“That would be great. I think I remember everyone’s names, but after hearing you talk about them all the time, I’m eager to put the faces to the stories.” I love the fact that she’s interested in my friends. They’re my lifelines. Having a relationship with some girl who doesn’t like your friends, would never work for me. Definitely, a deal breaker for me, as Sadie would say.

“So, I’ll start with Brady. He’s the guy with the brown hair faux hawk. His girlfriend, Sadie, has the long blonde hair. Usually, they’re all over each other, hands never to themselves,” I tell her, and she laughs.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” she asks.

“If you’re them, I guess,” I sarcastically answer.

“I guess that’s true. Jessa is the short blonde, right?” It thrills me she remembers my best friend.

“Yeah, we’re pretty tight, and her boyfriend is Grant. Short blond haired preppy dude,” I give her more information.

“She’s the one you are always talking about?” The clear question evades her voice, and I realize I need to squash any jealousy before her mind veers somewhere it shouldn’t.

“Well, we all live together.” She looks quizzically at me. Shit, I need to fix that. “Our relationship is like a brother and sister. I’m pretty sure she and Grant will be married happily ever after soon enough. Those two are inseparable.” I pray my attempt to soothe any insecurities about Jessa and me did the job.

“Then Dex,” she names the last one for me. A ping of jealously hits my veins with the fact she remembers his name. Then her hand reaches over the center console and takes mine, as though she senses my uneasiness. When I look at her hand and then at her, she gives me a small smile.

“Yeah, Dex. We call him Hulk, too, just in case someone starts referring to him as that you know who we’re talking about.”

“Okay, thanks, it relaxes me a little bit. It’s always hard meeting the friends, ya know?” Her voice is so casual, I wonder exactly what she’s referring to. Does she mean friends of friends or friends of someone you’re dating? Crap, see this is why I don’t date. All these damn doubts and questions that fill your head throughout the whole night.

When we pull up to the downtown strip of Breckenridge, I attempt to parallel park Jessa’s dad’s car with the confident skills I clearly don’t possess at the moment. Not that I’ll let my insecurity show in front of Kailey, though. Luck must be on in my favor tonight because I squeeze into the space with ease on my first attempt. Pretty good for a kid who failed that part of his driver’s test—twice.

“Better you than me,” Kailey smiles over at me. I can’t help but fear she saw me rub my nervous sweaty hands on my pants before backing up the most expensive car I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving between two just as pricey vehicles.

“I’ve always been good at squeezing into tight places,” I joke, and she playfully rolls her eyes, and stifles a giggle. A signature reaction of hers.

“Good to know,” she remarks, the grin getting wider the more she absorbs my words.

Our eyes remain on one another’s while an energy pulls for a brief moment, until she snaps her head forward. I exit the car, rushing around the front to open her door before she has a chance to grab the door handle herself. After she steps out, my hand reaches for hers, and I weave our fingers together. “Is this okay?” I ask her, staring down at our hands. The last thing I want is for her to be pressured when my friends see us walking in the restaurant with fingers clasped.

She glances down at our hands and back up to my face, “Yeah,” squeezing my hand.

I open the door to the restaurant, dropping her hand, and placing mine on the small of her back to escort her through the restaurant entrance. Once we’re through the doorway, I take her hand back in mine, unwilling to not be without her touch for too long. The exhilaration I feel having her next to me, almost like she’s my girlfriend, is surprising.

My friend’s boisterous laughs and carrying on can be heard all the way across the restaurant at the hostess stand. It’s ironic, since I’ve always thought I was the loud mouth out of all of us, guess I was wrong. Giving Kailey’s hand a squeeze while looking at her with confident eyes, I try to reassure her it will be great. Her lips turn up in response, and she allows me to lead her toward my crazy ass friends. All the while, I’m praying like hell they don’t embarrass me.

“Kailey,” Jessa exclaims, standing up and walking over to us. She gives Kailey her usual big, tight hug, welcoming her to the group. After she releases Kailey, Jessa winks my way and takes her seat back next to Grant.

Everyone else greets Kailey, completely ignoring my existence. But that’s fine by me, let the spotlight be on her tonight. I hold out a chair for her before taking my own next to her. For some reason, it all fits, me being here with her and all my friends.

After small chitchat back and forth among the group, we all agree to let Brady order for the table, with a little help from Sadie, so we don’t end up with only plates of artery blocking meat. The conversation between everyone flows easily. Kailey surprises me with her additions. Although, she keeps her conversations mostly to Jessa and Sadie, she’s quietly chatted with Dex a few times while I was pulled into talking with others. Let’s just say, it’s not possible to listen to two different conversations, so I wisely choose Dex and Kailey’s. Lucky for me, I don’t have to kick Dex’s ass later, not like it’s possible, but I could have gotten a few punches in. It was a relief when I heard him talking about Sam to her. Kailey was encouraging him to pursue Sam, making the smile on my face that much wider. I’m figuring there are no feelings for Kailey on Dex’s side, making everything A-Okay in Trey’s world.

“So, Kailey, how come you decided to come out to Colorado for spring break, instead of going somewhere with your friends?” Brady asks her, and the rest of the gang leans in as though she’s about to divulge some piece of juicy gossip. Of course, I can’t say I haven’t wondered the same thing.

“Um...” her fingers knead the napkin in her lap, so I reach over and grab her hand under the table. She looks up at me and then back to them. “My aunt and uncle asked, and I agreed. I just needed to get away,” her voice slightly shaking.

“Isn’t that the truth? Finals are coming soon, and then graduation.” Brady chimes in. But, for some reason, my gut tells me it isn’t schoolwork that Kailey has to get away from.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Well, classes and stuff. I don’t graduate until next year. I’m only a junior,” she adds, and my stomach drops thinking if anything does happen between us, she would stay in Western after I graduate. I haven’t decided if I’ll stay or mover closer to my family. “Are you guys all seniors?” she asks, and all of us nod.

“We’re all graduating in May, except for Dex,” I inform her.

“I added a second major, so it tacked on another year,” Dex explains, and she nods in understanding, otherwise remaining quiet.

Grant and Jessa sneak back to the table in time for dessert, laughing with each other, as though no one knows they just screwed somewhere. If their messed up hair and swollen lips aren’t a red flag, Grant’s open fly is. I cock my eyebrow, and Jessa giggles some more, pretending nothing just happened.

Kailey releases my hand and straightens her body, which has me scrunching my eyes in confusion. She leans forward, toward Dex again, continuing their conversation, but in a more intimate nature. All throughout dessert, I talk with everyone and Kailey continues to focus her attention on Dex. They appear to be in their own bubble, not including anyone else.

I’m stuck in some limbo, feeling angry and sad. The emotions start getting the better of me. Rather suddenly, I scoot my chair out, everyone’s face rises up to me, alarmed by action. Kailey finally turns her attention back to me, but I stomp out of the restaurant in the most embarrassing imitation of a toddler fit.