Two

Genesis—Twenty Years Old

June 17

The music was pumping through the speakers so loud that it was hard to hear Quinn, my roommate and backup best friend—or at least, that was what she called herself. I leaned closer to her, moving the tray in my hand over so I didn’t spill the shrimp cocktails I was serving.

“What?” I asked her.

She had a tray filled with crystal champagne flutes.

“I said, I am going to finish giving these out, then go take my break.”

I nodded instead of trying to talk over the music. The live band was also on a break, and I was looking forward to their return. They weren’t this loud. I much preferred working weddings and classy rich-people parties. I wasn’t a fan of this type of event. The catering company I worked for paid well though, and the tips I received made it even more worth it. Except for tonight. Nothing made working at some frat house event, hosted by older men who had once been in the fraternity, worth it. I didn’t understand college Greek life, but this event seemed like a way for wealthy, old men to relive their youth.

Turning, I made my way through the crowd, smiling and pausing as guests took the appetizers from my tray. A college-aged guy winked at me while his date was clinging to his side. That was typical at this kind of thing. Even the older men with wedding rings would give me leers and make suggestive comments. I always stuck my tray in their face and asked if they’d like whatever I was serving to keep them far enough away so they didn’t touch me. It did the trick most of the time.

Stopping at the next group of people, I sighed when the music ended and the band returned. The lead singer was speaking over the microphone when I held out the tray with my practiced smile.

“Would you like a—” The words halted as I stared into a familiar face.

Those brown eyes I hadn’t seen since graduation widened only slightly before turning away from me and looking at the girl at his side.

“Would you like one?” Bowie asked the brunette.

She shook her head. “I don’t eat seafood.”

He lifted his eyes to the guy standing across from him and began to carry on a conversation. I regained my composure and turned my attention to the others to make sure no one wanted anything before I left them.

“I don’t do shrimp, but I’d like your number,” the guy to the left of me said, leaning toward me with a cocky grin.

His brown hair was long and tucked behind his ears. He was used to getting what he wanted. That was clear from the way he was looking at me. I was sure he had a trust fund to go with his attractive face. If Bowie hadn’t been standing there, acting as if I were some stranger, then I would have ignored the guy.

But I was annoyed that Bowie was still treating me as if I were invisible after all this time, so I returned the flirty smile and gave him Quinn’s number.

I wasn’t about to give him mine, and I knew Quinn wouldn’t be mad about it. He was her favorite type.

He pulled out his phone and plugged in the number. I flashed one more smile, making it a point not to look at Bowie before I went through the crowd and continued to do my job. Once the tray was empty, I hurried to the back in search of Quinn. I also needed a moment to think this through.

Why was Bowie here, in Hilton Head? I had assumed he’d gone to Gainesville for college. Although seeing as he’d completely shut me out of his life, I didn’t know for sure. Was he here with a friend? Maybe it was the girl he was with. I set the tray down and walked over to get a glass of water. I needed to take my break.

“You look rattled. Did some douche canoe touch you?” Quinn asked as she walked up to me.

I shook my head and downed the rest of the water in my glass.

“Then, what happened?” she pushed.

I put the glass back down and looked at her. “Remember the guy I told you about that Kye and I were friends with, growing up?”

She nodded. “The one you dated, then kissed Kye, and he dropped both of you.”

“Yes, that one. His name is Bowie … and he’s here.”

Her mouth fell open. “No fucking way!”

I nodded. “Yep. I just offered him a shrimp cocktail. He recognized me, obviously, but he acted like he didn’t know me. Which, after the thing with Kye, when he treated me as if I were invisible in school, I should have expected this, but I don’t know. It’s been a few years. We’ve grown up. I just kinda thought he’d be over it. That he’d say, Oh, hey, Genesis. How’s life?—or something like that.”

Had I really wanted him to do that? Maybe. I wasn’t even sure. Seeing him had definitely messed with my head.

“You must have broken him hard, girl. If he’s still pissed about that kiss, what, three years later … damn.”

I shook my head at her. “It’s ridiculous. Kye was drunk. He kissed me. We have never, not once, touched each other in any sexual way since. You would think Bowie could let it go and at least … I don’t know.” I shrugged.

There was no reason to think about this. I was wasting my time. Seeing Bowie had just reminded me of Kye and the fact that I had loved him most of my life and wasted years hoping he saw me as something more than his best friend. But no more! I had stood my ground. Moved back to Savannah. Put distance between us so I didn’t spend my summer moping around, waiting for him to give me attention.

“Ladies,” Chuck, our boss, said as he held out two trays full of appetizers to us. “Break is over. Get out there.”

We each took a tray.

“Point him out if you can,” Quinn told me. “I want to see if he’s as hot as Kye.”

I rolled my eyes and followed her out of the kitchen.

