Rekindled (18 page)

Off to the side a group of girls are standing around Ramon, all of them with a bottle of beer in their hands, laughing at something Ramon said. I can see Matt and his girlfriend Macy, along with a few of the guys from the squad and a few girls I don’t know sitting around the fire. The rest of the people are scattered in small groups near Justin and Chris, who are grilling in the picnic area.

We take the next few minutes walking around so I can introduce her to the guys, who all give polite introductions. When I introduce her to Ramon, he takes her hand and brings it to his lips, letting them linger on her skin for longer than is necessary. A surge of tension flits through me before I remind myself to get a grip. Ramon must sense my irritation, though because he smirks at me before turning back to the other women he’s brought.

Matt jumps up when he sees us approaching. “Hey, Tate!” he says as he claps me on the back. “Glad you could make it. Jules didn’t want to come?”

I shake my head. “No, she’s back in New York for a couple days, visiting her sister.”

“Oh.” His face twists into curiosity, but he must sense I don’t want to talk about it right now because he quickly realizes I’m not standing alone and stretches out his hand. “Hi, sorry, I’m Matt.”

“Matt, it’s me, Callie.” She shakes his hand.

His eyes widen and he leans in towards her to get a better look. “Oh my God, Callie! Sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” He pulls her into a quick hug and chuckles. “You look great! Here, take a seat.” He gestures to an open spot next to him.

“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” I ask her.

“Sure, whatever you’re having is fine.” She smiles.

“Matt? Macy? You guys want anything while I’m over there?”

“Nah, we’re good.” Matt wraps his arm around his girlfriend.

I head over to the picnic benches that are sandwiched in between a cluster of trees, and Justin greets me with a wave as he flips over some hotdogs with a pair of tongs.

“What’s up, man?” My mouth begins to water. I love the way charcoal BBQ smells. There’s something nostalgic about it that brings me back to the days when my dad would bring us out here on his days off and we’d spend the afternoon playing in the lake before having grilled burgers for dinner at these benches.

“Who’s the girl?” He asks nodding in Callie’s direction.

“Oh, that’s Callie. An old friend of mine.”

“Ah.” He hands me two plates with a hot dog on each. “She’s gorgeous.”

I shrug. “I don’t really pay attention to that stuff.” I lie, while glancing over at her.

She’s laughing as Matt swings his arms wildly around his head, and I wonder which story he’s telling her. She uses her palms to swipe at the tears that have escaped from laughter, and I try to remember the last time Jules ever laughed so hard that she cried. I frown with the realization that she’s never laughed like that, at least not while in front of me.

I know it’s unfair to compare them, especially because I’m going to marry Jules. There shouldn’t be a comparison. At all. And yet, I can’t help it. Looking at Callie with her hair hanging in loose waves, strands blowing across her face whenever a breeze blows through, she looks stunning. She’s wearing khaki shorts and a grey sweatshirt, and even though I doubt she was trying to look sexy, she is.

“Is she taken?” Justin puts more dogs on the grill.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what her deal is right now.”

Justin nods and I can tell he’s putting out feelers, trying to see if it’s worth it to talk to her. Justin’s a good guy, and someone I’m glad to be friends with. So why does it bother me that he’s interested? I know Callie said she’s in the process of trying to get a divorce, which means she’s theoretically available, or will be shortly, and on paper, she and Justin would be a good fit. After what Justin’s last girlfriend did to him, I should want him to end up with someone good, like Callie. But it’s Callie.
My Callie.
Only, she’s not mine.

I remind myself three more times that she’s not mine. She never was. I shouldn’t even be thinking about her in that way, because I’m happily engaged to Jules. Jules is great. She’s beautiful. Smart. Poised. On a scale of one to ten, she’s a twelve. So then why does a bitter taste flood my mouth every time I think about Callie with someone else? Why does my heart viscerally repel the idea of Callie with someone that’s not me?

I put ketchup, mustard and relish on our dogs, plop a spoonful of potato salad on the plate and grab a bag of BBQ chips for Callie and plain for myself. “Why don’t you come and join us after you’re done over here?” I ask while putting two bottles of beer in my pockets. He agrees and I balance the plates on each hand and make my way back over to the group.

“I hope you still like your hot dogs the same way.” I hand her a plate and a beer.

She looks up at me with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips thinned into a frown. “Tate, I’m allergic to relish now. If I eat that, my throat will close up and I’ll die.”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t know… I mean, you used to love—” I stop when I see her shoulders shaking from laughter. I cock an eyebrow at her. “You’re not allergic are you?”

Matt and Macy break out into laughter as Callie shakes her head. “No, I just wanted to see what you’d do. I’m sorry, that was really mean of me.”

We eat our food and Matt asks Callie about living in California, and what I was like as a kid. She tells him about Jonah and shows him pictures, and he talks about South Carolina and tells her how he met Macy at a bar and that he knew they’d end up together. Everything feels so
easy
. It’s as if Callie and my friendship never broke off, and I absolutely love that feeling.

Chris wanders over and takes a seat in the sand, joining us, and I take a long pull from my beer and peek over at Callie who’s listening intently as Matt recalls the time we ran into a huge black bear in the woods while fighting a fire last year. In the background someone’s turned on music, and deep laughter with feminine squeals punctuate the air.

