I took it readily. We got in his truck, and after a short ride, he pulled into a restaurant that looked like the stereotypical sports bar. There were jerseys on the wall, the wait staff wore referee shirts, and the bar was crowded. A perky girl led us to a table and there were large televisions everywhere.
The crowd was mostly men, but there were enough women present that I didn’t feel uncomfortable. The menu was simple bar food—burgers, and wings. Darius didn’t even bother with it, suggesting he ate here often enough to know what he wanted.
“I take it the food is good?” I asked as I eyed the different flavors of wings. “I’ve never eaten here.”
“We used to make a weekly trip out here,” Darius said, his attention on a television with a football game on. “It’s been a while since all of us got together.” He paused, then glanced at me. “A few things have happened since the last time we were together.”
I grimaced. “There’s no reason you can’t get back into the habit.”
“I don’t know,” Darius said, not looking away from the television. “Do you really think your brother would be eager to meet up for wings and drinks after all of this?”
That made me stop. Fortunately, our waitress came to take our orders. Darius knew what he wanted immediately, but I ordered too, guessing based on what he ordered.
“Why bring Kyle into it?” I asked. “It would be easier to just go out like this without him.” I fidgeted with a napkin.
“Because he was part of our friend group, Grace,” he said with a little frustration. “You want to fix things between all of us? Why not include your brother?” He paused and shrugged. “You said at one point you want to fix things. Fix them.”
Darius nodded in a direction, and it took me a second to realize that he was nodding at someone. I looked ahead and at first saw nothing that caught my eye. Then I spotted Shay. And, unfortunately, my brother. His back was to us, but Shay sat next to him. Her brows were up, and her confusion was obvious.
She was staring right at me, her eyes huge. She mouthed, ‘What are you doing?’ at me.
I shook my head, not even sure what to think. I glanced at Darius, the man next to me, to see if he had done this on purpose. His expression showed me nothing. “Did you know they were here?” I asked.
Darius leaned back in his seat before he met my gaze. “No, Grace,” he said, though there was something in his tone that definitely suggested otherwise. “I wouldn’t arrange it so you would have to face the consequences of what you’ve done.”
My heart slid into my stomach.This is all your fault,it echoed through my head as I stared at the man next to me. I had this overwhelming urge to run. But instead, I put my hands on the tabletop. “I’ve faced it. I’ve been more than willing to face it,” I said, my voice shaking. I swallowed, trying to get my emotions under control. “And it’s fair that you did this. I can’t hold it against you.”
“Grace,” Shay said, approaching the table. “What are you doing here?”
I cleared my throat, ignoring Shay. “Here’s the thing. I didn’t lie to you,” I pointed out. “I have been completely open about what I wanted from you from the beginning. After we were together. I arranged nothing in public intending to humiliate you.”
“This was on purpose?” Shay asked, her voice raising enough to get the attention of the people sitting next to us. “Are you fucking kidding me, Dee?”
“What’s going on?” Kyle appeared just behind Shay. He looked uncomfortable, but didn’t appear as if he were ready to have a public confrontation. So it was likely he wasn’t in on the plan.
I forced a smile and pulled my wallet from my purse. “I’m gonna pass on dinner if this is what you wanted,” I said to Darius. I pulled out two twenties and put them on the table. “That’ll cover part of the bill.” I took a breath and stood, straightening my shoulders. “Thanks for the slap to the face. I needed the reality check.”
“Grace,” Kyle started, but I raised a hand to cut him off.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, “I had this coming. You guys have a great night.” I didn’t wait for a response from Darius. I didn’t give Shay the opportunity to do more than call out my name.
I cut through the restaurant and hit the door harder than necessary. I made it a block before the burning in the back of my throat got to me. I didn’t know what to do from here. Go home? That would definitely ruin Shay’s night. I knew this had thrown a curve ball into her situation. I didn’t need to make it worse.
Adam and Cam were always an option. But I didn’t know if I wanted to face them. Not after this.
After taking a breath, I got an Uber to take me back to the apartment, then turned off my phone. I got my bag that I’dpacked for when I had planned to stay the night with Adam and Cam, then went out to the bus stop.
I didn’t think about where I was going. I just went. I knocked on my parents’ door, not sure what excuse I should give them. Or if they would even let me stay.
“Gracie,” Dad said as he pulled open the door. “Everything all right?” he asked as he stepped aside to let me in.
I hadn’t seen myself. I didn’t know if I looked as shell-shocked as I felt. I forced a smile and lied, “Yeah. Everything is all right. I was just wondering if I could stay the night?”
“Sure, pumpkin,” he said, as he closed and locked the door behind me. “We’ll have to clean off your bed and get some fresh sheets on it.” He put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. It was almost like the hug I needed. “We were getting ready for bed, but I’m sure your mother won’t mind. She always complains about you not coming home often enough. I’m sure she won’t mind you having an extended visit.”
I released a shaky breath. “Thanks.” I’d take the opportunity to cry when they went to bed. The thing I needed most was an escape and right now, this was as close to running as I could get.
Continue reading with Catfished Book 3 – Coming soon!