“I love you. I love you more than anything. You’re the strongest person I know, and every day, you amaze me. Thank you for loving me.”
She choked back a sob. “Jesus, what is with me and the crying?”
I smiled, picturing her trying to wipe away her tears before anyone saw her crying.
“I love you, too, Reed. Thank you for loving me. I’ve got to run. Whitley is out of the restroom now.”
“All right. Y’all be careful, and don’t wander off the paths, okay?”
She let out a laugh. “Okay, Dad.”
“Give me a call when you get to the restaurant, okay?”
“Okay. Hey, Reed?” she said in a hushed voice.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for showing me that I have the courage to do this.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “Courtney,” was all I managed to get out.
“Talk to you soon. I love you. Bye.”
I had to look away and stare out the window. I saw her walking out with Whitley, but she didn’t see me.
“I love you, too, Courtney. Bye, baby.” When I hit End, I wanted to just throw my phone and scream. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to take away what had happened to her.
When I felt Layton put his hand on my shoulder, I remembered where I was. I took a deep breath, turned back around, and tried to give him a smile.
“Reed, you can’t take away the pain and hurt, no matter how hard you wish you could. Just be there for her. Listen to her when she needs to talk. Love her when she needs to be loved, and make her happiness your number-one goal in this life.”
I nodded my head and grabbed my empty beer, holding it up, so the bartender could see it. I held up my fingers, indicating we wanted two more.
“Shit, let’s change this mood around. I’m getting married tomorrow.” I punched Layton on the side of the arm.
Oh shit, I’m getting married tomorrow. “Oh, dear God, what if she wants us to say our own vows?” I asked as I reached for the full bottle of beer that was just placed in front of me.
Layton let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Court decided for y’all to say your own vows.”
I just stared at Layton.
“What in the hell am I going to say?” I brought the beer up to my lips and practically drank it all in one drink.
Layton threw his head back and laughed. “You say what is in your heart. Don’t worry though…I already asked Court if y’all were saying your own vows, and her exact words were, ‘Oh, hell no.’”
My mouth dropped to the ground as I glared at my best friend. “What is with y’all today? Are you trying to cause me to have a heart attack?”
Layton shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his beer. “You’re just so much fun to fuck with when you’re a basket case.”
“Thanks. I’ll remember that when you’re pacing back and forth, waiting for the birth of your child.”
Layton’s head snapped over to me, and he was just about to say something when two girls walked up to us. I looked them both up and down. They barely had on any clothes. They couldn’t have been more than twenty-two years old.
The blonde, who was wearing a short-ass skirt with a practically see-through white tank top, smiled. “Do I detect a Southern accent there, boys?”
Layton rolled his eyes. “Yes, ma’am, you do. We’re from Texas to be exact.”
The redhead leaned in closer to me and brushed her tits up against my arm. “I’ve always wondered what a Texas cowboy would feel like inside me. I do love a good ride,” she said, trying to sound seductive.
Holy shit, talk about blunt. A year and a half ago, I would have been all over this girl, but now, all I wanted her to do was get the fuck away from me.
“I’m getting married tomorrow, so it looks like this is one cowboy you won’t be riding,” I said with a wink.
Her smile faded, but then she looked at Layton. “What about you, cowboy? You look like you could be pretty fast and hard.” She stuck her finger in her mouth and began sucking on it.
Layton let out a laugh. “No, thanks. I’m happily married to a beautiful woman who is carrying my child. If y’all don’t mind, do you think you could move on, please?”
“Your loss, assholes,” the blonde said.
Then, they both turned around and walked away.
I looked at Layton and began laughing. “Damn. I don’t think I’ve ever had a girl come on to me that blatantly.”
Layton chuckled. “She’s just lucky that Courtney didn’t see her rubbing her tits all over you. Poor girl would have had to crawl out of this bar.”
I let out a laugh and raised my beer up to Layton. “To being off the market.”
Layton held his beer bottle to mine and said, “A-fucking-men.”
I sat there, holding Whitley’s hand, waiting for her to say something. She had started crying about two minutes into me telling her about Noah.
“I’m…oh God, Courtney.” She pulled me to her and hugged me. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t know the nightmare you were going through. I knew something was wrong. I knew it!”
She began crying harder, and I pushed her away and looked into her eyes.
“I should have kept asking you. I should have been a better friend. I should have known something was going on. I’m so sorry you went through all that alone…that you’ve been dealing with this for so long all alone.”
I smiled as I wiped away her tears, and she wiped away mine.
“I’m no longer alone though. Telling Reed helped me to move on and let go of the pain and guilt. Telling you has also helped me in more ways than you will ever know.”
Whitley took a deep breath and blew her nose in one of the tissues I’d grabbed on the way out to the courtyard. I’d figured we would both break down crying and need them.
“If I ever see him…oh my God, I swear, I’ll kill him, Court.”
I let out a giggle. “I think Reed will beat you to it, and I’m pretty sure Reed is telling Layton about it tonight, so you might have to wait in line.”
She gave me a weak smile. “I’d be willing to let Reed and Layton deal with Noah first, but I’m finishing his ass off if I ever see him again.” Then, she threw her hands up to her mouth and said, “Your brother’s wedding! Reed will kill him!”
I shook my head. “Noah won’t be there. I already asked my brother, and he said Noah had a business trip he couldn’t change, so he has to miss it. My brother is pretty upset about it, but it would have been either me or Noah missing the wedding. There is a still a chance he could end up going though if his trip is canceled so there is always the chance I might not go.”