I peered at him for a few moments before I recognized him. “Oh, Jon. Hey. Thank you.” I desperately wanted to check my phone, but I didn’t want to be rude. “Enjoying the party so far?” My voice went up by several octaves.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool to see everyone dressed up. Is your voice okay? Sounds kind of strained.”
“Oh. Yeah. It’s fine.” I cleared my throat. “You’re not drinking tonight?”
“No. I prefer to stay sober. I have to drive home, anyway.”
“Makes sense. We both live pretty far out, don’t we?” I felt a pang of guilt when I remembered the stunt that I pulled the week before. “Look, Jon, I’ve been meaning to apologize for asking you to join us for lunch the other day. It was really sneaky of me, and I shouldn’t have done it.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m over it. Besid
