“You don’t really know these days,” Rachel said with a rough smile. “It was nice to see all of you. Thank you so much for inviting me to the wedding, Brady.”
“You’re welcome,” Brady said. Rachel gave Jonathan a dirty look before she turned away. He saw her pull out her phone with shaky hands and feverishly punch in numbers. Makenna laughed with a single clap.
“That was everything. I live for the drama,” Dan said, draining the last of the champagne into his glass.
Makenna stood up from her chair.
“Aren’t you eating with us, Makenna?” Dan asked. If there could be cartoon hearts in Dan’s eyes, they would’ve appeared the minute Makenna came to their table.
“You wish,” Makenna said. “Duty calls.”
“I’ll see you later, beautiful,” Dan called after her. Makenna did not turn back but threw up a dismissive, half-assed wave.
“You’ve got drool on your mouth,” Jonathan said, pointing to his own mouth as a mirror.
“She is so hot,” Dan said. Dan turned to Brady. “I’m surprised you’re related.”
“Trust me, I am too,” Brady said.
“I’m in love with her,” Dan said. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
Brady rolled his eyes. “You’ve talked to her maybe ten times. Plus, you love everyone.”
Dan placed his hand to his heart like Oprah. “She’s different. I feel like we’re destined to be together. I’m going to marry that girl.”
“Sure,” Jonathan said. The server reappeared with plates of food, and Jonathan ordered another Bloody Mary. They dug in and didn’t talk about women the rest of the meal. Jonathan looked over once; Rachel had her phone to her ear, and Makenna turned around with the look of the devil on her face.
“Why are you running so fast?” Zoey asked through huffy breaths.
“I’m not. It’s just the altitude,” Caroline said, her ponytail bouncing. Caroline had talked Zoey into a run to burn off the barbecue and booze from the night before. She promised Zoey it would only be three miles, but it felt like they had been out in nature for hours. She wondered how one sent smoke signals.
“Come on, Zoey! All that cardio and you can’t keep up?”
“I spin in a dark and climate-controlled room. This is not the same.”
They continued on and Caroline was ten feet in front of Zoey.
“Addison was smart being hungover,” Zoey gasped out as they ran through a dirt path.
“She’s probably mortified,” Caroline said, no strain in her voice, turning around and jogging backward.
“What about me? I got vomited on.”
“Addison was probably nervous having Derek around to manage and drank too much.”
“I still want to punch Derek.”
Caroline looked back. “He really does have a punchable face.”
Zoey huffed and moaned.
“Save that for Jonathan.”
“Shut your filthy mouth,” Zoey said, catching up with Caroline on the dirt path.
“So, are you going to this lunch or what?”
“I don’t know,” Zoey said. Her breath had smoothed out, and she was now keeping up with Caroline with ease.
“Consider it exposure therapy. The more you see him, the more his presence won’t freak you out. Like you and balloons.”
Zoey stopped dead in her tracks. “You do not joke about that.”
Zoey had gone to a birthday party once where five balloons simultaneously burst right next to her head. She hadn’t been the same since.
They ran in a single-file line since the trail path narrowed and the bushes closed in. Zoey was glad since Caroline couldn’t see the look of agony on her face.
“It’s been eleven years, Zoey. I love you so much, but you have to get over this.”
“I’m working on it. It was not as bad as I thought it would be.”
“See!” Caroline said.
Zoey rolled her eyes. “I’m changing the subject. Has your aunt landed yet?”
“Not yet,” Caroline said. “I am so nervous. I’ve already told my mom that she is not to start anything and not to engage.”
“I mean, how long has the dog been gone?” Zoey asked.
“I don’t know, maybe four years? Honestly, it would’ve been easier if it was over a man.”
“Is your aunt with anyone?”
“No, but I already told all the single men to gird their loins. My aunt is a horny cougar. You better be careful or she’ll steal Jonathan from you,” Caroline said as she ran down a dirt trail onto a deserted beach.
“She can have him,” Zoey said. Hopefully she had hidden it well enough, but her body had officially betrayed her, and now she couldn’t look at Jonathan for too long without thinking really dirty thoughts. She hated that she still felt that thing. The thing that she hadn’t really had with anyone else. She spent the night before looking up at the cabin’s ceiling, wondering what kind of tricks he had learned since they’d last been together. They were each other’s firsts with the usual mishaps. Zoey even elbowed him so hard once in the throes of passion that she caused a large bruise that lasted six weeks. Graceful, it was not.
He was probably strong enough now to pick her up and throw her against a wall, and that fantasy helped her in a solo session with her hand when she couldn’t sleep. For a split second, she considered sneaking into his room to really cure the insomnia, but she conked out before she could make possibly the worst decision of her life.
“Look at this!” Caroline shouted. Zoey halted past the tree line. Lake Tahoe looked so blue today, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun’s rays bounced off the lake, like it was full of very shiny, very expensive diamonds.
“God, I love it here,” Caroline said, spreading her arms wide. She even spun. She should definitely take more anti-anxiety meds.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Zoey said. She bent in half with her hands on her legs. Her chest heaved, trying to breathe the thin oxygen from the air.
Then, Zoey’s hip vibrated. Her hands slipped from the zipper due to the sweat, but she fumbled to get her phone out and saw who was calling. What does she want? Zoey pressed accept on her phone screen for her mother.
“Zoey,” her mother said. “What are you doing?”
“I’m on a run. With Caroline. What’s up?”
“Well, I saw Jonathan just now. He’s at this restaurant with Brady and Dan.”
“Oh?” Zoey stood up and propped her hand on her hip.
“Did you know he was in the wedding? All of your ex-boyfriends are in the wedding? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m keeping it a secret from you to torture you.” Just to piss her mother off, she said, “They’re all staying at the same house as me. We’re planning an orgy for tonight.”
The line went dead. Zoey pulled the phone away to check that the call was still active. “Hello? Mom?”
“Don’t be crass, Zoey. That better be a joke.”
“It is, Mom, come on,” Zoey said. “I stopped going to orgies when I was twenty-three.”