Page 79 of Almost
“I’m not saying you’re right, but I’m not saying you’re wrong either.”
“He’s totally right,” Blake muses, and Owen gapes at her in disbelief.
“Et tu, Brute?”
“Dude, you’re twenty-eight. At what point should I expect your ego to shrink to a normal size?” Thalia asks, and I think I just fell more in love with her, if possible.
“Well, you’re turning twenty-seven in two months, and…” Owen trails off, clearly trying to come up with something that only causes her to laugh harder.
“And what?” she prompts, snorting as she laughs harder. He frowns, drinking from his glass.
“I don’t like you.”
Thalia sticks her tongue out at him. “You don’t have to like me, but you are stuck with me.”
Blake shakes her head, turning to look at me, but this isn’t anything I’m not already used to. “Do I have any hope of them growing up?”
“Probably not,” I answer, draping my arm on the back of Thalia’s chair, twisting my fingers through the ends of her short hair. “It used to be worse, though. Thalia would beg to come play with us, except Owen hated the idea of hertagging along because he thought he was too cool for her. Their mom made him bring Lia one day to the park, and I can vividly recall how mad Owen was, so he threw the football at the back of her head when she turned away.”
Owen’s face twists into a grin as Lia shifts to sit closer to me. “Shit, I forgot that happened. Lia, you cried like such a baby.”
“Maybe because I was five? You also cried like a little bitch when Mom grounded you for a month,” Thalia replies quickly.
A laugh catches in my throat. “It was kind of a dick move, bro.”
He takes a drink of his beer, before looking me in the eye. “Well, you’ve made a lot of dick moves lately, so I guess you would know,bro.”
“Owen!” Blake scolds, immediately hitting his arm.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, looking away.
I’m not saying I don’t deserve it, but it’s a little uncalled for at the moment.I inhale deeply, calmly taking a drink of my own. I’m due for a refill since I’ve let this one sit long enough, it’s gone warm. “Thanks for that,” I say cooly, and my best friend at least looks guilty.
“Bash, I shouldn’t have said that—”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Thalia interrupts for me. I rest my hand on her thigh underneath the table, squeezing it gently to communicate my silent appreciation.
Blake shoots me an apologetic look as Owen stands up bluntly, wiping his palms on his thighs. “I’m going to the bar.”
“Is everything okay between you two?” Thalia asks, switching to French as she lowers her voice, resting her hand on top of mine.
“I thought so; I don’t know what that was about.” I shake my head, stealing a glance at Owen’s towering height as he makes his way toward the counter. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
Blake shifts in her seat, her demeanor a mixture of confusion and annoyance. “Hi, I’m still here, but feel free to continue with your private conversation in front of me. I’m going to go check on my husband.”
I squeeze Thalia’s hand reassuringly as the music gets louder in the background. “I’m sorry, Blake. I didn’t mean to shut you out of the conversation, but I should go talk to Owen.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she protests, but I stand up quickly, not taking no for an answer. Owen and I clearly have things we need to hash out.
“Please. I need to make things right with him.”
Thalia smiles reassuringly, and Blake relaxes into her seat, giving me the all clear to make my way toward my best friend.
My stomach is rolling at the possibility we might never go back to the way we used to be, but I’ve accepted that Thalia is worth it. I knew what I was doing when I got back together with her. Sometimes love is worth the risk.
“Hey,” I greet shortly, squeezing into the open spot next to him as Owen turns his head to acknowledge me.