throat as I descended the rest of the way. “I just . . . had a cramp.”
“Aha.” She gave me a knowing look. “A cramp. Well, if you’re ready to go, Mom offered to drive us into town.”
“I’m ready.” I followed her to the garage and got into the backseat again, vowing not to think any more about Noah’s dick.
But it was really hard.
(See what I mean?)
Turns out, the Sawyer sisters aren’t very wild partiers. After cocktails at Low Bar, several bottles of wine during dinner at Trattoria Stella, and after-dinner drinks with dessert at Poppycock’s, we were done—and it wasn’t even ten.
“Are we lame?” April said as we all stood outside the restaurant waiting for Mack, who had generously offered to drive all our tipsy asses home. She stifled a yawn. “I’m pretty sure we are.”
“I can’t help it.” Sylvia yawned too. “I go to bed every night at nine o’clock. I’m old.”
“So what’s my excuse?” Frannie looked like she might fall asleep on her feet. “I’m not even thirty. But you know what I am?” She hiccuped. “Drunk.”
“I think it’s Mom’s fault,” said Chloe. “She always made us go to bed so early as kids. We never developed a tolerance for late nights.”
While they lamented our party-pooper genes, I snuck a look at my phone. Noah hadn’t texted or called, and it worried me. Granted, I hadn’t contacted him either (although I’d failed miserably at trying not to think about him), but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
Moving slightly away from the group, I broke down and called him.
“Hello?” His voice sounded different to me. Quieter. More raw. Maybe he’d been asleep?
“Did I wake you?”
“No.”
“How was your night?”
“Okay.”
I expected him to ask about mine, but he didn’t. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
I bit my lip. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
“It was a rough day. I’m tired.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay,” I said, although it didn’t feel okay at all. “Well, I’ll let you get some sleep.”
“Where are you?” he asked, and I was relieved he finally showed some interest.
“Downtown Traverse. In front of Poppycock’s waiting for Mack to pick us up.”
“He’s driving you home?”
“Yeah. We’ve all been drinking since like, ten A.M. or something.” I laughed through a yawn. “We’re pretty much toast. Kind of pathetic for a big night out, huh?”
He didn’t laugh. Or agree. Or say anything at all. I almost thought we’d lost our connection.
“Hello?”
“I’m here,” he said. “Sorry. I’m just . . . I don’t know what the fuck I am right now.”
“You sound really down. Do you want company? I could have Mack drop me at your place.”
“Nah.”
I tried not to be too hurt. “Okay. Just wanted to offer in case you needed a friend or something.”
“I’m fine.”
More tense silence.
“Okay, well, Mack is here, so I better go,” I lied. “You get some sleep and let me know how you’re doing tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And I’m here if you need me.” I waited for him to offer something more, but he didn’t. All I could do was let him go. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
I ended the call and stood there for a moment in the dark, listening to my sisters laugh and wondering what the hell could have happened today to make him act so distant and sad. Was it something at work? With his family? His ex?
Whatever it was, he hadn’t wanted to confide in me about it. And he hadn’t wanted to see me. I felt stupidly selfish for being hurt, but I was.
Was this the end? Had we ruined things? But how? This afternoon at the salon, everything had been fine. What could have happened in between then and now to make him shut down that way?
“Everything okay, Meg?” Sylvia called.
Attempting to swallow the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Yeah, I—” My phone vibrated in my hand, and I looked at the screen. Noah McCormick calling.
“Hello?”
“Fuck, Sawyer. I’m sorry.” He sounded a little more like himself.
“It’s okay.”
“Are you in Mack’s car?”
“Not yet.”
“Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”
My heartbeat quickened. “Okay.”
“But wait inside, do you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Give me twenty.”
“I’ll be here.”
I went over to my sisters and told them Noah was going to pick me up and suffered another round of good-natured teasing peppered with lots of obscene gestures and dirty jokes. After about ten minutes, Mack pulled up, and my sisters piled into his Chevy Tahoe, giggling like children.
He came around to open the passenger door for Frannie, kissed her cheek, and helped her in. After