Page 17 of Surprise Best Man
“Anyway,” I said, picking up the ball and running with it, but not before flashing Shania a “nice freaking work” glance. “What’s up? What’re you guys doing here?”
“Dinner!” said Will, raising up a pair of white plastic bags in his hands that I hadn’t noticed.
“Yeah!” said Sam. “Like we’d planned on having tonight? From Tasty Garden.”
I slapped my hand onto my forehead. “Oh, shit,” I said. “How the hell did I space that?”
“Good question,” said Pepper. “We’ve been trying to call you. And when we saw the door open, we figured that meant you were here.”
“My phone’s in the house,” I said, climbing out of the tub and quickly wrapping a towel around my waist. “Sorry guys—chalk it up to the jetlag.”
Shania followed me out and the two of us stood dripping on the patio. Disaster had been averted, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling weird as all hell. Luckily, seeing my friends was a serious boner-killer.
“How about we set the table?” asked Pepper. “We can eat outside—nice night.”
“Yeah,” said Noah. “And you guys can get changed.”
“Sure, sure,” I said, happy to have a plan. “We’ll meet you guys out here.”
With that, the two of us hurried into the house. The moment we were alone the awkwardness returned, the two of us shooting one another a glance that meant we were both very, very aware that there was still a lot to talk about.
No time for that. And damned if I wasn’t hungry.
Once I was alone in my bedroom, I let out a sigh of relief and frustration and even a little bit of confusion. How the hell had I let things get so far with Shania? I mean, sure, the girl looked so good in that one-piece that it should’ve been illegal. And the pull between us was something else. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if the gang hadn’t shown up that we would’ve slipped into some serious making out.
OK—maybe I could cut myself some slack for getting caught up in the whole thing. But could I do the same about how I put myself in the damn position in the first place? What the hell did I think was going to go down when I asked her to join me in the hot tub?
It was frustrating, like I was being pushed by forces that I could barely understand, let alone control.
At least we hadn’t done it—that was the important thing. And Shania had been quick enough on her feet that it looked like we’d simply been hanging out and catching up. After all, the boys knew that I’d known her back in college. The extent of our relationship was the thing they were in the dark about.
And it was going to stay that way.
I dried off before throwing on a dark red T-shirt and some jeans and slipped into a pair of white Vans. And when I stepped out of my bedroom, part of me hoped that Shania would be there. Not even so we could talk or anything like that, but so I could see her.
I wanted to see her. What was wrong with me? I was acting like a kid with a crush.
When I stepped out back onto the patio I saw that she’d beaten me to getting ready. Shania was with the rest of the group, helping set out plates and glasses and wine and all the food. And damn, did it smell good. Tasty Garden was one of my favorite food joints in the city, and the jetlag had given me a hell of an appetite.
“There’s the man,” said Will, his hand on Sam’s leg under the table. “Come on—we’re about ready.”
I plopped into one of the chairs, Shania glancing at me out of the corner of her eye as Sam showed her the massive diamond engagement ring that Will had given her when he’d proposed.
“Theo and Katy couldn’t make it?” I asked as we all started taking the plastic coverings off the food, the scent of LA’s finest Chinese cuisine flooding up to greet us.
“Theo’s got a night class,” said Will.
“And Katy’s on a Tinder date, if I remember right,” said Pepper.
“Besides,” said Will. “This only involves the six of us.”
“Will!” said Sam, giving his shoulder a swat. “Way to spill the damn beans already!”
I was confused. As far as I knew, the group was swinging by to buy me some dinner as a little “welcome back” thing. But there was clearly more to it than that.
“OK,” I said. “You guys know I don’t like surprises.”
The four of them shared the same expression, Shania and I looking at one another as if one of us knew something that the other didn’t. We both shrugged, totally confused, before turning our attention back to the rest of the group.
“There was something we wanted to talk to you about, Sean,” said Noah.