One of the Guys (28 page)

           
“My family runs the Davenport Hotel,
and I run my dad’s store,” Candy said.
“Shark Bait Surf
Shop.”

           
“I get my bathing suits there!” Kate
said.

           
“Ask for me when you come in next
time. I’ll give you guys a discount,” Candy smiled. “What about you?
 
What do you do, Danielle?”

           
“Me?
 
I’m an intern with the sheriff’s department right now. I’m studying
forensics.”

           
Kate’s mouth dropped open in
surprise. “Wow. What do you do?”

           
“I assist during crime scene
investigations. That kind of thing.” she said.

           
Candy shook her head in amazement. “Like
CSI?”

           
Danielle just laughed.
“Kind of.”

           
As the three girls stood huddled
together, chatting and eating cookies, Kate felt guilty for her first
impressions of Candy and Danielle. She assumed Candy was going to be a stuck-up
bimbo because of her perfectly highlighted hair and her awesome body. She
thought Danielle was going to be a “pain in the ass” just because that’s what
Jackson and Kevin had said. She was wrong on both counts. Despite her flawless
appearance, Candy was very down-to-earth, friendly, and had a great sense of
humor. And Kate suspected that Danielle was probably mistaken for a snob
because she was a little on the quiet side. However, the longer they talked,
the louder she laughed and the more she shared about herself.

           
As the party wrapped up and Kate
hugged Candy, and later, Danielle, goodbye, she decided that she was really
looking forward to hanging out with them again.

*

           
The following week, Kate was
overseeing a late afternoon wedding at a country club. It had rained throughout
most of the day, wreaking havoc on her plans, but they were able to hold the
ceremony inside the country club’s dining room without a problem. Kate leaned
back against the bar, sending rapid-fire text messages to Julia to let her know
that everything had gone smoothly and that the bride and groom were completely
happy, reassuring her that she had done the best she could despite the awful
weather.

           
“It’s cleared up enough outside that
I think I’m going to try to get the bridal party together for some photos,’
Chris said, placing his camera bag on the bar and looking through it. “I
already checked and there’s a walkway throughout the golf course, which means
that nobody has to walk in the grass.”

           
“That would be perfect!” Kate said. She
tucked her phone into her purse, which she was keeping behind the bar. “I’ll
get everyone together. Thank you.”

           
“No problem. I’ll meet everyone at
the doors.”

           
“Thanks,” Kate said.

           
“Hey, Kate,” Chris said. “Any chance
you want to come to poker tonight?”

           
Kate flashed him a smile. “Sorry, I
can’t. I have a date tonight,” she said, turning on her heel to find the bride
and groom. She’d used that line on Chris once before.

           
When the wedding was over, Kate
hurried home to change and get ready for dinner with Lucy, Candy, and Danielle.
She kicked off her heels and pulled off her dress, quickly changing into a
lighter and more comfortable sundress and flip-flops. Then she was back out the
door and on her way to meet the girls.

           
Kate arrived at the restaurant at
exactly the same time as Danielle, so the two of them walked in together. They
spotted Lucy and Candy sitting in a booth in the corner and joined them. Kate
immediately dug into the chips and salsa already waiting on the table.

           
“How did your wedding go with all
the rain today?” Lucy asked.

           
“It was fine, actually,” she replied.
She smiled at Danielle. “I worked with Chris today.”

           
“He said he was really worried about
the weather this morning,” Danielle remarked.

           
“It worked out okay, though. We had
to push the wedding inside, but before the reception ended, he got the bridal
party together to get some outside shots. They looked good.”

           
“I can’t wait to see my wedding
pictures,” Lucy said dreamily.

           
“Your wedding was awesome,” Candy
gushed. “I love that you wore your prom dress.”

           
The girls fell into a discussion of Lucy
and Jackson’s wedding. Everyone agreed that the ceremony had been perfect –
short and sweet! –
and
that the party had just been a
blast. Lucy looked down at the sparkly rings on her finger and beamed. “I just
couldn’t be happier!”

           
The girls ordered their meals and
continued chatting non-stop throughout dinner. Kate felt like they had been
friends forever. Candy and Danielle were very much opposites – one was loud and
talkative, the other was shy and a little stand-offish at first – but the four
of them got along spectacularly and had a great time together.

           
When they finished dinner, they
decided to forego dessert and instead walk down the street to a little coffee
shop. The walk took less than five minutes, but by the time they arrived, they
were glad to be back in the air conditioning. The four of them ordered iced
coffees and then sprawled out on couches in the corner of the shop. Danielle
picked a magazine up off the coffee table and fanned herself with it. “I think
we should do this every weekend,” she said.

           
“I’m in!” Candy replied.

           
Just then, someone’s cell phone rang.
All four girls started looking through their purses, but it was Lucy whose
phone was ringing. “Hello?”
 
Her eyes
widened and Kate watched her with concern.

           
“Oh
my gosh
!
 
Now?
 
Really?
 
