not, this suit was wasted. I glanced back at the shitty piece of metal she called a home. I couldn’t believe that she still lived there. When we were in high school, all she could talk about was getting out of there and going on an adventure. Maybe our lives took us in different directions, but she still should have been able to move out of there by now. It had been thirteen years.
I walked back to my car, dreading that I had to get inside my baby with dirt all over my suit. It had taken me a long time to save up enough money to not only afford my apartment, but also that car. Pretty. That car wasn’t pretty, it was freaking awesome. If she wasn’t being such a bitch to me, I might have offered to let her drive it.
By the time I got back to my car, I knew I had already missed the start of poker night. Had I left work earlier, I would have made it in time, but then I wouldn’t have come across Anna on the side of the road, and who knows what she would have done. She probably would have called the garage in town, and then she would have met some skeevy asshole that would have put the moves on her.
I pulled up in front of Eric’s place ten minutes later and cleaned as much of the dirt out of the car as possible. Sighing, I knew I would just have to take it to be detailed tomorrow. I couldn’t risk letting the dirt sink in and stain. Walking up the steps to the porch, I heard a loud round of cheers and banging. I pushed the door open and everyone turned to look at me.
“What happened to you?” Joe asked. “Did that fancy car break down?”
“No, I was driving over here and I saw Anna broken down on the side of the road. I walked her home.”
“You didn’t offer her a ride? You’re such an asshole,” Will grumbled.
I took off my coat and hung it on the taped together coat rack. Eric had broken it in half earlier this year after Kat left him and he got drunk.
“I did offer her a ride, but she refused.”
“Because you’re an asshole,” Will said again.
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened between you two?” Eric asked.
“No.” I took my seat as Eric dealt the cards.
“You must have done something really shitty. She hates you.”
“She said that?” I asked Eric.
“She doesn’t need to. If I even mention your name, it’s like she turns into a feral beast.”
“Who turns into a feral beast?” Kat asked as she walked into the kitchen. She leaned over and kissed Eric, then slid into his lap, studying his cards.
“Anna.” Eric shifted Kat on his lap and slid his hand around her waist. What I wouldn’t give to have Anna here, looking at me the way Kat looked at my brother.
“Because Robert’s a douchebag?” she asked. I glowered at her.
“Thanks, sis.”
“Hey, I’m just repeating her words. I happen to like you.”
She hopped up and grabbed some snacks out of the cabinet and poured them into dishes to put on the table. Then she grabbed a beer and handed it to me.
“Have you seen where she lives?” I asked after a moment.
Eric looked up and shook his head. “No, why would I know where she lives?”
“It’s a shit hole. The same place her parents used to live.”
“That thing is still standing?” Andrew asked.
“Barely.”
Andrew chuckled, shaking his head. “Dude, I remember sneaking out of the house with you on Halloween to go see her.”
“Shut it.” I tossed a chip at him, hitting him in the face.
“And you fell into the rose bushes at the Martin’s house when you jumped the fence.”
I cringed as I remembered the thorns poking me in some very uncomfortable places. “I’d rather not think about that.”
“You would have done anything to get to Anna back then,” he laughed. “I just never understood what happened between you two.”
“Yeah,” Joe agreed. “You were together one day and off to college the next. And then Anna disappeared for a year, and when she came back, she was a totally different person.”
I drank my beer and ignored my brother’s comment, but as I glanced up, I caught Kat’s penetrating gaze. She narrowed her eyes at me, but kept her mouth shut.
“So, when are you two getting married?” I asked, shifting the topic of conversation off me.