It was closer to 11PM by the time I got to the restaurant, which definitely felt different than the last time I’d seen it.

The last time I was here it was quiet, sunny and mostly empty, but tonight there were candles on every table, indie folk on the sound system, and a good fifty to sixty buzzed to drunk people standing around dirty, plate-littered tables, engaged in animated conversation. 

Definitely not the type of nightlife I was used to. If I was out and drinking at 11PM, The Lumineers weren’t exactly my soundtrack of choice, but to each their own. I wasn’t here to party anyway. I was here for Evie.

The usual eyes flew to me as I angled through the crowd, but the setting was intimate enough that no one yelled my name or mobbed me for pictures. They just kept watching as I made my way to the group of women Evie was talking to. 

My eyebrows lifted when I got closer.

She was wearing red lipstick tonight. And she looked fucking stunning. The first thing I saw was her big smile as she burst out laughing over something that was apparently funny enough for her to be the last of the group to notice me.

“Um, Evie...” The redhead to her left kept her unblinking eyes on me while smiling nervously and tapping Evie. “Sweetie, I think someone’s here to see you.”

“Drew! Thank God you’re here!” She surprised me by bursting over and throwing her arms around my neck. When my hand touched nothing but skin, I realized her dress was completely backless. Whoa, whoa.

“Hold on a second. Let me see this,” I muttered. Evie’s friends giggled and nudged each other as I held her hand up for a moment to step back and get a full look.

I wasn’t doing it for show. I genuinely needed a second to process that body in that coffee-colored dress. She was completely covered in the front but when I turned her around, her naked back was on full display. If it weren’t for the bow tied around her neck, I would’ve thought she was walking around topless with just a skirt on.

I shook my head before facing her front once again.

“God, you look fucking beautiful,” I said, getting to enjoy about a second of her smile before her friends burst into a loud chorus of “awww.”

Jesus.

“Thank you. I didn’t think you’d get here till late,” Evie said breathily before introducing me to all her friends. I forgot all their names on the spot. “And you know, um… you know Hillary,” Evie said, suddenly fumbling and eyeing her redheaded friend as she gestured toward Hillary. Hillary didn’t seem to notice because she smiled brightly.

“Hey again! So happy you could come, Drew.”

“Thank you for having me,” I smiled back just as another familiar face came damned near shoving through the crowd behind her.

Mike.

“Drew! My man. Happy you made it,” he said with a broad smile, offering a hand over Hillary’s shoulder.

“Thanks. Good to see you,” I lied as Evie leaned her gorgeous back into my chest. Despite her outward calm, her body was trembling a bit. I frowned. I could tell from the way she grabbed my hand and squeezed it twice that she was trying to tell me something. I had no idea what it was thus far, but I was on alert.

“Drew. Buddy. What happened the other night?” Mike frowned, leaning on Hillary with an arm tossed over her shoulder. I didn’t have to fake the smile that quirked my mouth as I ran my hands down to Evie’s waist.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, because a lot of things happened the other night.”

It was supposed to be just a joke for Evie but she blushed so hard the girls read the situation fast and gave a scandalous “oooooh.” Mike bristled.

“I’m talking about that crazy loss. That had to be the worst outing of your career, right?”

“It was. Thankfully, it was my first loss this season.”

“Well. It’s a long season.”

“It is. I’ve been playing awhile in this league so I know firsthand,” I laughed while sliding my hands down to Evie’s hips. “Luckily, I have this secret weapon right here.”

There was another “awww” from the girls as Mike sneered.

“Well, I know firsthand that Evie doesn’t know a football from a baseball, so I don’t know how she comes in any way handy.”

“She’s more of a lifesaver in the sore muscle department,” I said, rubbing Evie’s hips to calm her down. I could feel her breathing deep, shaking a little less now.

“Oh, her massages, right?” the redhead gasped. “They’re so frickin’ good. And that’s so perfect for you as an athlete! Oh, oh, you should get her a job at the stadium!”

“Jesus, no.” I grimaced so hard the girls burst out laughing. “Trust me, my teammates would love that but she’s strictly mine.”

“Well, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Mike chuckled as the circle fell promptly quiet. The girls’ eyes were wide, and Hillary visibly cringed. Despite the palpable awkwardness, he went right on. “I mean, Maddox, I think anyone who’s been on the Internet knows you’re not exactly a one-woman kind of guy.”

Evie stiffened in my arms. The girls were covering their faces at this point but I gave the prick an easy laugh.

“Believe it or not, tabloids are sometimes bullshit. Some people get just brave with what they say when they’re hiding behind a computer screen.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mike scoffed.

“Come on. I’m sure you’ve said things on the Internet that you’d never have the balls to say in person. You could be standing right in front of the person and still be too scared to say shit.”

Based on the redhead’s giant snort, I assumed she’d seen his post about me on Facebook. I wore a placid smile as I cocked an eyebrow at Mike. I was challenging the little shit to prove me wrong and call me overpaid to my face, but all he did was grunt, clear his throat and look away.

