As they sat at the table, Sophie expected the chipper woman to take their orders. Apparently, that wasn’t as important as catching up, so to speak. She’d have to get used to small town friendliness and the fact that everyone knew each other. “Hey Pippa, congratulations on the wedding coming up. I heard Asher is back in town. Is he coming tonight?”
Aha, that’s why the name Sutherland carried weight here. Not the pillar-of-the-community reputation from the senior Sutherlands, rather a devoted member of the Asher fan club. Pippa masked her groan with an overly perky smile. “Thanks. And yes, yes he is.”
Perky server with the big boobs nearly forgot to take their order, then remembered why they were here. “What can I get you ladies while you wait for the rest of your party?”
Freya ordered them a pair of pitchers, one of the hoppiest on the menu and a fruitier seasonal ale for variety, plus glasses for six. She added an order of nachos and wings and pretzels with cheese dip. And waters all around.
Scoping out the food at nearby tables, Sophie observed nothing more than ordinary tavern food. Nothing special. Music blasted from a modern electronic low-profile jukebox, currently playing Halsey. There were pool tables, darts, a few arcade games. All was as expected, standard tavern amenities, aside from the over-the-top hokey whaling décor… in the middle of a mountain town.
Nothing about Ahab’s made sense. “Why is this place so popular? I’m honestly not seeing anything extraordinary about it.”
Looking around, Pippa took in the scene as if for the first time. “It’s a little weird, I’ll give you that. There was a crazy article about it in The Stranger about twenty years back. A feature on Captain Ahab himself; how he settled here after his whaling days were done. Nearly as creative of a marketing scheme as the Bavarian themed tourist town of Leavenworth northeast of here, the article put us on the map and Ahab’s has become a bit of a cult-classic.”
Freya waved down their boys that were making their way through the crowd. “You can’t head up to the slopes without stopping here on your way home. There’s a curse to those who don’t pay their respects and toast the captain, or so goes the legend.”
Throwing his arms around an unsuspecting Pippa, Lincoln growled playfully as he embraced his fiancée. She squealed before she realized it was him and smacked him in the chest. She nearly fell out of her chair laughing.
Sophie felt Asher’s eyes on her as he approached. Silently, he pulled up a stool to sit in the corner next to her. Publicly, he acknowledged her with little more than a look and maybe a polite greeting, but, under the table, his leg pressed against hers like a magma-hot magnet. Even the small amount of denim-to-denim contact set her on fire, words and coherent thought flying right out the window.
Distracted, she didn’t notice Grady settling in opposite. He stretched his foot across and rested it on her stool footrest. Subtly, she kicked it as if she hadn’t noticed his foot was there. He politely apologized for the intrusion, and she politely apologized for not realizing his foot was there.
Perky-big-breasted-ex-lover of Asher’s suddenly appeared out of nowhere with the pitchers and glasses. She poured Asher’s until the glass overflowed, her eyes batting as she vied for his attention. “Hey Asher,” she gratuitously flirted as she leaned forward to give him a little extra attention with her impressive cleavage.
Lips tight in a forced polite smile, he acknowledged her, “Irene. Hey.”
Irene looked for a way around the table to get closer, but he was boxed in the corner. Tapping her foot as frustration overtook the poor thing, she finally gave up and walked away. Pippa rolled her eyes and poured beers for the rest of them.
Moments later, Irene reappeared with the snacks. And her phone number on a napkin. With a lipstick kiss under her number. She slid it across the table to Asher before waggling her curvy ass as she walked away.
With a curse under his breath, he stood from his stool, taking the napkin with him. Approaching Irene at the bar, he handed her back the napkin and whispered something in her ear. Irene’s face dropped and she looked so dejected.
He whispered again, and she hugged him and gave him a big, toothy grin before she let him walk away. Irene’s sudden change of heart made Sophie wonder what on Earth he’d said to her.
Staring at her brother like he was a total alien stranger, Lincoln manually closed Pippa’s gaping jaw. Sophie could just hear Lincoln telling Pippa, “Told you so.”
