his head. “You can do so much better than that dickwad.”
Here we go again.
I decide to give him a taste of his own medicine. “Speaking of relationships. How are things with you and Hayley?”
He pours himself a cup of whiskey and downs half of it before he answers. “Fine.”
Uh-huh. Those two are so up and down they give me whiplash. One second Oakley says he wants to work things out, and the next he’s doing everything in his power to avoid her.
I glance around the table for something non-alcoholic, but all I find is Jace’s Mountain Dew hidden behind some ice. Given it’s his birthday—and I’m wearing my favorite Jimmy Eat World concert t-shirt—I won’t jack his stash again.
“Is Sawyer coming?” he asks, changing the subject.
I wish. “Nope. She said she’s not comfortable watching women resort to stripping for men to make money.”
I peer around the room. For all the fuss Cole made about wanting dozens of strippers, I don’t see a single one.
Then again, we arrived on the later side, so it’s possible they came and left already.
“I guess we missed them?”
Oakey shakes his head. “Nah. Cole wasn’t able to hire them because he’s not eighteen yet. Same for me.” He takes another sip of his drink. “We asked Jace to do it, but he refused. Something’s going on with him lately. Dude’s not acting right.”
That gets my attention. “What do you mean?”
He levels me with a look. “I’m thinking a certain blonde with a big mouth and one hell of a right hook has him all kinds of fucked up.”
“Well, if he would just…I don’t know, talk to me, maybe we could work out our issues.”
As much as I try to convince myself that Jace ignoring me for the past month doesn’t sting, it does. The other day I told Sawyer I actually preferred it when he was going out of his way to bully me.
She told me I was crazy. I’m starting to think she’s right.
Oakley snorts. “Don’t hold your breath. He’s a stubborn motherfucker.”
Don’t I know it. However, I’m pretty sure I also know why Jace isn’t feeling festive, and it’s not because of me.
“The reason he’s not acting like himself is because it’s his birthday.”
Oakley’s baffled expression tells me he doesn’t get it. “Why would that make him upset?”
“Because it’s another reminder that his mom and brother aren’t here.”
Kind of hard to celebrate being another year older without thinking about how much time has passed since you’ve last seen the people you love.
Given our birthdays are exactly two weeks apart, I feel Jace’s pain. I’m not looking forward to mine either.
“Shit. I didn’t even think of that.” He looks sheepish. “I probably should have though. Lord knows my mom’s ignored enough of mine over the years. It’s not the same thing you and Jace go through, but it still sucks.”
I don’t doubt it. The little I know about Oakley’s mom isn’t good. According to my aunt, she’s a drug addict who uses men—or anyone really—and Oakley and Wayne will be much better off once she kicks the bucket.
“I’m sorry, Oak.” I rest my head on his shoulder. “We should abolish birthdays.”
“Hell yeah,” he concurs. “And get rid of laws while we’re at it.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Hayley meanders over to us.
“We need to talk.”
Oakley looks at me. “I’ll leave you two to it.”
I tug him back when he starts walking away. “I’m pretty sure she means you.” I gesture to the kitchen. “I’m gonna see if I can track down a bottle of water.”
“Traitor,” Oakley hisses under his breath before I leave him with what I’m guessing is his soon to be ex-girlfriend.
In all honesty, I’m doing him a favor. The sooner they put an end to it, the better. Why keep holding on to someone you need to let go of?
I’m making my way to the kitchen when my phone vibrates.
Irritation crawls up my spine when I see Tommy’s name light up the screen. It’s the second time he’s called me since I told him I had to cancel.
And if I don’t answer, he’ll just keep calling.
“Hey.” Cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder, I open the fridge. “What’s up?”
“Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yup,” I tell him as I rummage through various brands of beer on the shelf. “Nothing’s changed since the last time we spoke.”
A whole forty minutes ago.
“You said you had to be with family tonight, so I was wor—where are you? It sounds like