The rest of the evening, I intentionally stayed clear of any area that Bowie was in. It became a game in a way. I made sure to locate him once I was on the floor, then went everywhere but there. Quinn kept giving me looks, wanting me to show her who he was, but I wasn’t about to be caught, pointing at him. She served his group more than once, and it made me grin. It was killing her that she didn’t know.

By the time the party was over, I hadn’t seen Bowie in the crowd in over an hour. Quinn made guesses on who it was as we cleaned up the kitchen. When we were headed out to Quinn’s car, she was still giving me descriptions of guys while I read the last text from Kye.

Call me. I miss your voice.

I sighed. I knew he didn’t realize how painful it was for me when he said things like that. Kye loved me. I knew that. But the problem would always be that I was in love with Kye. He couldn’t know that. It was my cross to bear. Being in love with your best friend sucked.

“Brown hair—kinda has a sexy, messy look—brown eyes that have dark lashes long enough to make a girl jealous, wide shoulders, lean but muscular build, wearing a blue button-down and jeans.”

Quinn’s description started sinking in, and my head shot up from the text.

“Yes, actually. That’s really accurate,” I said, surprised that she remembered so many details about him.

She nodded, then raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, well, probably because he’s walking this way.”

Wait. “What?” I asked, my gaze swinging over the parking lot until it landed on Bowie. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Guess you aren’t invisible anymore after all,” Quinn said in a singsong voice beside me.

“Shut up,” I whispered as he got closer.

“Fine, I’ll just go wait in the car.”

I grabbed her arm before she could move. “Stay. Do not leave me.”

She laughed quietly. “Okay, fine. I’ll be your bodyguard. All five feet of me.”

I shot her an annoyed look, then turned back just as Bowie reached us. Was I supposed to say something? I stared at him and couldn’t think of one thing to say.

“Hey,” he said, breaking the silence.

“Uh, um, hey,” I stammered, confused by this.

He hadn’t spoken to me in four years.

He licked his bottom lip and glanced over at Quinn. Was he here to meet her? Maybe? How awkward would that be?

“Oh, uh, Quinn, this is Bowie. A childhood friend,” I said to her, then looked back at him.

His eyes were locked on me.

“Bowie, this is Quinn, my roommate and best friend.”

“Backup best friend,” Quinn corrected me with a smug smile. Then, she looked at Bowie. “It’s nice to meet you. She refused to point you out tonight, so I was left guessing.”

I elbowed her before she said anything else.

A grin tugged on the corner of Bowie’s lips. “So, you told her I was there.”

I was going to kill Quinn. She’d better sleep with one eye open.

I felt my face grow warm, and I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I might have mentioned it,” I admitted.

“But she said that she was invisible where you were concerned. I guess she was wrong. You are clearly seeing her now,” Quinn added.

I glared at her. “Why don’t you go wait in the car?” I suggested.

“So, you don’t need me—”

“Now,” I cut her off, which only made her smile bigger.

She wiggled her fingers at Bowie. “See you around.”

When she finally walked toward the car, I turned back to him. He wasn’t watching her go. Instead, he was looking at me.

“She’s, uh … ignore her,” I told him.

He smirked and tilted his head slightly to the side. “You told her about me.”

I nodded. No point in lying.

“But you introduced me as a childhood friend.”

I glanced at the ground and shrugged before looking back at him. “I wasn’t sure what to call you exactly.”

His eyes seemed to be reading my thoughts, and that made me nervous.

“The guy you gave your number to tonight is a bastard.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “I’ll be sure to let Quinn know when he calls her.”

Bowie raised his eyebrows with an amused expression. “I see.”

“Yeah. It’s a thing I do. She’s used to it.”

He shook his head and glanced away, smiling. “You’ve not changed much.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that so I stayed silent.

When he looked back at me, he seemed nervous. “Any chance you’d give me your number? I don’t need Quinn’s.”

Whoa. I had not been expecting that.

I blinked several times, making sure I had just heard him correctly. Finally, I managed to nod my head. “It’s the—” I almost told him it was the same one I’d had four years ago, but my guess was, he’d deleted it from his phone. “Yeah,” I replied instead. “I can just text you it … unless your number changed.”

“It’s the same,” he replied. “You still have it in your phone?”

I lifted a shoulder in a small half shrug. “Never thought about deleting it,” I admitted.

“Do you still see Kye when you’re home?” he asked me.

I knew it was best to be blunt. If he had an issue with it, then he didn’t need to text or call me.

“He’s my best friend, Bowie. Still.”

His lips pressed together, and he nodded. “Okay. It’s, uh, good you could remain friends after the kiss.”

I laughed. “Yeah, well, he was drunk, and I think, looking back, I was just curious. Maybe he was too. Regardless, it cleared up any question we might have had in our heads about us feeling something more than friendship.”

Bowie chuckled softly, a crooked grin on his lips. “Yeah, well, guess I should have stuck around longer to see that play out.” He dropped his gaze to the ground for a moment, then raised his eyes to lock on mine. A serious expression was now on his face. “I miss you. I’ve missed you for four fucking years.”