to let him know that they had a meeting with the bank on Tuesday. They were planning on consolidating their loans and getting a better interest rate. They felt it would go better if all of the partners were present.
So, Riley
was headed out to New Orleans, and away from Harper's Crossing, tomorrow afternoon. He should be excited to start his new life. He wasn’t.
“Well now, I haven’t seen you round here for quite some time.”
The Colonel’s voice boomed from the sliding back door.
Riley smiled as he stood and took off his aviator sunglasses. “Colonel.”
He reached out to shake his hand, but The Colonel pulled him into a hug.
“It’s good to see you home son. It’s good to see you home.” He patted his back heartily several times before releasing Riley from his embrace.
“Good to be home, sir.” Riley said, and oddly enough, it was true.
He had originally been dreading being back in the small town he had spent his wild youth in. But, other than the constant torture of maintaining distance from Chelle, it hadn’t been that bad. In fact, Riley had actually enjoyed being back in Harper’s Crossing.
Grandpa J took the seat next to Riley and motioned for him to sit down as well.
“So. I hear that you’ve got yourself a bar down in Louisiana. That right?”
Riley had to smile. Typical Harper's Crossing. Everybody knew everybody’s business here. Yep…he was home.
“That’s right. A couple of buddies and I went in as partners. They've been running things, and from all accounts have done a good job. I'm headed down there tomorrow.”
Grandpa J smiled, “Good to hear son. It’s good to have a plan when you get out. I’m proud of you.”
In the last two days, he had heard that same sentiment from the two men that he respected most in the world. It felt good.
He heard his cousins and Sophie squealing and greeting each other in the s
pecial way that only girls did, so there was a good chance that either Katie or Chelle had just joined the party.
Chelle.
His heart began to race and his palms were sweaty. It wasn't like this was a surprise. He had figured he would see Chelle today. But now that the moment was fast approaching, he couldn't get his pulse under control.
Then, he heard Katie’s voice announcing how much fun they had had on their honeymoon and he slumped back in his chair and looked at his watch. 2:10. Maybe Chelle wouldn’t be coming after all.
Riley felt a slap on his shoulder and looked up to see Jason. He stood and hugged his brother.
“Hey, man. Thanks for checking on Chelle and putting Katie’s mind at ease, I owe you one,” Jason said as his new wife joined them.
“Yes, thank you so much Riley! We owe you,” Katie said as she hugged both him and Grandpa J.
“No, you don’t. Chelle’s my friend, too.” Well at least he hoped she still considered him a friend. “Anyway. Congratulations, you two. I really wish I could have made it to the wedding.”
“Oh, it was a beautiful wedding. We missed you. I’m just so glad you’re home safe and sound, now,” Katie said, just as someone across the yard called her name.
“Come on, Kit Kat. We better go make the rounds.” Jason leaned down and kissed her briefly and Katie smiled up at his brother like he was her hero.
Chelle had looked at him like that. The difference was that Jason deserved that title. Riley, on the other hand, did not.
“How long are you in town?” Jason asked Riley.
“Just until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Breakfast at Gerard's Diner before you head out?”
“Sounds good.” Riley watched as Jason and Katie made their way down the steps of the deck. They looked so in love, so happy. And Riley was happy for them, they deserved all the happiness in the world. But for some reason, seeing them together just made him miss Chelle even more.
As they sat back down in their chairs, Grandpa J cleared his throat, “So, you were the one who went out to take care of our Chelle in California.”
“I was already out there to visit some friends. Since I was coincidentally headed her way anyway, I just stopped by to make sure she was doing alright.” Riley said, clarifying and trying to downplay the whole thing.
“Well, how’s our girl doing?”
Riley didn’t know how to answer that. Last he had seen her she was crying and had shut a door in his face. He didn’t want to tell The Colonel that.
“I haven’t seen her since we got back a few days ago.”
“I see,” The Colonel responded sagely, eyeing Riley closely.
For some reason, the way he said those two words ‘I see' caused Riley to have the sudden urge to spill his guts. Tell him everything. The man had straightened things out in Riley’s head when he was younger. Hell, maybe he could help him again?
Not to mention, the sly look The Colonel was giving him told him that he may have guessed the lion's share, anyway. It would feel good to unburden himself. He took a deep breath.
"
When we were in…” Riley began, but was interrupted by a tornado of color that whipped up the steps of the deck.
