... and Lite Beer

If you haven't read this morning's post yet, be sure to read that one first! Have a great weekend, everybody!

*****


After the game, which we lost terribly, the team headed upstairs for beers. I'm not sure if it was the physical outlet or the playful atmosphere during the game, but I finally started to shake off the blues that had been plaguing me. It was impossible not to laugh at Jay's outrageous flirting, dark humour, and foul-mouthed commentary. I felt lighter than I had in days.

The same couldn't be said for Reid, though, who had become increasingly sullen all game and now seemed to be  hellbent on sulking into his beer. Sarah would nudge him from time to time as if she was trying to snap him out of it, but all he would give in return was a wan twisting of the lips. It was the shoddiest imitation of a smile that I'd ever seen.

I couldn't believe how he was behaving. He was always quiet, but this was bordering on rude. After a while, he actually turned his body away from our conversation to watch the hockey game. At this, I caught Sarah's eye and gave her a questioning look, nodding towards Reid. She simply shrugged and shook her head as if to say, "Your guess is as good as mine."

When we both ended up at the bar to order  drinks later on, he didn't say a word to me and barely even acknowledged my existence. "What's up with you today?" I blurted out bluntly. I added, in a gentler tone, "I mean, you're being really quiet, even for you. Is everything okay?"

He sighed, with frustration or exasperation, I couldn't tell. "I'm just annoyed."

"Okaaaaaaaay," I replied. "Care to elaborate?"

He jutted his chin towards the table. "It just gets old after awhile."

I looked back over my shoulder. Ainsley, Rachel, Sarah, and the others were all laughing at some kind of story that Jay was telling. Judging by the wild gesticulating accompanying the story, it was either about riding a mechanical bull or trying to screw a large farm animal. "What gets old? Jokes? Laughter?" I looked back over my shoulder and added playfully, "Bestiality?"

He rolled his eyes. "Being best friends with Mr. Center of Attention."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're not... jealous of Jay are you?" I asked, tentatively.

"I'm not jealous," he said so emphatically that I could tell I'd hit a nerve. The bartender handed him his beer and he took a quick swig before continuing. "It's just that, ever since we were teenagers, girls fall all over him everywhere he goes. I could be chatting up a girl all night, then he would swoop in and the next thing I knew, she'd be going home with him. It gets fucking annoying being his sidekick. I swear to God, if I hear one more time about the irresistible combination of his tattoos and baby blues, I'm gonna puke!" He cut off his bitter diatribe and took a few  generous gulps of his beer. "It just gets really fucking old sometimes," he repeated.

I stood there silently for a moment, contemplating what he'd said. I could relate. Growing up, Rhiannon had always been the striking one. Awkward phase aside, I'd never been bad looking, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I'd been in her shadow. Several of the guys I'd dated in high school had been her cast-offs, who'd only noticed me once Rhi rejected them. It had sucked to feel like I was always the second round pick.

I mulled this over before I ventured, "Okay, but isn't there a pretty obvious exception to everything you've just said?"

"What exception would that be?" he challenged. "All of you are hanging on his every word."

"Uh, your wife. She obviously didn't let him swoop in and steal her," I pointed out.

He lifted a shoulder as if to concede the point, but continued to stare sullenly into his beer.

"Look," I continued. "I used to feel that way all the time with my best friend too. Guys would fawn all over her and I felt invisible. And I hated it too. But then, I realized that attention was actually less of a blessing than a curse."

Reid raised a skeptical brow.

"I'm serious," I insisted. "Because all of those guys that were hitting on her weren't seeing beyond the surface. They weren't interested in anything beyond her face and her body, and they treated her like that's all she was. Sure, way less guys noticed me, but at least when they did, I knew they were interested in me as a person and not just as an object." I heard myself starting to sound suspiciously like the Danny Tanner monologue at the end of an episode of Full House, so I simply wrapped up with, "Quality over quantity, my friend."

"I guess," he said, unconvincingly.

I had given my best impression of a nurturing, gentle person, but my patience and empathy for this mopey insecure bullshit was quickly depleting in the face of this shameless pity party. I rolled my eyes and took the tough love approach, "Reid, you need to get over yourself."

His face went blank with surprise.

"You have a gorgeous wife who loves you. Take a poll, nobody feels bad for you." He blinked, and I saw a flicker of hurt play across his face. Feeling a pang of guilt, I softened my tone. "Look, all I'm saying is, sure, he's the kind of guy that girls go home with for a night. But you're the kind of guy a girl falls in love with and goes home to for the rest of her life. Isn't that a million times better?"

He looked past me to the table for a long moment. When his eyes met mine again, he was smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Well that goes without saying," I said in an exaggerated cocky tone.

Reid chuckled. "You are wise beyond your years, Miss Matheson."

I shrugged with false modesty. "What can I say? I'm an old soul." I laughed before teasing, "You done moping now? Are you ready to come back to the big kid table?"

He smirked and gave me a shove, before turning to go sit with the group. As we walked back over, he paused. "Allie?"

"Yeah?"

He smiled. It was a different smile than I'd ever seen before. It carried no hint of sarcasm or a joke. It was the kind of smile that's shared between good friends. "Thanks."

I grinned back and patted him on the shoulder. "Anytime."