Valentine's Day

Chapter 7

Maddie looked around the living room before leaning back on the comfy couch and closing her eyes. She could hear Larry and her mom talking in the kitchen. Her mom was attempting to cook, a feat Maddie knew wouldn't end in success. It was St. Patrick's Day and she was spending it at home with her family. Usually this time, she, Mason and their friends were hanging out at some bar, using the Irish holiday as a reason to sing off key loudly and be shitfaced drunk. the fact that she was spending the evening in with her parents was too depressing.

"Maddie, are you going to sit there moping the whole time?" her mom asked.

Maddie yawned before shrugging. "I'm not moping. I'm waiting for Liz to call me," she lied smoothly.

"Well why don't you call her?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Maddie asked

Her mother chuckled. "Yes. It's been awhile since Larry and I have had the house to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I love having you home but you need to go out. Call Liza..go out...have a beer. Hang out with people your age." 

"Oh all right," Maddie said getting off of the couch and heading to her room. She grabbed her cell phone from the charging pad and sat on her bed. "Don't answer, don't answer," she mumbled to herself as she listened to the ringing.

"Maddie?" Liza's voice answered.

Fuck, Maddie said to herself. "Oh hey Liza....what are you doing?" she asked noticing the music in the background.

"I'm out with Abbi and her husband and friends at Tailspin," came the reply.

Maddie tried not to be offended that her best friend hadn't invited her out. She reminded herself that she really didn't want to go out anyway. "Oh...who is Abbi?" she asked calmly.

"Abbi Peltier," Liza replied "You remember Abbi...she went to highschool with us. She was Walt's girlfriend."

Maddie did a quick mental rundown of all the girls her friend had as a teenager. She couldn't readily identify Abbi. "Oh yeah Abbi...what's she up to now?" 

"She got married to Tal Cooperman," Liza said.

Tal Cooperman? Maddie drew another blank. Utah apparently hadn't kept her in touch with people she was supposed to know. "That's great...Congrats! Well I was just seeing if you wanted to hang out tonight but since you're busy..."

"Come out with us," Liza said cheerfully "We're headed to Avalon for the ResQ water party. You have to come."

"Oh Lize," Maddie said looking at her sloppy reflection in the mirror. "I don't know."

"Don't say no," Liza pressed. "Trust me...you'll have fun. Come on...Avalon in an hour."

Maddie looked at the clock on the wall. 8:08pm...should she? Why not?

"I'll be there."

=======================

Brian had tried not to eavesdrop on Liza's conversation but he couldn't help but hear her say Maddie. It was a surprise but a good one. He thought he was pretty lucky when he showed up for dinner with the group and found Liza and her fiance' Jason planted next to Abbi  chattering away. He hadn't realized that two women knew each other. It was pure luck that Maddie happened to call while they were finishing up paying the bill.

"Brian, how come you didn't bring a date tonight?" Meaghan Baker asked breaking his into his thoughts.

Brian  gave a smirk to his best friend's wife. "You know Meg, I'm waiting for you to get over this fucker here," he pointed for good measure "Seriously, how he managed to catch a beauty like you with that ugly face is beyond me."

Knowing exactly how good looking he is, Zacky just shook his head and gave Brian the finger much to the amusement of the table.

"I've been trying to set him up with one of my friends from the gym, Annalise, for months," Val chimed in.

Brian shook his head and lifted his beer to pull a sip.

"What?" Val asked defensively "She was near perfect for you. And you didn't even give her a chance."

"Here we go," Johnny mumbled under his breath and everyone laughed.

"Val, I was married to your sister. You're supposed to be secretly pining for us to get back together," Brian explained "You're not supposed to be finding me another potential mate."

Val waved him off "Michelle is happier so she wouldn't care."

The choking sound Matt made everyone crack up.

"I don't get it?" Kelly Wackerman asked "Why would you need any help picking out a date?"

Brooks' eyes widened "Oh my God Kelly, you can't just people why they can't get a date," he mocked.

She playfully slapped at him. "No I'm serious. I want to know."

"Brian's been on a bit of a dating drought since his divorce," Matt explained.

"More like a self imposed hiatus," Brian tipped his beer at her. "I need to focus on the music and get my shit straight before I drag someone else into it."

"Annalise was perfect," Val said petulantly. "Smart, successful, beautiful—one of the sweetest women I've ever met—"

"She was very nice," Brian agreed.

"But you didn't call her after the one date," Val replied.

"I didn't call her because she took everything I said literally. You've got to admit, Val, that's just weird. And I made her so nervous she couldn't eat, not that she did much of it anyway. It was an act of mercy." 

"You do that to women. I know you try not to, but it still happens. It's your part of your image," she continued.

"All she'd have to do was sleep with him," Tal said "That would bring her crashing down to Earth. It would be a huge disappointment."

 A slow grin curled the corner of Brian's mouth. "I'll buy the huge part..." 

Abbi dropped her eyes to his crotch. "There are some things a man can't buy, no matter how rich he is."   

Everyone at the table laughed and Brian felt annoyed "What is this? Fuck with Brian night," he turned to Liza and Jason "Please excuse my friends, normally they aren't this fucking rude."

"We're just telling it like it is," Zacky said. "And you brought that shit on yourself not calling the girl."

"Well luckily I don't have to worry about that tonight," he replied but the look on Val's face said she had something else in mind. "Wait...Val? You didn't...."

Matt's dimples appeared with his wide grin as he took the check from the waiter and signed his name with a flourish. "Yeah...she did."

"Valary!" Brian said exasperated.

"Oh shush," Val said in a low tone as she stood and grabbed her purse. Everyone else laughed as they got up to leave the restaurant and head to the club. 

"Looks like you're going to get a date whether you want to or not," Johnny said as he fell into step with Brian. "Lucky you."

"Fuck you short shit," Brian said irritated.

"Aww," Lacey said with a look of pity on her face. "Seriously how bad can it be?"

How bad indeed.