He lifted a fist into the air and gave me a limp fist pump. “Woohoo! Go Gracie!”

“Why are you woohooing Gracie?” Vivian asked, slapping her boyfriend’s ass as she breezed into the kitchen looking like she had just gotten back from a photo shoot as opposed to rolling out of bed. I knew that she had just been frantically applying makeup and styling her hair after Cole had left the room. My roommate didn’t believe in messy hair and morning breath. It was against her religion.

“G got a job,” Cole explained as he handed her a cup of coffee.

Vivian’s eyes widened and she shrieked loudly. “Oh my god! You did? What job? Tell me!”

Cole covered his ears with his hands. “You guys are so loud in the morning,” he moaned as he trudged back to Vivian’s bedroom.

“Come on, Gracie, don’t leave me hanging!” Vivian prompted.

“Kate, my editor at Southern Gardens magazine, was impressed with my latest article and asked if I wanted the fulltime position she just opened up. I am now officially a fulltime journalist,” I told her. She screamed dramatically and started shaking her hips in a dance and I wiggled along with her.

When we finally settle down, Vivian squeezed my hands. “This calls for a celebration! We need to go out!”

“Viv, it’s not even lunchtime,” I pointed out.

“So! I’m calling Maysie and we’re having an impromptu lunch date at Barton’s! My treat.” She pulled out her phone and typed out a text to Maysie. “Now go put on something cute,” she instructed. She walked down the hallway back towards her room. “Cole! Get dressed! We’re taking Gracie to lunch!” she yelled before slamming her bedroom door.

I picked up my phone and wondered who else I could call to share my good news with.

I thought briefly about calling my parents but I didn’t want their negativity to put a damper on my good mood.

Mitch…

That was out of the question.

So I put my phone back down and went and got dressed, wondering when he’d stop being my first thought.

And my last one.

“Okay, this calls for a toast. Everyone raise your glasses,” Maysie shouted over the loud conversation at our table.

We were all crowded into a long booth at the back of Barton’s. Maysie, Jordan, Vivian, Cole, and myself were gorging on mozzarella sticks and potato skins as we waited for our lunch orders to show up. Everyone was excited for me and I was reminded again why I had the best friends in the world.

“To Gracie! Who is on her way to conquering the world!” Maysie toasted, giving me a wide smile.

“Yep, conquering the world one overgrown garden at a time,” I snarked.

Vivian kissed my cheek loudly and I was pretty sure she left a lipstick smear behind. “To Gracie!” she saluted.

“To Gracie!” Jordan and Cole yelled as loud as they could.

“To Gracie!” Dina, the bartender and the rest of the wait staff shouted. Everyone in the restaurant clapped, even though I knew they had no idea what they were clapping about. But it felt pretty damn awesome.

“You guys having a party and didn’t invite me?”

And there went my good mood. My heart did a slam-dunk into my shoes.

“Hey man, what are you doing here? I thought you were spending the day with Sophie,” Jordan said, sliding down the booth to give Mitch room to sit down.

“Yeah, well she’s got stuff to do today,” he said offhandedly as he squished in beside Jordan and smack dab across from me. Our knees bumped under the table and he gave me a half smile.

“Hey Gracie,” he greeted and I inclined my head in acknowledgment.

There was a brief moment of silence where everyone seemed to recognize the rise in tension.

We’ll be old friends that used to be close but have drifted apart.

“So what’s everyone celebrating?” Mitch asked.

“Gracie got a new job!” Vivian announced, bumping my shoulder.

Mitch’s eyes sparkled in my direction. “You did? That’s awesome, G. What kind of job is it?”

He called me G again. I loved that he still did that. Sometimes.

Then he gave me his stomach turning, heart-flipping smile.

“I’ve been taken on as a fulltime staff writer at Southern Gardens magazine. It’s really no big deal—”

“No big deal? That’s a huge deal! You’re getting to write! That’s what you’ve always wanted to do!” Mitch enthused.

I couldn’t help but smile back. He seemed so genuinely happy for me that joy spread from the tips of my fingers all the way down to my toes. “Yeah. I’m pretty stoked.”

Then I felt his foot lightly kick mine under the table. My gaze flickered up and met his. “I’m really proud of you,” he said softly and for a second we were the only ones at the table.

Just Mitch and Gracie…

“Boys! It’s so good to have you back at Barton’s!” Mitch’s eyes tore away from mine and looked up at the man who had appeared beside our table.

Mitch moved his foot away so that it was no longer touching mine. But that was okay. Because we were just old friends.

Why did that sound so depressing?

“Hey, Moore,” Jordan said, shaking the manager of Barton’s hand.

“So,” Moore rubbed his hands together and gave them a cheesy smile. “What are the chances I could get you guys to play here next weekend? We’ve had a cancellation and it would be wonderful to have a successful local band playing on their old stage again. It would be great for business.”

Jordan, Mitch, and Cole all shared a look. “I don’t know, Moore—”

“I’ll pay you of course,” Moore interrupted.

“It’s not about the money. We just have some shit going on next week—” Jordan went on.

Maysie leaned into her fiancé and put her hand on his arm. “Come on, Jordan, it’s just one show. It would be amazing to have you guys play here again. It’ll be like old times.”

Jordan gave her an indulgent smile. He would never say no now.

“Well, Garrett gets back from Massachusetts on Monday. I guess we could play Saturday night,” Jordan began.

Cole shrugged. “Sure, I’m down. What do you say, Mitch?”

Mitch smacked his hand down on top of the table. “Let’s do it. It’ll be nice to play to a full crowd again.”

Moore clasped Jordan’s shoulder. “Fantastic! It’ll be a great show. I’ll have Dina bring over some drinks to celebrate having the Rejects back on their old stomping ground. She’s created a special concoction just for the bar.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Jordan said.

Dina came by with a tray full of drinks. She placed one down in front of each of us. My mouth all but watered at the sight. Vivian picked it up and sniffed. “What’s in it?”

“It’s vodka and cranberry juice with some schnapps and other things thrown in. We’re calling it the Barton Reject in honor of the boys.” Mitch and Cole laughed and Jordan raised his glass in a salute.

Vivian and Cole downed their drinks. Maysie handed hers to Jordan and he set them aside. “You’re not going to drink it?” Vivian asked Maysie frowning.

Maysie obviously hadn’t told everyone about her new bundle of joy. She shook her head. “It’s a little early in the day to be boozing it up, don’t you think?”

Vivian grabbed Maysie’s discarded drink and swallowed half of it. She gave us all a wobbly smile, the alcohol obviously already having an effect. She always had been a cheap date. “It’s 5:00 somewhere.”

I swirled the straw around my drink, dunking the cherry and watching it pop back up. I really wanted a taste. What would it hurt? Just one little drink didn’t mean I would have to have the whole thing. I wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled.

“Let me get that out of your way.” Mitch reached across the table and slid my temptation to the end of the table and replaced it with a glass of water.

“Oh. Uh, thanks,” I stammered, feeling ashamed for my slip up.

Mitch lifted his shoulders nonchalantly. He was used to riding to my rescue.