If Only

Chapter 9 - Floating

"See ya around, Sammy. Take care of her," Ben said, directing the end of his sentence at Greyson, giving him an attempt at a threatening stare.

"Will do," Greyson agreed, and I felt my face heating up slightly.

Ben gave me a knowing smirk before turning around and heading back towards the bar, shouting at someone for having no patience. I shook my head at his antics, but the smile on my face didn't fade.

"He was lively," Greyson smirked.

"That's definitely him. Lively, loud, among many other things."

"How do you know him anyways?" he asked.

"He was the janitor at a hospital from my hometown," I admitted, hoping he wouldn't push the subject.

"A hospital?" I sighed.

"Yeah, um, my mom had cancer. So we were there a lot," I revealed, forcing myself to swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"Had?" he asked, a line forming on his forehead.

"Yeah... she passed. Three years this November," I rushed out, not letting myself feel the weight of the words.

"But anyways, he was pretty great," I said, trying to shift off the topic.

"He seems to be... and I'm sorry, for bringing her up. I've been there," he confided, which was something I had already known due to Lizzy, but somehow seemed even more tragic coming from Greyson's lips.

If I hadn't lost my own mother, then maybe I would've said I was sorry. Sorry for his loss and all the sorrow it surely brought him. But I knew well enough that sometimes, saying sorry after the loss of a parent only made it worse. Made you feel as though you were being suffocated, drowning in the pity of others.

So instead I offered him a smile, small, but full of emotion. And in turn he offered me an escape from the downcast mood that had fogged the room.

"Is he really going to give you free drinks on your birthday?" he suddenly asked, and I laughed, releasing a bit of the tension that had been building in my chest.

"He says so. We'll see how business goes," I joked. "Speaking of business, how's yours?"

"It's... honestly not the greatest. There's a lot of shit to do now that I'm back, and there are some people makin' things much more difficult than necessary," he admitted, and I sent him a sad smile. I was shocked he had told me that much, I normally got a few word answers from everyone else, but I wasn't complaining.

"I called dibs first!" Marco shouted suddenly, drawing our attention towards our friends, who were now seated at a small table in the corner. My cheeks reddened slightly as I realized I hadn't spoken to them since running into Greyson. Conversation with him flowed too easily.

"I don't give a fuck! She's been eyeing me for fifteen minutes," Nia responded. Greyson sent me a smirk as he made our way towards the table, Zane and Lizzy looking towards us.

"Well look who decided to grace us with their presence," Zane joked, prompting Greyson to flip him off.

"What's going on?" I asked Lizzy, who was sipping on her drink with a smile as she watched Nia and Marco fight.

"They're both going after the same girl," she clarified.

"I know how to decide," Marco proclaimed, and Nia sent him an unamused look. "When was the last time you got laid?" he asked, prompting laughs from our group.

"What the fuck does that matter?" she answered.

"Because, then whoever got laid last lets the other person have her," he bartered.