Then it was silent for a bit, Evie and the redhead exchanging looks I couldn’t read.

“Anyway, I could never be a professional masseuse,” Evie finally said to break the awkward silence. “I only bust out my A game for my man.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Mike said.

This motherfucker.

Hillary up and left as Evie hugged my arms tight around her waist. She gave my forearms a quick but firm squeeze, and this time I read what she was saying. I got this one.

“Trust me, it takes a whole other level of strength to rub this one down,” she laughed good-naturedly, beaming up at me before returning her eyes to Mike. “I mean Drew’s all muscle. So it’s literally night and day between you two.”

Jesus.

Savaged.

Mike went red as Evie’s friends failed at suppressing their fits of laughter.

“I’m gonna find Hillary,” he muttered, that forehead vein beating with a life of its own as he turned around and left.

I was pretty sure Evie could be nothing but pleased with herself after that, but once we excused ourselves from her girlfriends, she took my hand and tugged me into the kitchen. By now, it was only the dishwasher in there and he gave barely a look in our direction before going back to own thing while nodding to the music on his headphones.

“Evie. What?” I frowned when I saw her hands trembling as she rubbed them over her face. “Jesus, baby. What happened?”

She took a few seconds to answer, and I didn’t realize I’d turned to hunt down Mike till she grasped a handful of my shirt and pulled me away from the door.

“Hillary might be living with him,” she blurted. I stared at her.

“What?”

“My friend Kate with the red hair. She’s the manager here and before you came, she told me something. And I’ve just been trying to hold everything in and act normal, but – ”

“What? What did she tell you?”

“She said she saw the address on some of Hillary’s mail. It’s my address. I mean not mine. But the apartment I spent forever finding for me and Mike.”

Jesus.

Now I was the one dragging my hand down my face. I didn’t need to know more to know what was probably the full story. Mike left Evie for Hillary. Considering how closely they worked, he’d probably been with sleeping with her before the breakup. It would explain why he refused to fuck Evie.

“I can’t believe this,” Evie whispered, furiously wiping at her tears. When I collected her hands in mine and tipped her chin up to face me, she curled her lip and turned away. “Don’t make fun of me for crying. I know what you want to say, Drew. That I should never trust anyone. Everyone’ll screw you over at some point. You’ve said it. I get it.”

It was definitely the told you so moment I lived for, but as much as I loved to prove myself right, I couldn’t bring myself to gloat right now. I didn’t know Mike or Hillary, but this story didn’t surprise me because it was just what I knew of people in general. That said, Evie was blindsided. Again.

I looked at her big wet eyes. That wobbly lip. I thought of how she just curled up in her bed last night and just smiled so peacefully in her sleep. Despite all that, I was still itching to use this time to evangelize her. To bring her into the no-trust club. After all, misery fucking loved company.

But there was a small part of me that didn’t want to make her world as dark as mine. It was a sliver, but it refused to fuck her up the way I was fucked.

And for the first time in my life, I listened to the little voice instead of the big one.

“Evie, you made your appearance and you ended on a high note. Let’s just go home. I’ll pour you a glass of wine, we’ll watch a movie on the couch and we’ll forget this whole night even happened.”

“That sounds nice.” Her voice was shaky, pitiful. She continued avoiding my gaze as she wiped her tears. “But I feel like – I feel like I need to know for sure. I need to talk to Hillary. I mean I’ve known her since college. She used to make me care packages because I didn’t have money for groceries. She’s been such a friend to me for so long – there has to be an explanation. Right?”

“There isn’t, Evie. Please. Don’t do this to yourself.”

“I feel like I can’t trust anyone,” she spoke over me.

“Welcome to the club.”

Whoops. I slipped. The words just came out. And as they did, I watched her cry again, this time into her hands. Her shoulders shook and she tried to stifle her sobs but I heard them, and as I did, I flipped the switch I did whenever women decided to cry in front of me. It generally worked like a mute button so I could comfortably skip this part of the conversation.

But apparently the batteries were finally out.

“Look, we’ll stay for a little longer,” I said, cupping her elbows and bringing her closer. “But this has nothing to do with Mike. This is just to give Helen the benefit of the doubt.”

“Hillary,” Evie corrected with a frustrated groan but then she broke into a conflicted laugh. “Drew, God. What is wrong with your memory? Did a baseball hit you in the head once?”

“No, I just save my memory for what actually matters,” I said, prompting her to blink at me a few times and give me a funny look. But then she wiped the last of her tears and took in a deep breath.

“You don’t mind staying a little longer?” she asked, her voice small.

I minded. I really didn’t think she was going to find the answer she wanted and I wasn’t a fan of wasting my own time.

“Okay. Just a little longer,” she said, interlocking her fingers in mine. “And then we’ll go home?”

“And then we’ll go home,” I echoed, returning the squeeze she gave my hand before we pushed through the door and headed back out.