As she dusted herself off, Johnny could sense her mood change.
“I’m sorry, Bria,” he said, looking down at the ground. “We shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have let it . . .”
“No, no,” she said, laying a kiss on his cheek, “it was great. Really.” He smiled weakly, reaching for her hand as they exited the closet.
As they pulled into post-prom at the arcade nearby, Bria was dreading it. Inside, Johnny, naturally had a blast, killing the basketball games, beating some of the other guys in some hunting video game. She smiled as she watched. He was the life of the party. Sort of like someone else she knew.
“He’s so much fun!” Courtney said from behind her. She did a double-take. If Courtney was there, so was Knox. When she looked up at him, he looked away from her. As if he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. He snuck off, walking toward the ski ball lanes.
“Mind if I join you?” Bria asked.
“No, go ahead, you can play,” he said, setting his ball down and getting ready to walk away.
“What is your problem?” she asked.
“You don’t need me around. You’re fine. You’re with Johnny, and we don’t want to piss him off,” he said. He hung his head, shaking it and walking back toward Courtney.
What an asshole. As if she didn’t hate herself enough already for losing her virginity to some football player in a fucking coat closet, she didn’t need Knox to hate her for it, too.
She wanted to yell at him, scream, tell him how unfair he was being. But her emotions got crossed, and all she could do was burst into tears. So she ran to the doors, leaving Johnny to entertain the crowd.
“B,” she heard Knox call after her, but she ignored him. Finally, he caught up to her, standing underneath the awning at the end of the entrance. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes and looked up at him.
“Why is it okay for you to sleep with everything that moves, but when I do it, you can’t even look at me?” she asked. He was taken aback by her question.
“I’m sorry, Bria,” he said after a few moments of silence. “It’s not my place. And you’re right. I guess I just wish it was someone, anyone but Ridges.”
She had remembered that in high school, and even after, the rivalry between Knox and Johnny was a strong one. Knox despised Johnny, and she was starting to feel a little guilty about being here with him now. Johnny got to be everything that Knox wasn’t, a high school football star, a college player. And she wondered if that’s what made Johnny so much more alluring to her―he was the version of Knox that wanted her.
“And I don’t know, I mean, I’m not mad,” Knox went on. “And even if I was, I don’t have the right to be. I guess I just never thought of you as someone who would. . . Someone like me. I guess I thought you deserved better. I mean, Jesus, even Balkner treated you well, and took you out, and waited around for you to be ready.”
She looked down at the ground, feeling a little lower about herself than she already did.
“Yeah, well, I never slept with Brett,” she said. He looked shocked. “That, just now, was my first time. And it’s a little late now. I can’t take it back.”
Knox nodded.
“I didn’t know. . . I always thought you and Brett. . . It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry I made you feel shitty about it. You just. . .you just deserve so much, B.” She smiled. “So, you going back in there?”
She shook her head.“Nah. I think I’m gonna call a cab.” He held up his keys, jiggling them.
“Knoxville Taxi Cab at your service,” he said.
“What about Courtney?” she asked. He smiled his devilish, dangerous smile.
“She told me if I followed you out here, not to bother coming back in.” She smiled back at him. “Let’s go home.”
FIFTEEN
Now
Louise shuffled around the kitchen, moving things from place to place, a classic sign that something was on her mind.
“Man, what is the big deal?” Bria asked, skinning potatoes over the sink.
“I just hate that we never did anything to celebrate Sam. The big deal is that she worked extremely hard, and we totally missed out on giving her the recognition for it. It’s bad enough that she didn’t walk at her graduation, but we didn’t have a party, not even so much as a lunch for her,” Louise ranted, sliding the sugar canister out from the back of the counter, wiping it down, and moving it back.
Bria rolled her eyes. Her mother tended to have a hard time letting things go. Sam had graduated from college a few months before, and the fact that she refused any sort of celebration still haunted Louise.
“But she didn’t want to walk,” Bria said. “She walked at her high school ceremony. You know she absolutely hates being in front of a crowd, and she thinks stuff like that is lame. If she didn’t want to do it, we couldn’t make her.”
Louise looked defeated, and suddenly Bria felt for her. The family had been so consumed by Katie’s medical woes for weeks. Having something to celebrate would be refreshing. Bria caved. “I know it’s been a few months since she graduated, but maybe we can convince her to let us throw a party here. Just a small thing,” she offered.
Louise visibly perked up.
“Yeah, a party!” Katie called from the other room as she made her way into the kitchen.
“Nothing too crazy, just family maybe. That way we can celebrate, but she doesn’t have to be the center of attention in front of too many people,” Bria suggested. Louise seemed appeased.
“I’ll call her and ask,” Katie said, whipping out her phone.
Katie was always up for a party or get-together, anything that meant that she could socialize with someone other than her parents or sisters. Katie walked out of the room, and re-entered about ninety seconds later. “She said yes!”
Louise beamed. “Great! Let’s start planning. I wonder who from the family could make it next weekend.”
“That’s awfully short notice, hon,” Joe said, leaning over the sink to see what Bria was cooking.
