“I do.”

“She’s the investment manager.” Carly tells him and he tips his head to the side as he studies me.

“You’re a little young to be in that job.”

I pretend not to have heard him because I seriously hate when guys say things like that–I mean if I had a penis, I doubt they would feel the same.

“So, what do you do?” Leah asks him.

“I work in shipping.”

“Shipping?” I know she’s frowning without even looking at her.

“My company ships high value items all over the world.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“It’s mostly me sitting at a desk making calls and doing paperwork. What about you, what do you do?”

“I work for Vanderbilt.” She tells him and I barely hold back a laugh because only my best friend would be so nonchalant about the fact that she’s actually a doctor at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States.

“Cool.” He takes his attention off us when someone shouts his name and I look across the bar and watch two guys walk our way. When I look back at Matthew, who is starting to get up, and moving Carly who is still standing between his legs, so she doesn’t stumble.

“Hey, guys.” He greets his friends with handshakes and pats on the back, then motions to us three girls.

“Willow, Leah and–” he wraps his arm around Carly’s waist, “my girl Carly. Ladies this is George and Lev.”

I give both guys a small wave. Soon all the guys seem to forget we exist and start to talk amongst each other, so us three girls group together at the edge of the bar and watch the band. Like most of the bars downtown that hire artists to come in and play, they put their own spin on popular country songs making it easy for people to sing along and want to stay a while. After some time, Matthew and his friends come over to join us and I can tell by Carly’s demeanor that she’s happy to have his attention back.

As the music plays, I look at Leah and notice that she looks a little pale.

“Are you okay?”

“I actually have a headache.” She squints at me. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

“What’s going on?” Carly asks, leaning into us to hear over the music.

“Leah has a headache.”

“Please don’t leave me.” She latches onto my arm, and I feel her fingers dig into my skin through my jacket.

“Stay.” Leah grabs my attention. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” She glances between Carly and me. “You guys have fun.”

“Okay.” I give in. “But I’ll wait with you outside until your car arrives.”

“Fine, Mom.” She rolls her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” I tell Carly after Leah says goodbye to everyone.

“Promise you’re not leaving me.” Carly grabs my hand when I start to walk away with Leah.

“Promise, I’ll be right back.” I give her a reassuring smile then take Leah outside and wait with her on the sidewalk until her Uber arrives, then give her a hug. “Text when you’re home.”