Page 99 of Clinically Awkward

There was a long, horrible silence.

Then Gabriel said, “What time?”

“Seven o’clock,” Fitz said, grinning. “The Rusty Nail on Chapel Street.”

“I hate you,” Gabriel muttered.

“I’m only coming to protect Winnie,” Nathan said quickly.

“Same,” Hayden agreed. “This is entirely for Winnie’s benefit.”

They all looked at me.

I looked at Vivian, who was staring at us with an expression of pure horror.

“This is the worst decision I’ve ever made,” I said. “But I’m coming.”

“Excellent!” Fitz clapped his hands together. “Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”

“I hate you all,” Vivian sighed.

Fitz just grinned. “See you gentlemen tonight. We’re going to have a wonderful time.”

“We’re going to have a terrible time,” Gabriel corrected.

“A disaster,” Hayden muttered.

“The worst,” Nathan agreed.

“But we’re going,” I said, resigned to my fate.

“For Winnie,” Gabriel added.

“Absolutely for Winnie,” Nathan confirmed.

Fitz’s grin widened. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, lads.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Quinton

I knew this was a bad idea from the start.

I knew it.

But there I was at 7:03 PM, walking into The Rusty Nail with four idiots who were all pretending this was about protecting Winnie and not about watching Fitz implode in real time.

The bar smelled of stale beer, fried food, and poor life choices. ESPN blared from six different TVs mounted on the walls. A neon Budweiser sign flickered ominously in the corner, as if it were trying to communicate in Morse code: Turn back. Save yourselves.

“There he is!” Fitz announced, pointing across the room.

Colton Whitcomb sat at a high-top table near the bar, looking exactly as I remembered: all biceps, no brain, and a smile that suggested he’d never experienced a complex thought in his life.

“Fitz!” Colton stood up, grinning. “You made it!”

“Brought some mates,” Fitz said cheerfully. “Hope you don’t mind.”

I waited for Colton to object. To ask why his casual drinks had turned into a group expedition.