Reece

Eight

“Cady,” Dylan stands to greet me, pulling me into a warm embrace that he holds for just a little too long. And why the hell is his hand at the bottom of my back? “You’re here. Finally. I thought you ditched me.”

“Ditch you?” I playfully slap Dylan’s shoulder, although even I know that full on smacking someone can’t be described as ‘playful.’ He deserved it. “Like I would ever ditch you. What type of best friend ditches? That’s just ridiculous.”

Dylan goes to say something, but I don’t give him the chance. Instead, I sidestep him and take my seat next to Reece. He’s still wearing that amused grin, and takes small sips of the dark liquid he’s drinking. When he puts the tumbler down, I reach over and pick it up. I sniff the contents first and then toss it back, swallowing it in a great gulp.

“That was nice,” I state as I hand Reece the now empty glass. “If you’re going to the bar, can you get me one of those too?”

I very rarely took Erin’s advice, because let’s face it, the girl thought it was a great idea to get her eyebrow pierced, but tonight I decided that she was right. Getting drunk would numb the pain. And seeing as my heart was in the process of being ripped to shreds there was a lot of pain to cover up.

Reece returned a few minutes later with two JD and cokes, placing one of the glasses in front of me. I was about to knock it back when instead of my lips touching the cold rim, they touched someone’s warm hand. I frowned down at the hand covering my glass and followed the arm up towards the owner’s face.

“Take it easy, Cadence,” Reece warned me. He pushed his palm down on my glass, practically forcing me to put the drink back on the table, and leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I don’t think you getting drunk is the answer.”

I snort. “Sure it is.”

Reece was just about to speak when I heard Dylan call me. I rolled my eyes, gave a wistful glance at my drink and then turned to smile at my best friend.

He looked dashing, I had to admit. His tux was a shimmery grey colour paired with a baby blue shirt and a black tie, and the fact that he had shaved before coming here told me he was making a huge effort tonight. It was just heart-breaking that the effort wasn’t made for me.

Ashley Pendleton was a Princess and everyone knew it. She was high maintenance. She also looked a lot like Taylor Swift, which was fine if you were a fan of Taylor Swift, but otherwise, that sugary sweet demeanour got tiring quickly. I hated how fake Ashley was and how she pretended to be everyone’s friends. She had one of those smiles that was sweet on the outside, but on the inside she was basically saying ‘fuck you.’

It was the same smile she was giving me now.

“I was just telling Ashley about that time we all went to the beach,” Dylan beams at me.

“Were you?” I say emotionlessly. “Well, don’t let me stop you. It’s a great story.”

I turn to move away from their conversation, but Dylan drapes his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a sideways embrace. I try to shrug him off but he doesn’t get the message and instead starts playing with my hair, twirling strands around his index finger as he talk to his date.