The Engagement Embargo

by Samantha Chase

  “Maybe I have someplace I need to be,” she quipped, even as she took a bite of potato salad.

  That seemed to bring him up short. “Oh, um…I didn’t think of that. I just thought you were maybe trying to avoid me or something because…well…you know.”

  Seriously, was he trying to draw attention to them? “Elliott,” she hissed, leaning in close even as she felt her face heat up. “Can you just not say stuff like that?”

  “What? I technically didn’t say anything. I was just implying or hinting at…”

  “Just stop doing that!” she cried, and everyone stopped and stared at them.

  Awesome.

  Beside her, Elliott was trying hard not to laugh. “Sorry,” he called out to his family. “I was just goofing around while Skye was trying to eat. Don’t mind us.”

  Fortunately, everyone went back to their own meals and conversations as Skye glared at him. “Thanks. Like that wasn’t incredibly awkward.”

  He shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. “It’s not that big of a deal.” They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. “So how are you? How was your weekend?”

  “I’m good,” she replied, feeling a little more at ease. “The weekend was its usual form of chaos and I have tomorrow off so I am going to try to get caught up on some sleep. What about you? How was your weekend?”

  Rather than answer right away, he took a drink of his Coke and then ate a few chips. Skye was about to prompt him to respond when he finally did.

  “It was…good,” he said, not looking at her. His focus was on his plate and it just seemed…odd.

  “O-kay…”

  “I went out with Tyler and Alex Saturday night. We went to Flanagan’s downtown, played some darts and…you know…hung out.”

  “They have the best wings there,” she commented, since for whatever reason, he was being awkward with the conversation. “I haven’t been there in a long time, but before we opened Meet Me at the Altar, me, Josie, and Lea would go there a lot on the weekends. It’s a great place to meet…”

  Oh.

  Oh…

  Well…crap.

  “Yeah,” he murmured. “So there was that.”

  At first, all Skye could do was nod because…really…what was she supposed to say? They weren’t dating; there had been no talk of being exclusive in this stupid casual relationship thing they were doing. And that was definitely her fault because she kept putting off having that conversation.

  Lesson learned.

  Clearing her throat quietly, she focused on her own plate, even though her appetite was gone. “So what do you think of the party plans? I love the way your grandfather let your grandmother take the lead. Super cute.”

  “Yeah,” he said with very little enthusiasm. “Listen, Skye, I want you to know that…”

  There was no way she wanted to talk about this here and immediately cut him off. “It’s okay, Elliott. Really. You don’t owe me any explanation and you are free to do whatever you want with…you know…whomever you want.” Now she did look up at him and saw his expression go from frowning to being almost furious.

  “Really? That’s how you feel?”

  The lump in her throat prevented her from saying the words, but she forced herself to nod.

  Pushing his plate aside, he leaned in close. “I cannot believe you,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. Angry, but still a whisper. “I guess this is part of the rules we never got around to talking about.”

  For the life of her, Skye had no idea why he was so angry. He was basically getting to have his cake and eat it too! What more did he want?

  “This really isn’t the time or place to be having this discussion, so…”

  “Skye?” Leanna said, leaning over her shoulder and giving her a gentle squeeze. “Can you give me a hand in the kitchen? I’ve got that cupcake order to prepare and I’m a little behind.” Then she smiled at Elliott. “Good to see you, Elliott!”

  There was no cupcake delivery that Skye was aware of, but she wasn’t about to turn down a lifeline.

  “Sure. No problem.” Then she pasted a smile on her face as she looked back at Elliott. “Good to see you again. Take care.” And before she could say more, Leanna took her by the hand and practically dragged her from the room and didn’t stop until they were in the far corner of the kitchen. “What in the world, Lea?”

  Her friend maneuvered them around until she gently pushed Skye onto a stool. Leanna wasn’t the least bit intimidating, but she was certainly going for that look right now. “If you could see what I was seeing, you’d know why I dragged you out of there.”

  “Um…what?”

  Nodding, she explained, “The two of you were looking way too intense–angry intense–and in another minute, everyone else was going to notice it too.” She paused and pulled up a stool for herself. “So what’s going on?”

  Groaning, she leaned back and hit her head against the wall. “Ouch…”

  “Nice stall tactic. Spill it.”

  “I really don’t want to here.”

  “Well, too bad. I didn’t want to have to make a scene and force you out of there and yet…here we are.”

  Not wanting to argue, Skye told her about her two nights with Elliott and then what he just shared with her. “I mean, I know we didn’t talk about any rules or whatever, but…it just stung that he went out to meet someone within hours of leaving my bed!”

  Without a word, Leanna got up and walked over to her refrigerator. Skye had no idea what she was doing, but when she came back, she handed Skye a container of icing.

  It would be rude to decline so…

  “Eat your icing and hear me out,” Leanna said as she got situated on her stool again. “First, I am so excited for you! You finally got to be with your dream man!”

  “For all the good it’s doing me…”

  “Oh, hush. Yes, the two of you never talked about any rules, but honestly…he didn’t really admit that he hooked up with anyone.”

