We decided as a group to forgo lunch, mostly because Charity got a phone call from work and she had to go back early. Noa also called me while I was at the bridal salon and asked me if I wanted to do lunch. Charity said that she didn't mind dropping Kenz back off at home, so after they left, I walked downtown to a little pub. Noa was already there, sitting outside sipping what looked like lemonade, but knowing her, I was sure it was spiked.

“What you got there?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Something absolutely delicious and perfect for a summer day. Should I order you one?”

I shook my head. “Nah, I think I'm in the mood for a Long Island iced tea instead.”

She smiled. “Feeling a little feisty, are we? The dress fitting didn't go so terribly then, I take it?”

I shook my head. “No, actually. Charity was almost human. I don't know what happened, but suddenly it just seemed like she actually wanted to be our friend. And not a fake one either—she even changed the bridesmaids’ dresses to make us happy.”

Noa looked like a ghost had just walked by. “No way! I thought she was going to be an evil stepmother. I'm not sure I like her changing her style all of a sudden the week before the wedding. Or were you and Mackenzie just being such super bitches that she couldn’t work with you anymore?”

“Ouch! No, actually we were being super nice about the fact that she wanted to put us in neon pink dresses. But they were God awful and finally she realized that. My super chic black dress is being delivered to the house on Saturday.”

She looked impressed. “Won't you just look fabulous then? Make sure you don't look better than the bride, though.”

I laughed. “No I'm pretty sure she would punch me in the face to make sure that eye matched my dress if I looked better than her. But we’re making progress, even if it's just baby steps.”

Noa grabbed the waitress’s attention and ordered my drink. Then she got a more serious look on her face. “Lila, we need to talk about Eli.”

I was shocked; I hadn't even thought about Eli since I had talked to Levi about his troubles. I'd kind of washed my hands of the situation, but although he wasn't my problem anymore, a piece of me still wanted to know. “What about Eli?”

She set down her drink and sat up a little straighter. “Levi said that he talked to you about it, so I feel like it's okay for me to tell you. Eli is going to be away for a while. Like you probably won't see him anymore while you're here.”

Prison. He had finally done something dumb enough to go to jail for the second time in one summer. “Where is he, Noa?”

She sighed. “He's in rehab, Lila. Apparently his drinking has been getting a lot worse and his parents found out that he hasn't paid the rent on his apartment in like three months. I guess Levi kind of ratted about that. It seemed like he was spending more time gambling and drinking than he was going to work. Turns out he lost his job six weeks ago for being drunk on the job. He's got a problem.”

I sat back in my chair. “I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad.”

“Well, at least now you know that all that gibberish he was talking about wasn't really about you. He's been having problems for a long time, but I don't know what set him off recently for it to become so bad.”

“Beats me. I didn't even know about Megan dying, or how important she was to him. And I mean, I guess these things can get progressively worse.” Honestly, I didn’t know any alcoholics, so I had no idea what it was like to have that disease.

A girl behind us turned around and tapped my shoulder. She was blonde with stunning blue eyes and the perfect dazzling smile. I thought I recognized her from somewhere, but I couldn't place her. “I'm really sorry to interrupt, but were you just talking about Eli Jackson?”

Noa's eyes got wide; clearly, she didn't know that the girl behind me knew our friend. I knew that we couldn't deny it, though. I mean, how many Elis were there? “Yeah, we were. Why?”

“I used to work with Eli. Things got weird at work when he lost a really big client for our accounting firm. The Red Hawks football team? He screwed up in a Monday morning meeting one time and the boss really chewed him out. That's when I noticed he started going to happy hour a little bit earlier than the rest of us. Our job is really stressful, you know? I think it was just too much for him. Glad to hear he’s getting help. I'm Harli, by the way.” She turned around and extended a hand to me. As I shook it, I realized where I knew her from.

“You were at Noa's house the other night. The party. I think I saw you at the bar.”

She smiled again. “Yeah? I didn't realize it was your house. I was invited by a friend.”

Noa waved back at her. “Oh yeah, there's always about twenty people at my parties that I don't know.”

“Well again, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I hope that Eli gets the help he needs. He was always so great to have around the office. It’s been kind of dull since he left. Enjoy your lunch.”

She turned back around to what looked like her book and I looked back at Noa. We both kept the conversation light as we ordered and ate our meals. I asked her about Clara and she said that things were great. It was nice to hear her so happy. Things hadn’t been easy for her overseas.

“How is Levi?”

“Hot.”

“Yeah, I already knew that.”

“We went to an art gallery opening the other night. And then we had our own little party afterward.” I kept the salacious details of the hallway to myself. For now, that was just a moment that Levi and I shared. I wasn't going to divulge all of my secrets.

“Girl, he brings the devil out in you. It didn’t used to be that way. He was the nice brother.”

“Maybe. What of it?”

She reached for her drink. “Just know that when love burns hot like that it burns out quickly.”

I shook my head. “Noa, really… what would you have me do?”

“Nothing. I’m just saying that sometimes you want the slow burn, not the fire.”

The blonde behind us asked for her check and paid and left. After she walked away, Noa leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Did you hear what account he lost?”

“Yeah, the Red Hawks, isn’t that the team that Levi signed with?”

“Yeah, so that can’t be good for the family situation. Also, there’s something else I think you need to know about Levi, and the whole little affair you’ve gotten yourself wrapped up in.”

“What’s that?” I took another sip from my glass. Noa was full of information lately. I wondered what she had on him.

“You know he leaves for training camp in just a couple weeks, right?”

“Yeah, what about it? We’re just having fun, Noa, it’s nothing serious.”

“So then he told you about Japan?”

My drink caught in my throat. “Japan?”

“And let’s be real Lila, with you and Levi, it’s always serious. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re in deep.”

Wasn’t that the freaking truth. “Tell me about Japan, Noa.”

“He’s going to play ball overseas. The Red Hawks have a team there, some international league. He’s leaving, Lila. For a year at least, probably more.”

Japan. A year. Was that why he was so finite on the deadline of our relationship? I shook my head at her. Levi was still playing the game, and he was winning.