Okay. Okay. I’ll be right there!” Lucy
quickly snapped her phone shut and got to her feet. “That was my mom. My sister’s
having the baby!
 
She just got to the
hospital. I have to go!”

           
“Tell her good luck!” Kate said. Lucy
grabbed her iced coffee and her purse and scurried to the door.

           
“Congratulations!” Danielle called
after her.

           
“That’s so exciting,” Candy said.

           
Kate had to agree. The group of
three enjoyed their iced coffees and listened to an older gentleman playing an
acoustic guitar for awhile before Danielle asked where they were going next.

           
“We could always go grab a drink
somewhere,” Kate suggested.

           
The three girls walked back to their
cars and drove to the Sand Bar. Heads turned as Kate and Danielle followed
Candy to a table. Danielle went to the bar to get the first round of drinks. When
she returned, she came trailing Max, Chris, and Kevin behind her.

           
“Well, this is a surprise!” Candy
exclaimed, getting up and giving Max a hug. Max sat down in her chair and
pulled Candy into his lap.

           
“We called off the poker game,”
Kevin explained, pulling up a chair next to Kate. “Jackson went to the hospital
to be there with Lucy’s family for the baby.”
 

           
Chris dragged a chair next to Kate
and nudged her. “I thought you said you had a date.”

           
“I did. With the girls,” she beamed.

*

           
The following day, Kate and Candy
floated lazily on rafts in the pool. Candy had called early in the morning to
see what she was up to, and Kate was glad to line up plans with her. Candy
showed up with sandwiches for lunch, they changed into their swimsuits, and
spent the afternoon in the pool.

           
They made small talk and got to know
each other, discussing their families, their jobs, and their mutual friends. When
it came to talking about Max, Candy awkwardly inquired if it would be okay to
ask a personal question.

           
“Shoot,” Kate said.

           
“Did you and Max… You know, ever go
out?”

           
Kate cringed. She’d been wondering
if this topic would ever come up. She paddled her raft over to the edge of the
pool, climbed the steps, and stretched out on a lounge chair. “Well,” she said,
deciding it was best to be honest. “We sort of… hooked up. But we never dated. We
were never serious.”

           
Candy was wearing sunglasses, but
Kate could still see that her expression had changed and that her lower lip was
trembling. “Oh,” she said. Kate couldn’t believe it. Candy seemed upset. Was
gorgeous Candy with the smoking hot body… threatened?

           
“But that was awhile ago. And it was
before you guys,” Kate said. “And it was stupid.”

           
Candy slid off the raft and ducked
under the water, swimming the length of the pool and surfacing near the ladder
down at the far end. She climbed the ladder and took her time walking back to
the lounge chair next to Kate. “I couldn’t help but wonder,” she said. “He
talks about you a lot.”

           
“It was nothing, really,” Kate said.
“I swear.”

           
Candy nodded, sitting down on the
lounge chair and hugging her knees to her chest. “It’s just hard to hear your
boyfriend constantly talking about someone else.”

           
Kate didn’t know what to say. “I
promise, it was nothing,” she repeated.

           
“It was obviously something to Max,”
Candy said. “I kind of thought something had happened with you guys because he
talks a lot about how you’re not as close as you used to be. He said you used
to be one of his best friends.
Like you were one of the
guys.”

           
“We were pretty good friends,” Kate
said.

           
“The thing is, it really bothered me
at first,” Candy said. “I couldn’t help but worry about why he was talking
about you so much.
But now that I know you…
Now that
we’re friends, I can see why he talks about you. He misses you. He misses your
friendship.”

           
“We never should have gotten
involved,” Kate sighed.

           
“I don’t know what all went on
between you,” Candy said, “and I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business. But
I think you guys should try to fix things. You guys should be friends. He wants
to be friends again.”

           
Kate nodded, promising to try to put
the past awkwardness behind her once and for all. She wasn’t sure how, but she
would try.

*

           
Over the next few days, Kate
couldn’t get the conversation with Candy out of her head. She called Lucy on
Thursday night to discuss it with her.

           
“Honestly, Kate, I don’t see what
the big deal is anymore,” Lucy said. “It was awhile ago. Max and Candy are very
happy. Chris and Danielle seem to be very happy. Both of those guys have moved
on. Maybe you should, too.”

           
“I know. You’re right. Candy’s
right,” Kate finally said.

           
On Saturday, she decided to drop in
at the poker game. She didn’t mention her plan to Lucy or any of the girls, in
case they might have said something to one of the guys. She just showed up at
Kevin’s apartment with a case of beer and knocked on the door. She could make
out Max and Chris talking loudly about a baseball game. She knocked again, and
heard Jackson say, “Hey,
Kev
!
 
I think the pizza’s here!”

           
The door opened and Kevin stood in
front of her, opening his wallet. When he realized she wasn’t there to deliver
a pizza, his face broke into a smile. “Holy shit,” he said. “Are you
playing?”
 
Kate nodded, and Kevin threw
the door open wider. “Hey, guys. Look who’s here!”

           
Kate stepped into the apartment. “And
I brought beer!”