Page 6 of Yours for the Weekend

“Oh, shit. My bad,” she says. “I have to introduce you guys. That was Lily.”

Lily! The infamous Lily. I finally get to meet her. I’m so excited, but then … oh, my god. That was Lily. The gorgeous redhead with big tits was Casey’s sexual awakening and ongoing casual friend with benefits?

Oh. Oh, fuck .

Okay. No big deal. I’ve been wanting to meet her. Aside from the sexual aspect of their dynamic, I know they are friends first and foremost with almost two decades of history. This doesn’t have to be weird.

But also, oh, my god. Did Casey and I almost kiss? We did, didn’t we? I discreetly glance at her, she catches me and smiles.

I blush at getting caught. She doesn’t wait for me to return her smile before turning back to the water. We’re gliding at an uncomfortably fast speed before she slows down, and she eases into the dock.

My breathing is all funky as realization prickles across my skin.

We definitely almost kissed. Again . And now we’re not talking.

Is it an awkward silence, or is she just focused?

She did smile at me after all, and we weren’t far from her house, so it’s not like we’ve gone that long without talking.

Fuck. I am way overthinking this. I need to chill out.

For all I know, nothing was going to happen, and I’m reading into nothing.

Yes. That makes more sense. Hell, it’s only been two hours since we agreed to forget last night ever happened and to not move forward with her offer.

“She’s only a few houses down, so we’ll just walk over, if that’s okay?” Casey asks, after tying up the boat.

“Yeah. Cool. No problem. Sounds good!”

Oh, my god. Stop talking.

Casey nods, frowning slightly. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” I squeak, not at all convincingly, but hold my arm out. “Lead the way.”

Casey hesitates then does.

It’s not hard to know which house is Lily’s even if I didn’t remember it from kayaking with Casey last night.

The lawn is swarming with people. The same man is standing at the grill, a beer in hand, while laughing with two other men also dressed in khakis and polos.

There are people sitting in every Adirondack chair surrounding the fire pit, hands filled with either plates of food or red solo cups.

There’s a roar of cheering from the beer pong table.

“Casey!” Lily shouts and runs over to greet us. She swallows Casey in a hug so big, they start rocking side to side. My chest tightens.

They pull back, but they’re still gripping one another’s arms. “Lily, this is my best friend, Dakota. Dakota, this is my best friend, Lily.” Casey doesn’t look at me as she says this, her eyes still locked with Lily’s. “I’m so glad you two finally get to meet. It’s so long overdue.”

“Dakota! It’s great to finally meet you,” Lily says, and, after another excruciating moment, she peels her gaze away from Casey and turns to me.

I stand taller, my mouth splitting into a small but proud smile at knowing Casey has talked about me enough to leave an impression in Lily’s mind. I know they’re close, but I always forget how close.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I say.

Lily turns back to Casey. “How’re things with Marcus? ”

Casey rolls her eyes. “We broke up.”

“Awh, that’s too bad.” She sounds sincere, but doesn’t look it. In fact, she licks her lips all suggestively while scanning Casey up and down so fast you could miss it if you weren’t staring at her. Not that I’m staring at her.

“Lily, you’re up!” A Black scrawny guy in a backward baseball cap calls from the beer pong table.

“Perfect timing!” Lily grabs Casey’s hand and pulls her toward the table. “The dream team is back together. It’s time for some revenge!”

Casey chuckles, then glances over her shoulder to check on me.

I wave her ahead and follow behind. Several people greet Casey with tight hugs and loud laughs.

Case pulls me forward with a hand on my lower back and introduces me to everyone.

I politely wave and smile, but I know I won’t remember a single name.

I don’t care if I’m a teacher, if my school didn’t require all students to wear name tags, I’d be screwed.

“You ready to get your ass kicked?” A tall, muscular guy, who I guess is Lily’s brother by their similarities and bright red hair, asks Casey.

“Keep talking shit,” Lily says and wraps her arm around Casey’s shoulder. “It makes winning so much sweeter.”

Casey grins as she slides her arm around Lily’s waist.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Lily says as they squeeze each other into another hug.

“Me too,” Casey says, and my heart constricts.

