Ellie let out a sigh. “I haven’t been able to get shit out of her, but I have a feeling something major has happened to her. She ended up taking online courses and has doubled-up on classes this semester. She’s probably going to be graduating next December if she keeps up this load.”

“Ellie, sweetheart, please don’t worry about Heather. If she wants to talk to you, she will. Stop pressuring her into it. Was that her on the phone?”

“Yeah, and the first thing she asked was if Josh was going to be here. I told her he was and that Lynda was most definitely going to be with him.”

Just then Ari and Jeff came walking up. Ari was glowing. It was nice to see her so happy after the funk she fell into after losing the baby. Jeff walked up and shook my hand.

“I’m still pissed at you, you bastard,” I said.

Jeff gave me a smile.

“What for, dude? You don’t own the monopoly on puppies.”

“At least Gus will have a play-mate now,” I said as I looked over at Ellie, who was laughing at something Ari had said.

Jeff threw his head back and laughed. Jeff had surprised Ari with a puppy for her birthday earlier today. Gramps and Grams hid her for two days at their place, and my father was about ready to kill her.

***

The moment Ari saw the little bloodhound puppy, she let out a scream and ran over to it. Ari picked it up and started to kiss it all over. Ellie laughed and held Gus back while Ari got acquainted with the new addition.

“Ellie, let Gus go, and let’s see what they do.” Ari said with a smile.

“I’ll tell ya what they’ll do. They’ll chase each other nonstop and shit everywhere,” my dad said as he gave Jeff a look.

Jeff shrugged his shoulders. “I know, I owe you one.”

“Damn right, you owe me one. This dog is nuts. She’s not all there.”

Ari looked up at my dad and frowned while she covered the pup’s ears.

“Jack! Don’t say that about Abby! Oh my god! Abby! That’s her name. It just came to me,” Ari said as she looked up at Ellie.

They both laughed.

***

“You look lost in thought, baby.” Ellie said as she placed her hand on my chest and pushed her body into mine.

“You want something to drink?” Jeff asked me.

“I’ll take a Dos Equis.”

Jeff looked at me and smiled. “Dude, why didn’t you say that in your most interesting man voice?”

Ellie and Ari both started laughing while I just shook my head at him. F**ker.

Jeff turned to the waitress and asked for two Dos Equis beers and two sweet tea. The waitress looked at Ellie and Ari and then back at Jeff, who gave her a wink.

“Ari, we have our fake ID’s. Why don’t you use it to enjoy a beer on your birthday?” Ellie said to Ari.

“No, I only want sweet tea.”

Ellie stared at Ari in disbelief while she glanced out at the dance floor. Ari looked like she was itching to dance.

“You don’t even want one drink on your birthday? What’s wrong? Are you not feeling good or something?” Ellie asked.

Ari looked back and forth between Jeff and Ellie. She seemed to be at a loss for words. Jeff looked at me and gave me a look.

Motherfucker. “Hey, Ells, you want to dance, babe?”

Ellie smiled and moved closer to me. “Yes, I would love to dance with you.”

“Give me one second, sweetheart.” I walked over to Jack and asked him to play a certain song next.

I headed back over to Ellie, and by the time we walked out to the dance floor, Jack was playing the song I’d asked for. I took Ellie in my arms and started dancing to Christina Aguilera’s “All I Need.”

Ellie put her head on my chest while we danced in silence.

The moment Jeff had looked at me, I’d put two and two together. Ari was pregnant, and they didn’t want to tell Ellie. My heart was breaking for my beautiful girl. All she wanted was a baby, and we’d been trying for months. I didn’t tell her, but I booked a trip to New Orleans in March. Ellie had mentioned once how she’d always wanted to go there, so I thought a long weekend was just the thing she needed to relax.

“Drew?”

“Yes, baby?”

“I know what you’re doing.”

I let out a small laugh. “What is it exactly I’m doing, Ells?”

Ellie pulled back and looked at me.

“You’re trying to protect me from something, but you don’t have to. I knew something was up a few days ago. I could see the difference in Ari, and when she asked me to drop her off at her mom’s for a few hours, I figured she was going to the doctor. Then, when I met her at the bridal store I could see how happy she was even though she tried so hard to hide it.”

I brought her in closer to me, tightening my hold on her. I kissed her on the head. “Ells, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too. It’s really okay, Gunner. I mean, maybe it’s just not meant to be right now. I think I’m just going to concentrate on finishing up my online classes and mastering Emma’s cooking and gardening skills.”

The song came to a stop, and Flo Rida’s “Club Can’t Handle Me” started. I saw Ari and Jeff on the dance floor.

I asked Ellie if she wanted to sit down and she said no. She was in the mood to dance and just have fun.

I loved to dance with this girl. The way she moved her body was enough to make me want to take her back to The Driskill Hotel and make love to her again, just like on our wedding night.

After dancing to a few more songs, Ellie and I headed back to the table.

