She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t you worry, I won’t be telling George or that wife of yours.”
She laughed again and walked out, followed by the last of the stragglers. Abby was always ‘that wife of yours’. But then Abby didn’t really make time for idle chitchat with strangers, so they never warmed to her.
“Your usual?” I asked Abby as we walked into the bar.
She bit her lip as if I’d asked her what the square root of pie was. Actually, she probably knew; she'd listened in school and had gone to uni. Whereas I’d pissed about and had a laugh.
“Um. Yes please,” she finally replied.
See, that wasn’t so hard, was it.
I spotted Oakley, Cole, Holly and Brad on a table so nodded my head towards it.
“Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll bring it over.”
I watched her eyes drift over and settle on Holly, who was looking much better with less of that heavy eyeliner. Less is more.
“I’d prefer to stay with you.”
I shrugged. “Alright.”
“Double JD and coke, red wine and six shots of whatever’s closest, please,” I said to the bartender.
Abby’s eyes snapped to me.
“Six shots? Does Holly even drink?”
“Brad’s ordered a taxi for them all, so I assume she’s drinking tonight. If not, I’m sure someone will do hers.”
If Abby was going to be a dick around Holly all night, I was going to need extra shots. I wanted to have fun, not referee her bitchy comments. Abby was usually so sweet about everyone, but if she was jealous she could turn in a second. I didn’t like it, and I had no time for it. At least guys would give each other a black eye and move on.
I paid, and we walked over.
“You’re all doing one,” I said, putting the shots on the table. “Ben and Kerry coming?”
“No, they’re on a date,” Oakley replied and grabbed two shots, handing one to Cole. “We’re child free tonight and tomorrow morning, so let’s drink up.”
Who took over my reserved sister’s body?
“Let’s do it,” I said and clinked my glass against Oakley’s. I loved to see her relax, have fun and act her age. “If you don’t want it I’ll do your shot, Holly.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I’ll have one. You can do the rest for the evening.”
An hour later and I’d done it. Mixing shots with beer had got me well and truly wasted. Abby, who wasn’t that drunk at all, pretty much refused to acknowledge Holly’s existence now, which annoyed me. Since my lengthy conversation with Holly, Abby had turned arctic as if we’d been having sex the whole time and not just talking. Holly was cool, and as our friend’s sister she should at least be civil.
Holly sat awkwardly, talking and laughing with Oakley. She’d noticed the tension, and she didn’t seem like the type of person to come out and ask Abby what the deal was.
I was so when Abby went to the bar I followed. “What’s your problem?” I hissed in her ear.
“My problem?” she asked, turning her nose up like I was something she’d stepped in. “What’s with the ‘I’ll have your shot, Holly’ crap?”
“What? She doesn’t drink much.” Jesus I was just trying to be nice to the girl that barely knew any of us! She was a friend, just like Brett was hers! “Everyone can sense the tension so cut the shit. Holly’s alright, just give her a chance.”
“You would think that.”
“What? Abby, have you lost it?”
“She’s your type.”
It was then that I realised my wife didn’t know me at all. The women that were my type were confident women that dressed sexy and wore light make-up, nothing heavy. Holly was not my type and even if she was; I was married, there was no way I’d be chasing her.
“Whatever,” she said.
“Yeah, whatever.” I walked off to the bathroom, grinding my teeth.
Something niggled at the back of my mind: Abby’s cheating.
Wasn’t it the people that were always accusing others the ones that were doing it? She thought I had a thing for Holly because she had a thing with someone else and was trying to shift the spotlight off herself. I didn’t want to believe that was true but I bloody couldn’t stop myself coming back to the same conclusion.
Laying my head back against the wall, I took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts further down inside. It was just in my head. We were just going through a rough patch, that was it.
Chapter Seven
“You giving up alcohol when Abby’s pregnant?” Oakley asked as we sat in her living room going though the new gymnastics equipment we needed and what it’d cost.
The Centre was doing really well, and the gym coach, Marcus, was keen to update some of the stuff. Since Oakley got away, he was determined that another potential Olympian wouldn’t. He thought he had one in eight-year-old Aleah.
Cole had stopped drinking when she was pregnant with Everleigh. Well, when they were out together anyway. On lads’ nights out he was as trashed as the rest of us.
I shrugged. “I won’t have to worry about that for a while.”
She put down her pad of scribbled notes and figures. “Oh? I thought you were trying soon.”