Page 90 of My Never
Colin walks behind Trystan, clapping him on the shoulder as he passes by before handing the hard cider to my sister.
“Thanks, Colin.”
“You bet.”
“Brynleigh!” Ava hollers in hello as the girls all show up en masse to greet her. Apparent relief flashes across her features as they take turns embracing her. This catches Ted’s attention. I watch Ted look up from his phone, gaze combing across each of the ladies with blatant curiosity. We all notice the way he checks each and every one of them out. What a sleaze. Trystan actually huffs in annoyance. When Ted’s eyes skim over Ava’slegs for longer than I’m fucking comfortable with, I give him the dirtiest glare I can muster as I walk over and insert myself into his line of vision before bending and giving Ava a kiss on the top of her head. He notices my death stare and looks away quickly. Damn, this fucker can’t even hold eye contact or give me a smidge of ‘Hey, man, sorry I was checking out your woman while simultaneously disrespecting your sister.’.Coward, pussy, asshole…I have lots of names for him right now.Fucking loser.
Everyone cozies up around the fire, and a few minutes pass as the girls chat. Colin walks over and grabs a hard cider to take to Sydney. While he’s walking behind the group, he does a double take over Ted’s shoulder, eyeing his phone. His eyes flash to mine and Trystan’s before he subtly shakes his head in disappointment before tapping on Sydney’s shoulder and handing her the drink. When he turns back around to head back, a smirk pops up on his face. He “trips” and knocks against Ted, causing him to drop his phone at Bryn’s feet and spill his beer all down the front of his shirt.
“Oh, shit. Sorry. I tripped on the blanket back here. You might wanna grab that shit before– oops, too late…”
Brynleigh has already bent down to grab the phone and is frowning at whatever she sees. My hackles rise, big brother radar blaring like an ambulance on the mad dash. Ted might’ve lost some color to his skin, and that shit would excite me if I weren’t centered on fixing why my sister’s frowning.
“What the hell is this?” My sister looks over at Ted, eyes wary.
“Well, um–” Ted starts to mutter, fumbling over himself like the damn fool that he is. This might end spectacularly. A devilish grin sweeps over my face. I’ll help a little.
“I think you’d better start answering my sister’s question a bit faster.”
Ted shoots me a dirty glare, and I lean forward menacingly as I take a swig of my beer and hand it to Colin. That gets Ted moving.
“Bryn, can we talk?” he stutters out, staring at me as I begin to rise.
“That might be the smartest choice you’ve made this evening,” I mutter low, garnering the attention of everyone who hadn’t already noticed the shit unfolding in front of them.
“Marcus, I’ve got this. Explain yourself, Ted. Who the fuck is Melanie, and why are her tits plastered on your screen while you are sitting here next to me?”
Trystan chokes on his beer, turning red before eyeing the jerk across from us. Colin just smiles and enjoys the show.
“I’m not talking about this in front of everyone,” Ted sputters, embarrassed yet stupidly letting anger lace the tail end of his words. Like he’s offended thatsheis upset withhim.
“But you were willing to sit here and engage in whatever the hell that is in front of my brother and all my closest friends?” Brynleigh waves her hand up and down near the phone to place his source of guilt front and center.
“Follow me.” Ted stands rashly, knocking over a drink into the fire and scattering a bit of ash. I bite the inside of my cheek, assessing and making sure everything in the immediate area is safe.
“Don’t order my sister around,” I state, letting him know that I have my eye on him, I don’t like him, and he better watch his step. Fuck, I hope Brynleigh tears his ass up. They stomp off from the group.
“Say the word, and I’ll happily go step in over there,” Trystan says next to me, eyeing their conversation closely.
“Thanks. It’s probably smart if I don’t directly get involved.”
“On that note, who wants another drink?” Holly asks loudly, trying to change the direction of the party. She pulls out a few and carries them over, asking along the line who might like one. As she hands them out, they happily accept. She taps Jane on the shoulder.
“Jane? Want one?” Holly questions, breaking into her conversation with Sydney.
“No, I can’t,” Jane says, waving it away nonchalantly, then freezes, eyes widening.
“Sure you can! It’s a holiday! Unless–”
All the girls gasp loudly, drawing the attention of the group. Garrett clears his throat and smiles proudly as Jane flushes with excitement.
“I was trying to tell you all on the dock, but you bitches just weren’t paying attention,” Jane explains as all of our ladies squeal with delight.
“Really?! A baby?!” Sydney’s smile is a watery expression full of love and excitement.
“Yeah, a baby…” Jane murmurs dreamily, staring over at Garrett with joy. He looks like he’s walking on cloud freaking nine as he gazes happily back at his wife.
“That’s wonderful, you guys!” Colin exclaims with a carefree laugh, standing to go pat Garrett’s shoulder. We all burst into congratulatory hugs and pats. Our little group is expanding, taking on a new dynamic once again. I am thrilled for them. The girls are all giggling and sniffling with happy tears as they hug their friend, exclaiming about getting to be ‘aunties’. It’s cute.