“Well, the only person who might not be able to make it is your mother,” Louise said, shooting him a look. He rolled his eyes. Thirty years they’d been married, and Louise still couldn’t resist a good dig at Joe’s mother.
“Well, I’ll call her and find out,” he said, spanking Louise’s tush lightly and kissing the top of her head. Ugh. So gross and cute at the same time.
“Okay, come on girls, we have a lot to do,” Louise said, grabbing a pen and paper from a kitchen drawer and sitting down at the head of to the table. Katie and Bria shot each other a look. If Louise had her pad out, she meant business.
That weekend came quickly, as they normally do when you feel like you don’t have enough time to prepare for something. But the Kreery girls knew how to get their shit together on short notice thanks to years of practice under their mother.
Sam finally made her way downstairs, looking extremely uncomfortable in the black dress and heels their mother insisted she wear.
“You look great, Sam,” Bria said, careful not to gush.
“Thanks,” Sam said, smoothing out the bottom of the dress.
“I’m so excited for tonight!” Katie said, filling a bowl with a bag of chips and moving it to the center of the table. Bria and Sam smiled. If nothing else, at least Katie would have some fun this evening.
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam said, “let’s just get this over with.”
“I just can’t wait to meet Abby,” Katie said, putting a spoon in the ranch dip. Bria and Sam froze, standing straight up.
“What?” Sam asked, raising one eyebrow.
“A-Abby,” Katie stuttered, “I found her name in your contacts. I figured you’d want your girlfriend at your graduation party.”
Bria’s head sunk. Oh, Katie. Sometimes, she was still so naive.
“Oh, Katie,” Louise whispered.
“You decided to invite my new girlfriend to the house to meet our entire family at once? Includi
ng those family members in particular who still don’t know I’m gay?” Sam asked.
Now Katie was staring down at the ground. Bria’s heart was wrenched for both of her sisters. For Katie, because she meant no harm by it. For Sam, because she was so private about her dating life. When she had come out to their parents, she told them she didn’t want to make a big deal of it to the rest of the family. She wanted it to just “happen,” that someday she’d be living with another woman, or show up to an event with another woman, or be married to another woman, and the rest of the family would just find out. Joe and Louise had agreed; it was Sam’s life and her decision. Over the years, a few of the family members did find out, a few aunts and uncles, Grandma Gayle. When Grandma had heard the news, she had sent Sam a card, which Sam and Bria thought was the funniest thing. It was a “Congratulations” card, which made it even better.
“‘Hey, granddaughter, congrats on being gay,’” Bria had said to Sam before they both hunched over in a fit of laughter.
The one person who absolutely did not know yet was Uncle Tom, Louise’s oldest brother. He was in his late fifties, single, and generally clueless when it came to women. He was also the most old-fashioned of the entire group, and the most opinionated.
“Okay, this is okay, we can just play it off. We can say she’s a friend,” Bria said, her fix-it instincts kicking in.
“No,” Sam said. “I’m not going to have her think I’m ashamed of her.” Bria nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Sam,” Katie said.
“It’s fine,” Sam said, crossing her arms. It was clearly not fine. But before Bria could fix anything further, the front door opened, and the family began filing in, Aunt Sarah’s loud voice carrying throughout the whole house, a few of their young cousins already running through the living room, Grandma Gayle setting down her bowl of fruit salad on the island, Uncle Tom in his best Lynyrd Skynyrd concert tee and high-top trucker hat.
Behind a load of her unruly but endearing relatives came Drew, looking as sharp as ever in a tight blue sweater, his cologne hitting her before anything else did.
“Hey, you,” he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Bria’s waist, kissing her softly.
“Hi, hon,” she said, trying to sound extra excited to see him while simultaneously attempting to devise an escape plan for Sam.
“Hey, Sam,” Drew said, nodding in her direction, “congrats.”
“Thanks,” she said back. There was always something a little off between the two of them. Drew was pretty progressive, but it was like he wasn’t exactly sure how to talk to Sam once he learned she was gay. With Katie, it was no problem. She adored everyone, and usually it was mutual. But with Drew and Sam, there were some sort of invisible blockade, and Bria hated that.
Drew helped himself to some snacks, then made his way through the Kreeries before plopping down on a recliner in the back of the living room.
“Do you want to call Abby, maybe give her a heads-up?” Bria whispered to Sam by the back door as they both stepped out of the crowd for a glass of punch. Sam shook her head.
“No. I don’t want to make her nervous,” she said. Just then, a bouquet of flowers flew over top of their heads, landing in Sam’s hands.
“Congrats, kid,” they heard him say, as he rested his chin on Sam’s shoulder.
“Knox!” Sam said, turning to hug him. Bria felt her heart do a little jump. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Kates invited me, and I couldn’t miss it,” he said, kissing Sam’s cheek and looking back at Bria. Bria smiled.
“Hey,” she said, giving him a painfully short hug. She would have held onto him a little longer, given him a little squeeze, if she didn’t feel Drew’s eyes burning through them from across the room.
A half a second later, there was a knock on the door. Sam and Bria looked at each other. No one else would knock; their relatives were famous for simply walking through each other’s doors. It had to be Abby.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” Sam sighed, making her way toward the foyer.