Just as we got there, I saw Josh and Lynda walking up. He looked so f**king unhappy. Why he stayed with my cousin was beyond me. I’d told him she was high maintenance and a snob. He’d been drunk the other night and had told me that he’d only slept with her twice. That, had shocked the shit out of me.

Lynda came bouncing over and gave Ellie and me a hug. Then she told not asked, told Josh to go get her a drink. When he went turned around to head over to the bar, he ran right smack into Heather.

This should be good since neither one of them has seen each other since July. That douche-twat Jerry was standing behind Heather. I’d already told Ellie how I felt about him, and no matter how many times we all had tried to tell Heather he was cheating on her, she would not listen to us.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Heather. I didn’t see you there.” Josh looked Heather up and down, and then he noticed Jerry standing behind her.

I hadn’t seen Josh tense up like that since our football days when he was ready to kick someone’s ass. I started to slowly make my way over when Lynda piped in.

“Josh! Please! I’m dying here of thirst.”

Josh looked back at Heather and smiled. “You look really good, Heather.”

“Thank you Josh, so do you.”

Josh nodded and looked up at Jerry.

“Josh, so good to see you again.” Jerry held out his hand to shake Josh’s.

Josh just glared at him. He moved around Heather and made his way to the bar.

Well, hell, this should be an interesting night. I looked out at Jeff and Ari, and they were happily dancing with each other. As long as those two are happy and Ells is happy, I decided not to worry too much about Josh and Heather and their f**ked-up feelings for each other.

As I watched the night go on, it seemed like the only person drinking was Josh. I was having another damn déjà vu.

Ellie, Ari and Heather were all on the dance floor dancing to Christina Aguilera’s “My Girls.” I was getting pissed as I watched the numerous guys trying to dance with them. Ellie looked over once and smiled at me. I was giving her thirty minutes, and then I was taking her to the hotel. I glanced over at Jeff. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from Ari.

He looked over at me, and I just smiled and winked at him.

Jeff’s smile faded.

“You f**king bastard. You made reservations at The Driskill didn’t you? You mother-f**king-son-of-a- bitchin’-romantic-ass-bastard.”

I started to laugh. “Holy hell, Jeff, you’ve been hanging around Ari way too long. Her cursing has worn off on you.”

“I’m taking to Ari to Paris.”

I sat up, narrowing my eyes at him. “You can’t do that! I was going to take Ellie.”

“I’m thinking Paris for a honeymoon. Sounds pretty romantic, don’t you think?”

“To think I called you my best friend and agreed to be your best man.”

Jeff threw his head back and laughed. Just then, Ari came walking up and straddled Jeff, giving him a long kiss.

“Oh god, that’s my brother, Ari. Yuck!” Ellie yelled.

While Lynda was out on the dance floor with Josh, I looked over at Heather. She was watching them and couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from them.

When Pink’s “There You Go” started to play, Jerry nudged Heather. “Hey, do you want to dance?”

Never taking her eyes away from Josh and Lynda, Heather simply said. “No.”

That was when it happened. Heather looked over at me, and I could see the tears building in her eyes. I got up and took Ellie’s hand.

“Hey Jeff and Ari, I think we need to get Heather home.”

Jeff and Ari both looked over at Heather.

“Sure, that’s fine. I’m exhausted anyway,” Ari said as she gave Ellie and me a hug good-bye. “We have a long way back home.”

“No, we don’t, babe, I booked us a room at The Driskill Hotel.” Jeff said as he winked at me.

Bastard. I was still pissed about the whole Paris thing.

I smiled at him and shook my head. “I have taught you well, my friend.”

Ellie and Ari both looked at us, confused. I grabbed Ellie’s hand and walked over to Heather. I reached down and took Heather’s hand.

As we started to head toward the stairs, Jerry came after us, and I stopped the girls and looked at him.

“Listen, a**hole. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen you slip your f**king phone number to random girls. We’re taking Heather home; she’s upset and ready to leave. I also suggest you don’t call her anymore.”

Jerry looked over at Heather, who was staring at me, stunned.

She turned back to face Jerry.

“Jerry, is that true?”

“You know what? Fuck this. We slept together once, Heather, and ever since then, you’ve been nothing but distant and pining over some jerk. So, yeah, I’ve been with other girls since we started dating. You certainly weren’t putting out so.”

“Shut the f**k up now, or I’ll shut you up,” I said as I took a step toward him.

Jerry took a few steps back, lifting both hands.

“Fine, I’m done here anyway. Enjoy your life as an elementary school teacher, Heather. It fits you perfectly.”

I turned to find Ellie holding Heather. Poor girl looked like she was about to throw up.

“Come on, sweetheart. We have a hotel room right down the street.”

Ellie snapped up her head and looked at me with a small smile. I just winked back at her. The thought was there even if we wouldn’t be able to use it tonight the way I’d wanted to.