Imperfectly Real (A Series of Imperfections) by A.E. Woodward Read Free Book Online Page B

this. We can act like this never happened. It’ll be fine.” I looked back at her, before walking away from her, out of the stall and straight to the bar. But as I approached Emma, Shane and Rob, I questioned if this was something I could really do. Could I just forget what happened with Elizabeth? Wipe my slate completely clean of her? I liked to think that I could, but for some reason I already doubted myself. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around why I cared so goddamn much.
    “What the fuck took you so long?” Shane questioned as he passed me another bottle of beer.
    “I ate at McDonalds today,” I lied, before taking a long haul off the bottle. That seemed to suffice and the group immediately backed off. We’d all been there. McDonalds had done nothing for us while in college, so it went without saying that the tummy troubles would continue into adulthood.
    The four of us attempted to chat over the thumping club music before I felt her presence. I knew the instant Elizabeth joined us again—moments before anyone else. I could smell the combination of her perfume and my cologne flooding in from behind me. I felt the electricity pulsating through my body when her skin brushed mine as she squeezed past me in order to get to Emma. I wondered if anyone else noticed the sparks between us, because they felt out of control to me.
    “Where have you been?” Emma yelled over the loud club music. Elizabeth turned away from me and leaned in to whisper something in Emma’s ear. I wondered what lie she was telling her. Whatever it was, it seemed to work because Emma was suddenly serious. She nodded and shared a look with Shane, letting him know that she was ready to head home. I wondered what excuse Elizabeth had used for her early night.
    Without questioning Emma, Shane nodded. He obviously understood what she was getting at. In fact, they had probably already discussed this before we came out. Dollars to donuts they’d established some sort of signal. Damn them and their freakish, lovey-dovey, mind reading bullshit!
    “We should be heading back,” Shane called out as he finished his beer. “You guys coming or staying?”
    Rob and I looked at each other. I shrugged, indicating that I was down for whatever. Taking control of the situation, Rob answered, “We’ll stay.”
    We shouted our goodbyes and Emma made us promise to be quiet once we decided to come home. Another effect of having rugrats around. I kept stealing glances at Elizabeth, trying to get a read on her. I wanted to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay but I couldn’t, for that would surely raise some questions. Instead, I fought the urge to go and comfort her, and watched her walk away with Emma and Shane. I motioned for the bartender and ordered a couple of whiskey shots. I was quite oblivious to the world around me, lost in my own thoughts, until Rob punched my shoulder.
    “And I thought I was the stupid one,” he spat before quickly sucking back his shot.
    Confused, I rubbed the spot Rob had nailed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “Don’t play dumb with me, Tyler!” he shouted over the music. “I’m beginning to think that you’re the ‘idiot friend’ after all. You do far dumber shit than I could ever dream up.”
    I still didn’t know what Rob might be referring to. I knew what I hoped he wasn’t talking about, but I told myself there was no way he knew—and I wasn’t about to rat myself out. He rolled his eyes, annoyed with my cat and mouse game. “You’ve got a thing for Sloan girls don’t you?”
    I felt the blood drain from my face and I thought I was going to be sick. I’d promised Elizabeth no one would know about our momentary indiscretion, and I’d already broken that promise.
    “Seriously, Tyler, you have got to stop thinking with your dick,” Rob continued, his tone very matter of fact. “It does more harm than good. Take it from a professional. All it ever gets you is crabs … or the