“Gentleman, inside please,” Katie’s Aunt Wendy clapped her hands excitedly, “I have prepared a surprise for my buttercup and her hubby.”
Oh well, Riley thought as he and Grandpa J made their way inside with the rest of the crowd, I’m used to figuring stuff out on my own. Why should this be any different?
Jason and Katie were ushered to the middle of the family room by a very excited Aunt Wendy.
“Everyone take a seat, or stand, or whatever...I don't care if you squat...but get comfortable,” Wendy directed.
Riley watched as Jason bent down and whispered something into his new bride’s ear. Katie’s eyes brightened and a flush rose up her cheeks. She leaned up and kissed his brother, who had his arms wrapped protectively around her.
Riley had never been too big on public displays of affection. But, after spending those amazing days in San Francisco with Chelle, he understood it. He knew that if she was his, he wouldn’t ever be able to keep his hands to himself. He would hold her every second he could, whether they were in a crowd of people or not.
As if on cue, the front door opened and Chelle walked in wearing a white sundress and carrying a tray of her famous peanut butter fudge.
The second he laid eyes on her he wanted to wrap his arms around her and breathe her in. In fact, he had to stop himself from pushing through the crowd of people gathered to see Aunt Wendy’s surprise and doing exactly that.
She smiled and, even though he could tell that it was just a polite smile as opposed to one of her ‘real’ smiles, it still knocked the wind right out of him.
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late. I got called in last night. Then, of course, I had to make these.” She lifted the large plate she was holding.
Katie pushed her way through the crowd and gave Chelle a big hug. When she did, Chelle’s mouth lifted into a genuine, full blown, knock-you-flat-on-your-ass smile. Riley felt its effects as a warmth spread through his entire body.
As Chelle made her way through the mass of people, most of them greeted her in the same way, saying it was good to see her and asking her if she was okay or how she was holding up. She was her usual friendly self and answered everyone, telling them she was great and holding up just fine. Then she would ask them how they were, usually asking about something specific in their life.
She asked Haley, his cousin, how her design classes were coming…wow, he hadn't even known she was in school. She asked Mike, Sophie’s dad, how his knee was feeling after the accident, and Pam, Katie’s mom how the new bathroom had turned out.
She also genuinely listened to them and cared about their responses. He could watch her like this all day, smiling and talking with everyone.
Damn. He had it bad.
As she reached him, their eyes met. Riley felt like a thunderbolt had struck him in right through his heart. His chest was tight and he wasn’t sure if he was breathing. He knew he should say something, he just couldn’t seem to form words. He couldn’t do anything but stare into her gorgeous doe eyes.
She broke away from his gaze as she glanced around the room nervously. Riley hadn’t noticed until that moment that the room had fallen completely silent, waiting for Aunt Wendy's presentation to begin.
She looked back up at him briefly. “Hi,” she said quietly.
“Hi,” he responded awkwardly.
She moved around him and set the peanut butter fudge down on the dining room table that he was standing in front of.
“Ok
ay!” Wendy bellowed, “Now that everyone is here we can begin.”
Wendy pulled a sheet off of a large screen that was set up in front of the fireplace. “I put this special treat together for my buttercup and her Romeo. Hit the lights, Sophiebell
!”
Sophie nodded happily as she closed all of the curtains and blinds, and turned off all the lights.
“Roll it, hot stuff.” Wendy told Bobby, who was seated on the couch with his laptop.
He pressed a button on his keyboard and a picture of Katie and Jason appeared on the screen, looking like they were probably in Kindergarten. Katie was holding a clay impression of her hand and Jason held his fingers in a V behind her head giving her bunny ears.
Everyone laughed.
The next slide showed them in some kind of school play. Katie was standing center stage, her arms outstretched and looked to be delivering a line. Jason stood off to stage right sticking out his tongue doing a goofy face to whoever was taking the photo.
Katie turned and swatted Jason playfully on the arm, and everyone in the room chuckled.
The next was a series that showed them out at the lake at approximately age twelve. In the first one, Katie was standing at the end of the dock and Jason was sneaking up behind her. Then the slide changed to Katie being picked up by Jason, and the next shot showed him jumping into the lake with her in his arms. Then, the last photo in the series depicted Katie shoving Jason’s head beneath the water, dunking him in retaliation.