“Sick tattoo.” A soft voice says to my left, and I startle. Oh, it’s the cute butch I couldn’t help but notice during Casey’s introductions. I think her name is Madison—Miranda? Something with a M— shit. I forgot.

She has shaved sides and long messy brown hair that looks a little greasy on top. She’s wearing an open striped short-sleeve button-down with a navy sports bra underneath and board shorts.

“Thank you!” I instinctively hold up my right arm so she can get a closer look at my half sleeve.

I got my first tattoo on a whim after coming out to my parents.

My mom hates tattoos—since our body is “God’s temple,” she’s disgusted by the idea of a person desecrating themselves.

I got a peony flower in honor of my grandmother, who openly criticized organized religion.

Weekends at her house, watching Jeopardy and eating lasagna are my favorite childhood memories.

Unfortunately, my mother cut off contact with grandma for putting “rebellious ideas” in my head when I was eight. I tried to reconnect with her after moving out, but my grandma died before I was fifteen, and I had no idea. So these peonies are for her.

Our own private little rebellion.

“Do you want to play winner?” Marissa asks.

“Um. Sure,” I say because I do love to play beer pong even if my preferred partner is unavailable. I guess it’ll be fun to play with McKenzie.

“We got next!” she announces to the group.

“You won’t have to wait long.” Lily’s brother sinks his next shot, and Lily curses.

Casey catches my eye and looks between Maya and me and cocks a curious eyebrow. I discreetly shake my head.

“I’m grabbing another. Want one?” Mindy holds up her can.

“Um. I’m okay. Thanks.”

“You sure?” Her smile is charming, I’ll give her that.

“Yeah. We went a little hard yesterday, so I’m taking it easy. At least until later.” I chuckle.

“I respect that. ”

Casey makes a cup. Lily wraps her hand around Casey’s bicep, squealing in celebration. Lily has used every excuse to touch her. They make a cup? Celebratory hug. Miss a cup? A consoling rub on the back.

I roll my eyes.

Meredith laughs at something one of her friends says, and the sound is nice.

It’s melodious and light, and the kind of laugh that makes you smile even though you can’t hear the joke.

And you know what? Maybe I should get my flirt on.

Casey clearly is. It’s obvious I was overthinking things on the boat.

Nothing was going to happen, and it shouldn’t.

I said so this morning. I won’t risk our friendship.

But I also can’t stop staring as Casey laughs at everything Lily says with a weird knot in my belly.

“Who do you think is going to win?” I ask Mabel once she’s back at my side. She’s standing so close to me, our shoulders keep grazing each other.

“Definitely Landon and Trev.” Her grin is bright, not fading an inch, and I have to admit she’s really cute. Now I just need to figure out her damn name and remember it this time.

Casey glances over in our direction with narrowed eyes and a frown. That’s weird. I check over my shoulders, trying to figure out what or who Casey is glaring at, but don’t notice anything unusual.

“How do you know Casey?” she asks.

“We met in college playing for a queer kickball league,” I say. “This is really cool. I’ve been here a few times with her before, but I haven’t met any of her lake friends yet.”

“Damn, really?” She goes on to tell me how she knows everyone, but I’m only half listening.

Casey and Lily whisper to one another. The corner of Casey’s mouth ticks up in a smile.

They’re waiting for their opponents to figure out what rerack they want, and the back of Casey’s hand bumps into Lily’s.

Lily interlaces their fingers, and Casey doesn’t pull away. The ocean roars in my ears.

“Dakota?” Margaret asks for what doesn’t sound like the first time.

“Huh? What?” I peel my gaze away from Casey and Lily and look at the cute girl I should be paying attention to. “I’m sorry. Actually, on second thought, can I have a seltzer?”

She hesitates, studying me curiously, then slowly says, “Sure. I’ll grab you one.”

There are cheers from the beer pong table, immediately followed by heavy groans. Lily’s brother high-fives his teammate as they celebrate their win. Casey groans as Lily dejectedly drops her forehead onto Casey’s shoulder. Casey wraps her arm around Lily’s hip, and Lily leans into the embrace.

Fuck. I’m going to need something stronger than a seltzer.