I Wish You The Best

15 - Delilah

Thinking back to two hours ago when I got a text from Clara asking if I'd like to meet her for drinks, I should've ignored it. Because now I'm sitting across from my best friend and my ex-boyfriend's best friends on a casual Monday night.

Great.

"So Delilah, tell us about yourself." The one who asks is Shawn. He's got brown floppy hair and reminds me of every popular teenage heartthrob. A boyish smile spreads across his lips and hasn't left.

"That's a loaded question." I take a big gulp of the beer Clara had ordered for me.

I wasn't one to normally drink beer so to say, I preferred my rum and cokes, but tonight I figured I'd be throwing back more than one in order to get through whatever this was. I tried to signal to Clara the second I got back from checking on Mason that we should probably leave. She decided to pretend she didn't feel the toe of my shoe kicking her shin.

I hate her.

"Well, you got our boy here all frazzled. I'd pay big money to be friends with the one who throws Mason Jones off his game." Shawn sends me a wink and Darius rolls his eyes. I assume the two are polar opposites and just by sitting here for a short ten minutes, I can already tell they are.

Darius is quiet and keeps to himself. Reserved and always observing, whereas Shawn is like a bubbly golden retriever who's always tugging on a leash. He hasn't stopped talking since I sat down and by the way Darius has pinched his eyebrows and thumbed his forehead twice already, this is an everyday occurrence.

"I highly doubt that," I say.

Nothing takes Mason off his game. Even this shoulder injury which is on its way to healing, won't ever take him off his game. He's the most focused person I've ever met in my life. If anyone can get through an awkward few months running into an ex-lover, it's him.

"You're just as in denial as him. Perfect match." Before I can come up with a response Clara shoots her glass of pinot on the table and choked on a laugh. Ryan rubs her hand up and down her girlfriend's back in concern all while trying not to laugh herself.

So we're all laughing at my misery, fantastic.

I kick Clara under the table again, but this time harder. She winces and flips me off with a smirk. I know her well enough that If she got the chance she would one hundred percent scheme away with Shawn in the dark corner of a room somewhere.

"You know, since you are technically single–" Shawn slides over so that his chair taps mine and I can see the whites of his eyes. His cologne is rich and musky, but unfamiliar. "How about a date, me and you?" He winks at the end.

There's no way he's seriously hitting on me in front of Darius with his best friend, my ex, in the bathroom. This man is bold, very bold, and if I wasn't so turned off by the idea of dating anyone right now I'd almost be impressed.

"Listen, Shawn. I bet you're—" I'm cut off by a gruff voice.

"Shawn." Mason comes to a stop right between Shawn and me, forcing me to look up at him. He looks down at his friend who wears a smug and knowing smile before bringing his arm down on the table between us. I watch as Shawn and Mason have some sort of silent conversation and shoot a look at Clara who wears an amused expression.

"Come with me." Mason's eyes are still on Shawn but his words are directed to me. He's tense, even more so than before by the bathrooms. I look between the two before standing and grabbing my beer.

Mason finally looks my way, his face blank. Without saying anything he moves the palm of his hand along my back and directs us to the door of the bar. I chug the rest of my beer, figuring I'd need the liquid courage, and drop it in a trash can before I'm shuffled out the front door.