“What’s going on?” Knox asked.
“Katie invited Sam’s new girlfriend,” Bria explained. Knox raised his eyebrows.
“Yikes. Not everyone knows, right?” he asked. Bria almost smiled. She couldn’t believe how in touch he still was with her whole family.
“Right. Poor Sam,” she said, watching her sister protectively. But as Sam opened the door, her pained expression melted away, making way for the widest smile Bria had ever seen on her sister’s face. Without hesitation, Sam took Abby into the biggest, warmest embrace, and Bria was sure it was the most affection she had ever seen Sam show. Bria felt her heart swell. She watched as Sam snuck a peck on Abby’s cheek, grabbed her hand, and took a deep breath.
“So,” Sam said to Abby, “you ready?”
Abby smiled and nodded. “Of course.”
Sam led her into the center of the living room where the family was running wild. Bria swallowed hard.
“Everyone,” Sam said, but it wasn’t anywhere near loud enough to grab the attention of the insanity that was their family. She cleared her throat. “Guys!” she shouted.
The room went silent. Sam looked at Bria, then to Katie, then down at the ground. Then she looked at her own hand, intertwined with Abby’s, and suddenly, she looked steady, peaceful.
“I want to introduce you all to Abby,” she said, “my girlfriend.”
A few of the aunts who hadn’t been told gasped. The younger cousins looked around, trying to gauge the adults’ reactions. Grandma Gayle put her hand on her heart, proud that she was in on the big secret. All eyes found Uncle Tom who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The room was deafeningly silent, and Bria felt herself growing panicky. She wanted to say something, anything to draw the attention from her sister. But she was frozen.
“Well,” Knox said, taking a step forward to Sam, “I, for one, am devastated by this news.” Everyone’s eyes grew wide, including Sam’s. “Now I’ll never have a chance with you,” he said, pointing to her.
Everyone froze for a moment longer, until Sam burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Bria felt herself take a breath. Knox was a genius. She watched as he sauntered across the room, kissing Sam on the cheek again and shaking Abby’s hand.
Now, everyone in the room was laughing, smiling, and practically standing in line to meet Abby, including Uncle Tom. All because of Knox.
“Why’s he here, again?” she heard Drew whisper into her ear as he stood next to her, marking his territory.
“Katie invited him,” she said.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Well, I think that went pretty well,” Knox said, making his way toward them. He stuck his hand out to Drew. “Hey, man,” he said. Drew took it hesitantly.
“Yeah, that wasn’t bad at all,” Bria said, uncomfortably moving under Drew’s arm.
“Yeah, good thing you saved the day with that line,” Drew said, taking a sip of his drink.
Knox looked to the ground and shrugged. “Just wanted to take the pressure off of Sam,” he said.
“It was great, what you did,” Bria said, fighting back the urge to reach out and grab his arm. Knox gave her a faint smile.
“Ben, you remember Grandma Gayle?” Louise asked him, as she and Grandma came in at just the right moment.
“How could I forget Grandma Gayle? I knew you were here when I saw that fruit salad in the kitchen!” he said, wrapping her in a big hug.
“Oh, I just can’t believe how grown up you are! It seems like just yesterday you two were just a couple of kids!” Grandma Gayle said, pinching his cheek.
“Well, B and I might have grown up, but you haven’t aged a year, I swear,” Knox said, his arm around her shoulders. Grandma Gayle let out a silly, bashful giggle as she patted his cheek again. Then she led him to the dining room where he was enveloped by hugs from the rest of Bria’s aunts and cousins.
“Jesus,” Drew said, thro
wing back whatever was left in his cup. “This guy’s just full of the lines.”
“Lay off it, Drew,” Bria said, just above a whisper. Drew turned to her.
“Gosh,” Aunt Jamie said, walking back to the kitchen island and pouring herself another glass of wine, “I forgot how cute that Ben was! He was so freaking adorable when you two were kids, but now? He’s a man!”
Bria’s jaw dropped. Come on, Kreeries, get it together.
It was as if they couldn’t see Drew standing right next to her, already seething over the subject of Knox. She probably should have put her arms around Drew, whispered something in his ear about him being the hottest guy she’d ever seen, given him that little bump in self-confidence that Knox was unknowingly stomping on. But a part of her worried Knox might see, and she didn’t want that, either. So instead, she said nothing, and took a much-needed sip, no, gulp, of her sangria.
“Hey,” Knox said, after a few more minutes with her family, “I think I’m gonna head out. It was great to see you guys. Good to see you, man,” he said, sticking his hand out to Drew again.
“You leavin’?” Bria asked, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt.
“Yeah, don’t want to stay and see how many more of the Kreery women you can win over?” Drew asked.
Bria glared at him—if looks could kill, Drew would have been dead, buried, dug up, and buried again. Knox smiled and looked down at the ground, then back up to Bria.
“I’ll see ya,” he said, making his way out of the side door.
Bria didn’t say anything, she just shot Drew one more deadly glance before following Knox outside.
“Knox,” she called. He spun around toward her as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I’m really sorry about him. He’s just. . . I don’t know. Protective, I guess.”
It Goes Without Saying Page 11
