Free Plus None 2 by Emily Hemmer Page A

behind me and places his hand in the center of my back, unseen by the other two. His touch makes the whole situation worse. The lie about me expanding my business makes me feel dirty. I turn sharply, shaking his hand off. “It was a pleasure meeting you,” I say, nodding to Juan. I don’t turn around and say goodbye to Alex. Cadence can go fuck herself.
    I dig my cowboy heels into the earth and move toward the big house, glad for their stability. I may not be fancy, or connected, or have a college degree, but I’ll be damned if the one person in my life who I thought really saw me for who I am, is going to make me feel like a fool.
     

Chapter Six
    Forty-Two Days Until Walter Tries a Keg Stand at The Reception
     
    There comes a moment in everyone’s life when reality turns up uninvited, rolls it’s eyes at your naïve hopes and dreams then rears forward to slap the shit out of you.
     Watching Cadence lean into Alex, and whisper something in his ear, makes my cheek tingle. Her body is turned into his and her hand is on his chest. I’ve been alternating between anger, embarrassment, and hurt since walking away an hour ago. I’ve got to be content with a few stolen kisses behind the gazebo, standing on the sideline as Cadence touches and flirts with him. The whole scene makes me feel a little used and ashamed, and that pisses me off.
    Maybe I wasn’t making the best impression on his father but the way Alex jumped in felt like he was defending his interest in me to his father. It wasn’t something I was prepared for.
    The little group surrounding the two is probably having a good laugh at my family’s expense. Not that I blame them. Aunt Patsy has been making a spectacular show of flirting with Ken’s great-uncle Frank who’s ninety, wheelchair bound and absurdly rich. Cadence throws her head back in laughter, exposing a long, thin neck. Alex smiles, albeit reluctantly, and all at once, I transition from hurt back to anger.
    “Some party, huh?” My dad comes up beside me clutching a Pabst Blue Ribbon in one hand.
    I look away from Alex’s group and try to smile. “Hey Daddy.” I move in for a hug. He’s a world-class hugger and the love and acceptance I feel in his arms makes me feel a bit better. I look down when he pulls back and tries to get a good look at me. “Where on earth did you find a PBR in this place?” I motion to the beer in his hand, hoping to distract him.
    He winks and brings the can to his mouth, taking a drink. “Wendell brought a cooler of ‘em.”
    “Right. This isn’t Mexico you know. You can drink out of the tap. Especially when the tap is attached to a keg of Stella Artois.”
    Dad waves off the suggestion. “I’m not drinking anything I can’t pronounce.”
    Alex’s deep laugh recaptures my attention. Cadence seems incapable of keeping her hands off of him and Alex isn’t doing much to fight her off. A yanking sensation fills my gut with anxiety.
    “Uh-oh.” Daddy shakes his head somberly, taking another swig of beer.
    “Uh-oh, what?”
    “I’ve seen that look before.”
    “What look?”
    “The Jodie McCreary look.”
    “Huh?” Jodie McCreary was a cheerleader, an honor student, the class president, and a total slut-bag in school. I caught her giving my boyfriend, Jake Parish, a hand job in the parking lot of the Tasty Freeze. The following Monday she accused me of filling her locker with tapioca pudding to which I feigned both outrage and innocence. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal, if she hadn’t been standing so close to the locker when she opened it.
    “What does Jodi McCreary have to do with anything?”
     “The last time I saw you put that much effort into staring down a girl--” He gestures toward Cadence. “--she ended up being called Pudding Face for the next two years.”
    I suppress a smile. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Mmm-hmm. But as a suggestion, you might consider using Jello this time around.”
    I