Testing Recipes for Disaster (Emberwood #2)

Chapter 3- Lauren

“ S orry, that took longer than expected.”

After my chat with Jer, I’d ordered an ill-advised shot and gone to the bathroom to process the feelings I shouldn’t be having. I was determined to get myself back to normal before devoting the night to wedding talk and cheese fries.

“No worries, I convinced Sam to do a quick reading while we waited,” Christian assured me, popping a fry into his mouth.

“Oh? And?”

“I am going to open a stunning salon and be insanely successful. Those aren’t my words; those are my spirit guides . We’ll see.”

“Any salon you opened would draw people from every corner of the tri-state area, Chris.”

I eyed him sincerely. He was toned down tonight in jeans and a tight green t-shirt that set off his deep brown eyes.

“I agree,” a bright voice chimed in.

Genevieve took the empty seat next to me and grinned. Sam had met her at Books and Broomsticks a while back and ended up designing a book cover for one of her romance novels—the one we were all celebrating the night Jesse proposed. She’d since become a recurring guest star in our friend group.

“Eeee! You made it,” Sam squealed happily. “I’ll get your first drink,” she offered, holding up her own beer as a visual aid.

“Hold up. Since when do you drink beer? I demand a margarita or a fruity something,” I interrupted.

“I know, I know. I’ve been trying different types so that I have something to order at baseball games. Jesse’s only just now feeling okay being a spectator at minor or major league games, so I want to do the whole experience. Hot dogs, beer, peanuts, whatever. It’s only okay. I promise I’ll order a marg next time.”

“Well, I suppose that’s an admirable endeavor. But you can’t spring these kinds of changes on a girl and expect immediate acceptance.”

“Well, I’ll order a marg,” Gen offered, flipping her honey blond hair over her shoulder.

She had such thick waves I’d originally thought she had extensions, but nobody’s extensions looked that good. She was simply blessed.

“ Thank you.”

“I will be certain to run my drink choices by you next time,” Sam assured me, grinning before going to order Genevieve’s drink.

I’d originally hesitated to embrace a new friend, having only gotten Sam back a year ago, but she made it easy to like her. She was generally up for anything and had a similar love of late 90’s rom-coms, so she was A-OK in my book. I tuned back in to Christian explaining the vision for his hypothetical salon.

“I feel like a glitter waterfall would be appropriately shocking.”

“I couldn’t imagine anything more appropriately shocking. I could make it for you! We could use rhinestones and LED lights and glitter paper and glitter fabric,” I said, refocusing.

“Speaking of shocking, maybe we could chat real quick about you and Jer looking cozy over here after three months of radio silence,” Sam interjected, her blue eyes lit up.

Christian and Gen leaned in, invested. They’d all been trying to get out of me exactly what happened with Jer, but I was uninterested in explaining how I got rejected on my doorstep. Only Sam got the basic rundown because she’d earned it after decades of friendship.

“There was a whole situation with a douchebag tourist guy who wouldn’t take my flat out ‘no.’ I was handling it, but Jer overheard and came over to pretend to be my boyfriend and tell the guy to fuck off.”

Gen sucked in a breath. “Did he say something like ‘ touch her and die ’?”

“No, not everything is a romance novel.”

Gen pouted a little, and Christian raised a brow.

“Fine. He did get a little aggressive with the guy, and it was objectively hot. I can admit he’s attractive without being attracted to him.”

“Sure, Darling. You keep living in your little fantasy land,” Christian said, sipping his drink.

Sam only clapped in apparent glee.

I shook my head before responding. “I am fully grounded in reality. He’s not interested, and I don’t find that to be an attractive quality in a man. I’m delightful. And hot.”

I tried to tamp down the swell of embarrassment that still existed from him turning me down. I wasn’t used to being rejected, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to give him the chance to do it twice.

Friends it will be.

“Oh, he’s in a fantasy land, too. You’re both delusional, and it’s a little infuriating,” Sam lamented.

I only rolled my eyes and took another shot. I knew I’d regret it in the morning, but I wanted to forget the goosebumps that broke out when his fingers grazed my stomach because I couldn’t remember the last time a guy had an effect on me like that.

Why does it have to be him?

Why couldn’t the guy sending literal shivers up my spine be interested in me? Sam wasn’t wrong. It was infuriating.

“Whatever. You know I’ve made a recent vow to only hook up with tourists anyway. I suck at breaking things off, and they come with a nice built-in expiration date. Even if I were attracted to Jer, the whole thing has the potential to be a recipe for disaster.”

Sam sighed, resigned to my stubbornness, at least for tonight.

“Now, let’s talk about these dresses you want to go see. I want pics.”

Wedding talk was a surefire way to get Sam going, and I relaxed into my role. I was going to be the best maid-of-honor anyone had ever seen from here on out.

Christian left us at the bar shortly after we dove into talk of veils because we were only a pre-game for his date later.

Because everyone has someone but you! Yay!

The shots were a bad idea.

Bad, bad, bad.

The room was a little wavy. Or maybe I was swaying. Either way, it was time to go home.

“Maybe in the future, you could admit you have big, messy, unresolved feelings for your brother’s best friend instead of taking shots of tequila.”

“Don’t you judge me! You’re marrying your brother’s... best friend’s... my brother!”

“No judgment here, Laur. I maintain that I like you guys for each other. The two of you are just masters of weaving unnecessary webs of complications.”

“Blah blah blah, ‘I’m a psychic.’ You ask my spirit guides why they cock-blocked me the night of your engagement party!”

I groaned and pressed my face to the cool glass of Sam’s car window. She only snorted.

“There is more than one thing wrong with that command. And it’s not your spirit guides; it’s all you and Jeremy, standing in your own ways. You both like to pretend the problem is Jesse, and it’s not. He really is over his hesitation about whatever happens between the two of you. He knows better than to contradict my intuition.”

“ Hesitation? You mean forbiddance . I don’t know if I believe you. Is forbid-dance a word?”

This conversation was making me nauseous.

Maybe that’s the shots.

“But maybe Jer rejecting me was just as well. I’m a dis-saster, and I’d end up getting turned off if he liked me back and gh-ghosting him.” I was now hiccupping through my words, another reminder of how much my body hated tequila. “How do you ghost your brother’s best friend? He’s around all the d-damn time. Where I have to look at his st-stupid eyes and his stupid biceps. Have you seen his arms? I mean, really looked at them. I want to bite them.”

Sam was now shaking with laughter, and I grinned in spite of myself.

“Whatever. Fuck him. Do you know how hard I’ve had to work not to s-see him for three months? I’m ex-hausted.”

“We will be discussing your little disaster comment more in-depth when you’re sober. For now, you’re home.”

I glanced up and saw that we were, indeed, at my townhouse.

“Let’s go, drunky.”

I heaved my butt out of Sam’s car, annoyed that I’d have to go get mine tomorrow. She linked our arms and let me lean on her.

“Thanks for driving me. And not judging me.”

“Anytime. Do you want me to get you water and ibuprofen and tuck you in?”

“I promise I will hydrate and make it to bed. I’ll text you.”

“Love you, Laur. I’ll pick you up at nine to get your car before work.”

“Love you too! If you see Jeremy, tell him...I hate him.”

“I’ll be sure to relay the message.”

I let her hug me tightly before I lumbered to the kitchen for the water and painkillers and then up the stairs to my room.

Going to sleep fully clothed and in my makeup sounded like the absolute right decision. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to text Sam that I was safe in my bed and decided that another right decision would be to text Jeremy and let him know where he stood.

LAUR : I hate you a LOT. And your eyes and your arms. Goodnight.