She smiled. “I know this isn’t easy for you either. I just need time to adjust. Let’s skip the party and do something else. Somewhere quiet and dark.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me. Her smile was adorable and my heart raced.

“That sounds way better than any party.”

“Here you go.” Brianna set the cups on the counter. “Nice to meet you, Sutton.”

“Thanks, Brianna. Nice to meet you, too.”

“You’re so fucking charming.” Parker playfully elbowed me in the ribs. I almost spilled my coffee but it felt good to joke around.

“Oh, my God. You were talking to that gay girl.” Amanda looked repulsed.

Counting to five did nothing to curb my anger this time. “Her name is Brianna and she’s really nice.”

Amanda leaned back. “Relax, Sutton. I’ve known her for years and she’s weird.”

“Why? Because she’s gay?” I asked. Grayson and his entourage made gagging noises.

“She’s always been weird. Look at her hair. I bet she never showers. She always smells.” Kirsten waved her hand under her nose.

“Leave her alone. She’s fine,” Emilia said.

“She’s nice.” Parker’s voice was soft, but at least she said something. She held up her cup of coffee. “And she got my order right.”

Grayson laughed. “That doesn’t make her friend material. That means she’s great for the service industry. I still don’t want a lesbian making my coffee. She needs to bury that shit deep.”

I squeezed the back of the chair. “So, if she wasn’t gay, you’d be best friends with her, right?”

“Oh, God, no. She still stinks,” Grayson said.

“Well, I can smell your linebackers from here so I don’t think anyone here has room to talk.” My voice was clipped. I wasn’t backing down. Not from this. Not even for Parker. Sometimes things were bigger than worrying about fitting in for nine months.

“Burn!” Grayson pointed to his friends. “She’s not wrong. You should try soap during the showers instead of gaying it up with each other.”

“Shut up, man.” The one with the buzz cut pushed Grayson’s shoulder, pissed that the conversation turned to him.

“It doesn’t feel good, does it? People making fun of you,” I said. My stomach was in knots, but I wasn’t backing down.

Grayson held his hands up. “Okay, truce, QB, truce.”

“We should probably go,” Parker said. She picked up her empty smoothie cup.

I smiled at the group and batted my eyelashes. “Emilia, it was so nice to meet you. I’m glad Parker has you around.” I gave the rest of the table a bored look. “Nice to meet you all. Buh-bye.” I followed Parker. We walked in silence out to the parking lot. “I know I’m supposed to support you, but they’re horrible.”