Sydney looked from Drew to Todd and then to Kelly. The tension was instantaneous. Even Todd must have felt it. His shoulders tensed as he stood just behind his sister and Drew, his eyes sweeping over Sydney and Quin standing behind her.
Quin, for the most part, was oblivious. He might have felt a change in the energy, but he didn’t know why as plainly as everyone else did. He kept close to Sydney, which might have made the whole situation worse.
“Hey, Syd,” Kelly said. She smiled at Quin. “I’m Kelly.”
He shook her hand. “Quin.”
Todd and Drew said nothing and made no move to introduce themselves. Drew had barely looked at Sydney since he entered the restaurant.
Sydney shifted, wondering where the hostess was. Was she lost?
“Hey, guys!” Jordan, Raven’s sister, called, hurrying up to the host podium. “I’m sorry about the wait. Are you guys all together?”
“No,” they all said in unison.
If the situation weren’t so strained, Sydney might have laughed.
“Just two, please,” Sydney said, putting her back to Drew and the perpetual scowl on his face.
Maybe she should have felt guilty for being out with Quin, but technically, they were just friends and Drew was hanging out with Kelly, after all.
Well, okay, so Todd was with them, too, but there was something about Drew and Kelly together that got under Sydney’s skin. Maybe it was the way they stood closely together, almost touching shoulders. Or the way Drew glanced at Kelly every few seconds as if double-checking her very existence.
“A table for two, then,” Jordan said, scooping up two menus. “Right this way.”
She sat them in a booth along the back wall, which gave Sydney a good view of the entire restaurant. Drew came in a few seconds later with Todd and Kelly. They were given a table in the middle.
“So,” Quin began, “was there something I missed just now?”
“What do you mean?” Sydney wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss what had just happened. Did Quin really want to hear her complain about her ex-boyfriend?
“At the front.” Quin tipped his head back toward the entrance. “With your friends.”
Sydney sighed. She leaned over the table and lowered her voice. “That guy with the dark hair, that’s Drew.”
Quin arched a brow. “Oh. That explains it.”
“And the blonde…” she paused, realizing both Kelly and her brother were blond. “The girl, that’s Kelly. One of my best friends.”
Quin widened his eyes. “And she’s with Drew because…”
“Well, the blond guy, that’s Kelly’s older brother and Drew’s best friend. And Kelly and Drew have been friends for a long time. That’s how I met Drew, through her. But now…”
She trailed off, glancing inconspicuously across the room. Kelly laughed at something Drew said. Todd shook his head, clearly annoyed about something.
“But now?” Quin prompted.
“I don’t know.” She pursed her lips. There was something there she was missing. She just didn’t know what. Maybe Drew liked Kelly? Or maybe Kelly liked Drew? Or maybe Sydney was just jealous that Kelly and Drew got along so well. They always had. For friends, they rarely fought.
“Did you want to go to another restaurant?” Quin asked. “We could go to Gorsh’s. The food there is good.”
“No. It’s okay. I just…”
The ringing of her phone cut her off. It was her dad calling.
“Hello?”
“Sydney. It’s Dad.”
Like she didn’t know that. Then again, when was the last time her father called her cell phone?
“Could you come home?” he said.
“Why?”
“Because your mother is here.”
Sydney’s mouth dropped open. If she hadn’t been clutching the phone so hard, she probably would have dropped that, too.
“Mom?”
Quin straightened, clearly getting the gist of the conversation.
“Yeah,” her dad said. “She wants to talk to us.”
“All right.”
Sydney hung up. “I have to go.”
“Your mom?” Quin said. “Is she back?”
“Yeah.”
Quin reached over and grabbed her hand. He squeezed. That’s all he had to do. He didn’t have to say anything.
Sydney smiled, thankful that she had him as a friend.
Kelly watched as Sydney left Bershetti’s with her friend Quin.
Who was he anyway? A friend? A boyfriend?
Kelly hadn’t heard Sydney mention him. Was she keeping things from Kelly? Maybe Sydney didn’t trust her anymore, maybe it had something to do with that meeting in the park the night Kelly had conspired to see Drew.
What had she been thinking anyway? This couldn’t work.
Drew caught her eye, gave her an encouraging wink. Kelly managed a weak smile.
After they’d eaten, Todd went to the bathroom and Kelly took the opportunity to say everything that had built in her head since Sydney left.
“This is insane!” was the first thing out of her mouth. “She probably hates me now. We can’t do this, Drew. I mean, really. We can’t!” She flailed her arms in the air. “Why do I have to like you so much?”
He smiled. “You like me ‘so much’?”
Kelly cocked her head to the side. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
“We can’t do this, Drew.”
He leaned over suddenly, raking his fingers through her hair and kissed her. Right there in the middle of the restaurant. It was enough to leave her breathless.
“We already are doing it, Kel. And nothing you say is going to make me go away.”
For some reason, all the dread and doubt melted away. She smiled.
Todd came back from the restroom, making Kelly and Drew separate. But beneath the tablecloth, Drew took Kelly’s hand in his, his thumb rubbing circles on her hand. It was that small act of encouragement and the way Drew looked over at her now that made Kelly want to forget that their relationship was possibly going to cost her a friend.