  “He was out with the guys at Flanagan’s and you know there’s only one reason single people go there.” She took a heaping spoonful of chocolate icing and moaned with pure pleasure. “We used to go there all the time whenever we were looking to meet guys.”

  “Okay, yes. That’s true, but…he went out with his friends and he’s a single guy. Where else did you think they were going to go?”

  She stuck another spoonful into her mouth and refused to speculate.

  “Skye, he’s doing what everyone wants him to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s what he wants to do.”

  “But it is!” she countered around a mouthful of sugary sweetness. “He’s done with relationships and wanting to get married and…and…everything he’s been chasing for years! Now all he wants is casual and no commitments and a good time! And like an idiot, I threw myself at him and thought I could handle it. Two dates later and I’m crying in a bowl of frosting!” She licked the spoon and then paused. “How did you know I was going to need this?”

  “Oh, please. Once a week I put a fresh bowl in there for you.” Laughing, Leanna shook her head. “There’s always a chocolate one for you and I try to have either butterscotch or strawberry in there for Josie.”

  “I had no idea.” Tears stung her eyes. “You are seriously an awesome friend.”

  “Hey, it’s just what I do,” she said with a slight blush. “So what’s going to happen now?”

  With a shrug, Skye let out a long breath. “I guess it’s over. I thought I could do casual, but it turns out, I can’t. There’s no way I’d be okay with him coming around and knowing he slept with someone else the night before or something. I could handle knowing this wasn’t going to be permanent or even long-term, but I can’t be one of many.” She shuddered. “Serious ick factor for me.”

  “Yeah, that would be a huge deal breaker for me too.” Reaching out, she squeezed Skye’s free hand. “I’m really sorry. I wanted things to work out for the two of you.”

  She took ano
ther spoonful of icing before replying. “The timing was just off. I should have known better than to get involved with him so soon after his breakup. That’s totally on me. I got so caught up in the fantasy of it all that I wasn’t being particularly smart.”

  “Love doesn’t always make you smart,” Leanna said wistfully.

  “This isn’t love,” she said miserably. “This was me and my stupid crush that I should have gotten over years ago. It was all much better when it was in my head. The reality sucks.”

  Leanna looked around for a moment before leaning in close. “Was the sex bad? Is that why it sucked?”

  “What?!” Choking on the icing, Skye coughed hard for several seconds until she could catch her breath. “No! No, that’s not what I meant! I meant the current situation and the whole casual aspect of it all.” Then she sighed. “The sex was so freaking good that I think I’m ruined for other men.”

  “Wow…what’s that like?”

  “Um…”

  “No, seriously, what’s it like to have great sex?”

  “Lea, surely you’ve had great sex,” Skye said, placing the icing down. “What about Nathan…oh, what was his last name? You guys dated in college.”

  “The sex was fine, but I definitely would never say he ruined me for other men. I want some of that.”

  “Don’t we all,” Skye muttered and sighed again. “I’m glad I’m off tomorrow because I think I’m going to have a total pity party of a day and just lick my wounds.” She paused. “And possibly burn my sheets, I don’t know.”

  Leanna hopped off of her stool and hugged her. “I’m really sorry, Skye. I truly believed this was going to be wildly romantic and everything you dreamed it would be.”

  “Sadly, so did I.”

  When the weekend rolled around again, Elliott didn’t have a reasonable excuse for not going out with his friends again. This was something they always did when he wasn’t in a relationship, and maybe if he just put in a little effort, he’d enjoy himself.

  Or he could continue to think about Skylar and the look on her face when they talked on Monday.

  Climbing into his car, he let his head fall back as he let out a huff of annoyance. This was what he said he wanted–his freedom, to be single and uninvolved. So why wasn’t he enjoying it? Sleeping with Skye was supposed to be safe. They were friends and that was it.

  Friends who had amazing sex, but…still friends.

  She wasn’t making any demands on his time and seemed perfectly fine with keeping things casual…

  Then why did she look hurt when she thought he hooked up with someone last weekend?

  “This is bullshit,” he murmured. All week long he had made himself crazy thinking about that look and he wasn’t going to be able to go out and do a damn thing until he got an answer. “Or I’m using it as an excuse so I don’t have to go to Flanagan’s again.”

  Okay, there was that, but as he continued to sit in his driveway and think, he knew what the true motivation was.

  He wanted to see her.

  The only problem was that it was Friday night and he knew from conversations they’d had and also from his sister that it was usually a work night for them. She could be at a wedding or a rehearsal or some other kind of event.

  “So now what?” he wondered. Did he drive over to her place and take the chance or did he do a little research first?

  The solution was a no-brainer. He pulled his phone out and pulled up Josie’s number and hit send. It rang several times before she answered.

  “Hey, El!” his sister said when she answered. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing much. I was wondering if you were free tonight to hang out?”

  It was pretty much the last thing he wanted to do, but…it was the first scenario to come to mind.

  “Ooh…what did you have in mind?” she asked excitedly, and Elliott wanted to kick himself.

  “I was planning on going downtown to Flanagan’s with everyone,” he explained, and did his best not to oversell it. “You know, no big deal. It’s just going to be me, Ty, Alex, and Jared. No biggie. But since we haven’t hung out much and you know everyone…”

  “You picked a great night, big brother! We don’t have any events until tomorrow night and it’s an engagement party, so it’s very low-key, so…yay! We get to hang out!”

