Echo reaches for a drink, his mother tsks at him.
“We all know how you get on that stuff, best you stay sober today.”
He tsks back at her. “Lucky I’m a grown ass man that doesn’t have to listen to his mother anymore, aren’t I?” He picks it up as we follow her while she’s constantly shaking her head to the table.
“I don’t want you making a scene,” she says quietly looking around to make sure no one is around to hear her. Echo’s father says nothing, he doesn’t even look Echo’s way as he pulls out his seat and sits straight down on it.
“I want best behavior, just for your mother.”
I slide my hand on his leg under the table to try to calm him. It stops bouncing when I do, and he takes a drink of his beer. We sit in silence as we wait for the couple to come in. When they do, everyone stands but Echo, who continues to drink his beer quietly.
When we all sit I notice Echo’s beer bottle is empty, and he’s staring at it like it’s going to magically refill itself. Leaning over so only he can hear my words, “Why did we even come? You didn’t have to come to this you know?”
He turns, and as he does our noses collide, our mouths so close to one another. I have to pull back first, so I don’t try to kiss him. So those eyes that hold a storm right now don’t torment me by trying to make his pain go away.
He holds so much anguish inside him, it’s so evident in his eyes. Why didn’t I see it before? Was I blind to it? Blind to him? I had to be.
“I don’t even know…” he trails off and I know he’s speaking the truth. He seems to have forgotten why he even came. “Maybe it was a mixture of things, or maybe it was just to finally put an end to what feelings I had for her.”
His words sting.
It isn’t something you want to hear come out of someone you like, that they’re still clearly in love with someone else. Brushing it off, I smile turning back to his parents who are watching us, for how long I don’t even know.
“How did you meet Echo, Storm?” his father asks tapping his fingers on the table as he assesses me waiting for an answer. I smile remembering how we met. I was taking chances that night, something I would never have normally done when I let him kiss me. And look where that led us, to me sitting next to him while he pines for another woman who just married his brother. Now, I’m sitting across from his parents who clearly favor the other son than the great one in front of them. And to make matters worse, Echo’s fears that he isn’t good enough would have been validated when his ex-went left him for his own brother, and his twin no less.
It’s like it’s my own private soap opera playing out in front of me, one I didn’t want to watch let alone be invited to guest star in. Because when I look at it now knowing the details, we aren’t going anywhere. It’s fun. It’s been fun. But I don’t need this. I don’t want to be playing second fiddle to anyone, let alone his ex. I want to be first and only first. That’s what every woman should want. Even if he’s my perfect ten, he loses half a point for simply being unavailable.
“At a bar,” I tell his father honestly.
He shakes his head. “I would say that surprises me, but it doesn’t.” His father’s fingers stop tapping as he sits back not wanting to know anymore.
“You do know he’s very successful, right? Echo’s one of the most successful people I know.” My words earlier about how great his business is are not a lie. I had heard whispers, but when I saw it with my own eyes and some of the clientele there, I knew it would be one of the biggest and closely guarded secret businesses in the country.
“So you have mentioned, but he doesn’t seem to show it to us,” his mother says.
“Oh, I’m meant to flash my wealth around like Mike does, am I?” Echo shakes his head.
“You drink… those,” my mother says pointing at the beer.
I don’t understand what they mean.
“Because it’s not a thousand dollar bottle of whiskey, I’m what? Poor?”
She shrugs her shoulders. A waiter walks around with a tray of drinks, Echo reaches for the beer. Looks to it then back to his parents. “Seems Mike is serving the poor drinks tonight.” He scoffs. Then starts drinking again. I reach for a glass of champagne and plan to have many more if I have to sit here and listen to this shit all night. Who the fuck cares what he drinks or how much it costs? It’s fucking alcohol and it all does the same job. Gets you fucked up. Which is where I need to be right now.