stay with me

Chapter 16

Grey:

We are about to enter the bar and I'm feeling nervous. I take a deep breath as we walk towards the door and Hunter must be able to sense my distress because he places his hand on the small of my back and gives me a small smile that says 'you can do this'. The gesture does the trick, I suddenly feel safe and protected knowing he's here, but then I become all too aware of his hand and how my body reacts to his touch. I'm filled with warmth and my heart begins to race and I crave more but I quickly squash those feelings because I know I'm not ready to do anything about them.

Once we are inside I see Daniel almost immediately and his jaw pretty much drops to the ground when he sees Sam but he quickly recovers. I steal a look at Hunter and he's laughing at his friend and I can't help but smile too. The guys go the bar to get drinks and Sam and I wait at a table so we can all sit and talk. When they come back Sam busts out laughing because they are carrying a tray of about ten tequila shots and then they also have five beers.

"Ha Ha" I deadpan as I mock scowl at Hunter and his attempt to be funny.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist" he says smiling at me and I love the way he seems to be more carefree tonight than he usually is.

"So Grey" Nate says. "Hunter tells me you have developed an affinity for tequila. I'm shocked" he adds teasingly.

"Man, a girl orders tequila one time and now she can never live it down" I say shaking my head.

"Oh you didn't just order it, you demanded it" Hunter says laughing.

"Okay okay, maybe you're right" I say laughing too. It feels good to laugh and to be teased. I've missed it.

We drink our drinks and then we order another round and we talk and laugh and it's absolutely amazing. I almost feel normal, like I'm not carrying this devastating secret but Jason is always there in the back of my mind. I couldn't forget him even if I tried.

Sam and I leave the guys at the table and we go off to the bathroom together. She tells me that she's happy I'm finally enjoying myself and I tell her I am too. She then goes on to gush about Daniel and how much she likes him. I tell her I'm happy for her too. When we come out of the bathroom Sam notices that a pool table is open which is a rare occurrence and she says we should play. I agree.

"I'll go get the guys" I tell her.

"Wait" she calls after me.

"What?" I say as I turn back to her.

"Don't tell them we can play okay?" she says and I smile back deviously at her. She's bad. Sam and I are a bit of what you could call pool sharks. We could beat just about any guy back in high school. I haven't played in a while but I'm sure I could pick it right back up.

I leave her and head over to the table where Hunter and Daniel are sitting but Nate is nowhere in sight.

"Where's Nate?" I ask them. They both nod their heads in the same direction and when I turn to look I see he is with a girl and she seems to be eating up every word he is saying. I laugh and turn back to the guys. "C'mon, Sam wants to play pool" I say to them.

Daniel gets up and heads right over to Sam but Hunter stops when he reaches me and asks "Do you want me to tell Nate where we're going?" It's such a sweet gesture that I can't help but smile.

"Sure" I say to him. "I'll come with you." He takes my hand as he leads me over to Nate and he did it so casually that it seemed natural, like our hands were meant for this.

"Hey Nate" Hunter says as he taps him on the shoulder to get his attention. When Nate turns to look at Hunter he adds "We are going over to the pool tables to play with the girls you are more than welcome to join us".