  Me and my big mouth…

  “We don’t have to go to Flanagan’s, you know. We can go and grab some dinner or something if you’d prefer.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want to go? Flanagan’s has the best selection of craft beers and some seriously addictive wings. Besides, I’ve been meaning to catch up with Ty for a while now, so…”

  “Wait, wait, wait…why do you need to see Tyler?”

  She let out a little huff that told him how much she hated when he questioned her on anything, but that didn’t deter him.

  “You know he’s really gunning to make partner at the law firm and he’s in charge of organizing some big fundraiser thing. I told him I’d help him and we just haven’t had any time to get together and talk about it. So if he’s going to be there, maybe we can get the ball rolling and then get something down on the calendar. It’s no biggie.”

  And for some reason, relief washed over him. “Oh, okay. Good.”

  She laughed. “You are such a dork! Like I’d ever go out with any of your friends. Please! Give me a little credit. That would just be weird.”

  And I’ve clearly stepped in it again…

  “Fine. Whatever. Forget I said anything,” he grumbled.

  Yes, please forget I said anything!

  “I usually do,” she teased. “And besides, Ty and I are just friends. He’s seriously like another brother to me–just less annoying than you.”

  That made him laugh and relax. “Good, can we let this go now?”

  “I wasn’t the one who got weird about it in the first place. But…speaking of friends…would you mind if I invited Skye and Leanna to join us? We haven’t been out for a girls' night in a while and even though we’re technically crashing your guys' night, I think it could be a lot of fun. Are you okay with that?”

  Don’t sound anxious…don’t sound anxious…

  “Um…yeah. Sure. I don’t see that as a problem. Do you want me to come pick you up?”

  “No, I’m good. Plus, I’ll bet you’re already walking out the door and I’m definitely going to need to put a little effort in before I can be seen in public. Figure I’ll be there in maybe an hour. Ninety minutes, tops.”

  They hung up and suddenly Elliott was filled with nervous energy and wasn’t so sure he should head out just yet, but…there wasn’t anything else to do and the guys were probably already there holding a table, so…

  Muttering a curse, he pulled out of his driveway and made his way downtown and tried not to think about whether or not Skylar was going to show. If she didn’t, he at least knew she wasn’t working and could possibly be at home. He could fake…something…and leave and go to her place to talk to her if he had to.

  Feeling better now that he had a plan, he cranked up the radio and finished his drive to Flanagan’s.

  As he expected, Tyler and Alex were there already and had snagged a corner booth–which was fortunate considering they were going to be adding more people.

  “Hey,” he said, sliding into the booth. “Um…slight change of plans. Josie, Skye, and Leanna are joining us. I mean…Josie definitely is, but…”

  Tyler chuckled. “If your sister’s coming, her posse will be here.”

  Elliott couldn’t help but laugh too because it was true. “Well, when I talked to Josie a little while ago she hadn’t talked to them yet, so…”

  Taking a pull of his beer, Tyler nodded. “Did she invite herself or did you?”

  “I called her and mentioned we were going to be here, and then she told me she had been trying to get together with you about some fundraiser thing. What’s that about?” He slid farther into the booth when Jared showed up and joined the
m.

  “The last guy who made partner planned this big-ass fundraiser for one of the big guy’s favorite charities. It’s a major suck-up move, but…it certainly did the trick. So I want to have a plan worked out with Josie’s help before I present it to the team. I can’t make it look like I’m totally copying what Ted did, but…”

  “But you’re totally copying what Ted did,” Alex said with a laugh. “You are going to have to come up with something extremely creative to make it seem completely unrelated to what that guy did.”

  “That’s why I need Josie’s help,” Tyler murmured before taking another drink.

  “My sister can plan a hell of a party, but I’m not so sure she can be that devious and help you manufacture a reason to organize a fundraiser. I’m not sure that’s in her wheelhouse.”

  Tyler leveled him with a stare. “Dude, your sister is brilliant–like an evil genius. Trust me. She was the one who started throwing out ideas, but I’ve just been too busy with work to sit down and strategize with her.”

  “Josie’s an evil genius?” he repeated. “Seriously?”

  “Oh, definitely,” Tyler replied, and Alex and Jared nodded in agreement.

  He racked his brain for memories of his sister being devious and other than the usual brother-sister stuff where they got each other in trouble, he never saw her that way.

  But obviously, everyone else had.

  Weird.

  Their waitress came over and took their drink order a few minutes later and they decided on several appetizers–including some wings–to hold them over until Josie and the girls arrived.

  If they arrive…

  “I can’t believe you invited your sister,” Jared said a few minutes later. “And her friends.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with that?”

  “No woman is going to come over here when they see a table with four guys and three girls,” he reasoned. “It looks like a couples’ outing and one poor schmuck who couldn’t get a date.”

  “I don’t think it will be like that,” he countered. “We’re not going to just be sitting here in the booth all night. We’ll get up and play darts or pool or…you know, there’s a whole game room back there plus the bar, so…”