The Space In Between(48)

Colin lowered his eyebrows and leaned in even closer, taking my hands in his. “Hey, I’m sorry about…”
I grinned and nodded. “I know.” Colin pulled my hand up to his lips and placed another kiss on them. Cooper cleared his throat loudly and I spun around to glance in his direction. “Colin, this is my…” I paused and bit my lip. “This is Cooper. He’s Michelle’s cousin.”
Cooper gave Colin the manly nod and held his hand out for a shake. I laughed lightly as I watched the lion try to mark his territory. “Hey man, nice to meet you.” His southern accent was thick—thicker than normal. So sexy.
Colin grinned and accepted Cooper’s handshake. Cooper’s tight handshake. “Nice to meet you. I’ve seen you all over television. My girlfriend loves your show. Not to sound gay, but you’re a bad-ass photographer, man, and I would love for you to photograph my wedding. So! I’m guessing you two aren’t here to talk but to join your friends in their drunkenness. What can I get you?”
Cooper eased up; I guessed the mention of a girlfriend brought him comfort. “I’ll have a cola.”
Pointing towards Michelle and Ladasha, who were sitting on the bar counter giggling into each other’s shoulders, I said, “I’ll have what they’re having.”
Five tequila shots later, I was hammered. I hadn’t been drunk since…crap. I didn’t even know. But I did know it was time to dance. I tried to pull Cooper out onto the dance floor with me, but he refused, saying he would join me soon enough. I didn’t have time to care; I dashed to the dance floor with Ladasha and Michelle.
These girls were a freaking good time. The fact that my best friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law got along together was excellent. Eric joined the dance floor with his socially awkward dancing and we all couldn’t stop laughing. My eyes shifted to Cooper, who was talking to Steve. It looked like they were in a deep conversation, but I couldn’t tell what about.
Oh well.
Time to dance.


Chapter Thirty

STEVE WAS HAMMERED. My mind slipped into parental mode as I thought about who was going to drive all these drunk-ass people home. Clearly Andrea and Ladasha were driving home with me. And Michelle was too, if Eric didn’t sober up any time soon.
Steve stared out towards the dance floor with me and shook his head in Andrea’s direction. “It’s f*cking sad, man. Derrick, he was my best friend, ya know?” He sipped on his drink as some spilled down his shirt. He didn’t even notice. “And Andie was a best friend to me, too. So how do you allow yourself to hold on to a secret for so long?”
I had no clue what Mr. Drunk was talking about, but when I heard the word secret and knew Andrea was involved, I piped up.
“What do you mean by secret?”
Steve’s eyes wandered across the room and landed on Rachel. Rachel waved towards me and winked. Steve made a gagging face towards her. “Fucking slut. You know, when two people love each other, f*ck other people. Right? I mean, shit. Yeah he made a mistake but as his best friend I was suppose to overlook that shit. Andie deserved better though.”
Better? Better than what?
“And now she’s sitting here mourning over someone who didn’t even love her enough to be faithful.” Steve’s eyes shifted to the ground as he sipped on his drink. “But man…he was my best f*cking friend.”
Holy shit.
Derrick had cheated on Andrea. And from the way Steve hissed towards Rachel, I was pretty sure it was with her.
Andrea, the drunken beauty that she was, stumbled over to me and patted the sides of my face. After me, she moved on to Steve’s face. I could smell the alcohol on her breath as she puckered up her lips and hissed at us in her best Joker voice. “Whyyyyyyy sooooo serious?!” She giggled. I offered her my seat, knowing she couldn’t stand much longer.
Colin walked over to us, looking towards Andrea, “Hey hun, what can I get you?”
Andrea stared at me; her eyes looked as if she were undressing me from my head to my toes. If I wasn’t still trying to process the information just presented to me, I would have f*cking loved for her to undress me with more than those eyes. She turned to Colin, bent forward, and whispered loud enough for me to hear her. “I’ll have a soda pop, Colin. I really, really want a soda pop.” As she swiveled around in her seat, she stared into my eyes. Her hyper, drunk self seemed to disappear as she stared at me. Her look was stern and hopeful.
“Cooper. Would you like a soda pop?” Her long eyelashes blinked once and her beautiful blues resurfaced. I was still in a stage of shock from what Steve had told me. Andrea had spent the past few months mourning over someone who had cheated on her repeatedly. She’d spent the past few months living in her mind about how she and Derrick were destined to be together. And he’d spent the last few days of his life sleeping with Rachel.
I didn’t understand. Cheating. If you are so unhappy with someone, why not just leave? Why make a situation so messy? Iris could have told me she wasn’t happy. She could have come to me and expressed herself in another way instead of screwing a groom in a broom closet.
Giving her a short smile, I shook my head. “I’m not too thirsty right now. But I’m going to run to the restroom and after that maybe we should all head out.” I turned away from her before I could watch her face drop. I was certain there was a look of disappointment because as I walked away I heard Andrea say to Colin, “Screw the soda pop. Two more shots of tequila.”
After I went to the bathroom I knew I had to get drunk girl out of the bar. My eyes shifted to the dance floor where Ladasha and Eric were dancing very close to each other. I couldn’t even see a gap between the two of their bodies. Their eyes were locked together as if they were in some kind of deep connection. Zombie-f*cking-dancing. Damn alcohol.