“This one,” Matt says jutting his thumb towards Chris, “went squealing all through the woods as soon as he saw it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move that fast.”

“In my defense, the only bears I want to encounter are the kind that I meet in a club and who will buy me a drink before mauling me.”

We all laugh when Matt gets up and returns with his hands full. He makes a row out of the red plastic cups and quickly fills them with rum and coke. “In honor of Callie’s presence,” he says, as he passes out a cup to each of us, “we are playing I-Never.”

“What’s I Never?” Callie asks while staring down at her cup.

Matt’s eyes widen in surprise. “You’ve never played I Never? What did you and your friends do when drinking?”

Callie shrugs and gives Matt a wry smile. “I didn’t have much time to go out drinking. I had a son to take care of.”

“Right. Sorry, that was stupid of me. Okay, well,” Matt claps his hands together with excitement, “I’m about to pop your I-Never cherry. I hope you’re ready for this.”

“Why don’t I go first?” Macy places her hand on Matt’s knee. “You’ll scare the poor girl off if you go first.” Matt scowls, but finally gestures for Macy to continue. “So, Callie, the gist is that someone says ‘I never’ followed by an action. And if you’ve done that action, then you have to drink. For instance, I never have had a broken bone.”

Matt and I lift our cups and take a swig. “I was seven and thought I could fly, so I jumped off the top bunk in my room and broke my left leg,” Matt says with a grin. “What was yours?”

Looking at Callie, I wink knowing she’ll likely remember this one. “I was twelve and a certain
someone
was obsessed with Jackie Chan, so when she gushed about how cool it was he could break cinder blocks with his hand, I thought I could do it, too.” Her shoulders begin to shake as she covers her mouth with her hands. “We went out back to my dad’s garage where he was keeping one, and I smashed my hand into it as hard as I could. Wound up shattering pretty much my entire hand.”

“I still can’t believe you did that.” Callie is in fits of laughter. “I’m pretty sure that was the day your dad banned us from watching martial arts movies.”

“He still refuses to let me watch them.”

“Okay Callie, you’re up,” Matt says.

She tilts her head back while thinking before snapping her fingers. “Alright, I’ve never seen the
Star Wars
movies.”

Everyone takes a drink except Callie.

“Seriously?” Matt asks, acting as if she’d just announced she had a third nipple somewhere.

Macy playfully slaps his arm. “Not everyone is a freak like you and watches them every month,” she chides. Turning to Callie, she leans over and whispers, “He’s got quite the obsession with those movies. It’s a sickness, really.”

Callie shrugs looking around the group. “I just never found the premise all that interesting.”

“But, it has Harrison Ford in it, back when he was actually fuckable,” Chris says, completely serious.

“I don’t know, I still think he’s pretty hot,” Callie says.

“Yeah, it’s not fair. Men get better looking with age, and all we women have to look forward to is saggy boobs and greying hair.” Macy pouts.

“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll still love you just as much as I do now when your tits are dragging down to the floor.” Matt wraps an arm around her and places a kiss on her cheek.

“Aw, now that’s romantic,” Chris says, as we all laugh. “Ooh, I have a good one. I’ve never had sex with a woman.”

“Damnit, that’s not a fair one,” Matt complains as he and I take a drink.

“Does oral count as sex?” Macy asks, and rum spews out of Matt’s mouth. She laughs and starts pounding her hand against his back as he tries to stop his choking fit. “I was just kidding, honey. But good to know that’s the reaction I get.”

We continue playing for another thirty minutes, and the topics are getting more absurd the more we drink. I’m no lightweight when it comes to drinking, but I’ve got a good buzz going, and I can tell from the way Callie’s cheeks are tinged a permanent shade of pink and the way she laughs at pretty much everything that she’s way beyond buzzed.

“Okay, how about, I’ve never had sex in a public place,” Macy says as everyone except for Callie takes a drink.

“Seriously?” Chris raises his eyebrows and I find myself watching her, wondering how that’s possible.

She shrugs and laughs. “Nope, never.”

“Wow.” Macy shakes her head and clicks her tongue. “You’re missing out.”

The image of her laid out beneath me while I make love to her underneath nothing but the stars forms in my mind, and I dig my nails into my thigh trying to erase it, but I can’t seem to remove it. Clearing my throat, I need to change the topic.

“Okay, I never have been to church and a gay bar in the same day.” I flash Chris a wicked smile as he slaps his leg and takes a drink.

Matt follows my idea and says, “I’ve never been stuck in a tree after jumping from a plane.”

“Damnit.” Chris takes another drink.

“It’s okay, I’m on your side.” Callie bumps her shoulder with his. “I’ve never cried watching
Lassie
.”

“I was ten!” I yell.

“Still counts,” she says pointing to my cup. “Drink up, Corbin.”

I lift my cup and down the rest of it, while our laughter permeates the air, wondering how different my night would have turned out if Jules had been with me instead of Callie. Part of me realizes that I’m kind of glad Jules went back home because she would never participate in such a stupid little drinking game. The thought has just formed clearly in my mind, and then guilt consumes me.