“Told her what?” Freya nabbed the cheesiest chip from the stack, loaded it with guacamole, and shoveled it in her mouth, leaning forward for a bit of juicy gossip.
Lincoln looked around, ensuring Asher wasn’t yet within earshot yet. “I think he’s seeing someone. Like, off the market.”
Grady shook his head, looking puzzled, “I thought he never left the house, who could he possibly be seeing?”
Freya bit her lip to hide her smile.
Pippa rolled her eyes and gestured none-too-subtly at Sophie. “Who cares, as long as he’s getting out and isn’t making moves on–”
As Asher approached, Pippa cleared her throat and changed course. “Starting work for Dad soon, right Asher?”
Sliding in the corner next to Sophie again, he returned to his stool. “That’s the plan,” he admitted as he cautiously sipped his full-to-the-brim beer, discreetly wiping the overflow off the saturated cardboard coaster.
Conversation strayed to varying topics, from the bizarre to the mundane. Freya came stocked with bachelor party games, but fortunately was easier to tame than her mother. “Okay, so no one wants to play Truth or Dare and a fat no on the Scavenger Hunt. Too bad, I had some pretty awesome clues planned.”
A combination of eyerolls and polite smiles aimed at Freya and her determination to play one of her well-researched party games. “Okay. Tough crowd. It was a long flight,” she sighed deeply in dramatic disappointment, but smiled and shrugged with an unshakable positivity. “How about Never Have I Ever? The version where you win if you’ve Never’ed the most. You know, whoever is the most innocent and gets to all ten fingers-of-innocence first is the winner. Not the drinking version; we’re too old for that nonsense.”
Pippa giggled, “But we’re not too old to compare inappropriate things we’ve done.”
Asher finally was able to take a full sip of his beer now that he’d drained off some of the excess head Irene had generously given him. Stomach acids churning, Sophie felt nauseous at the image that provoked. He swallowed the bubbly brew and raised his eyebrows at his cousin, “What are we, still in high school and trying to figure out who’s still a virgin and who has experimented with drugs?”
Pointing with his index finger around his own nearly drained seasonal brew rather haughtily at Asher, Grady looked a bit… irritated. “Afraid you’ll lose, frogman?”
Stiffening, Asher downed half his beer with a chug worthy of the most seasoned sailors. “I know I’m going to lose. More to the point, you afraid you’ll win, boy scout?”
“Sorry, that was the one activity my dear parents didn’t enroll me in. Try again,” Grady shrugged and set down his beer.
Topping off glasses for the table, Freya admonished the bickering pair before it escalated. “If you’re going to compare dick sizes, let’s do it properly. Sophie, you’re the only female unrelated to both contestants, care to be the judge? Let’s go boys.”
Sophie choked on her beer. “As appealing as that sounds, why don’t we just try a different game?”
Apparently, Grady was in full jackass mode. Sophie had never seen him act like this before. Nor Asher; he was sitting eerily still, but he looked like a bull ready to charge.
Grady extended a finger, heatedly watching Asher for his reaction, “I’ve never killed anyone.”
Growling, Asher puffed steam out of his nostrils. His jawbone was flexing a mile a minute, his arms tensing as he held back a well-deserved punch.
Sophie subtly reached down and put her hand on his vibrating knee. He wasn’t wrong; you didn’t push
a veteran on something like that. Especially as she suspected there was a little misplaced guilt embedded in his PTSD.
Wanting to avoid a fight, Lincoln quickly tried to tame things. “I’ve never smoked pot,” he extended a finger and smiled at his excellent life choice.
Most of the table now had one to two fingers extended. Not Asher.
Freya went next, considering, then nodded reflectively, “I’ve never sixty-nined. I may have to rectify that, but I just don’t understand the appeal. Why not take turns? Much more satisfying for everyone. But I’m not much of a multitasker.”
“Excellent point. It sounds like patting your head while rubbing your tummy.” Pippa considered for a moment, considering her Never. “I’ve never stolen anything.”
Knowing she had to participate, Sophie tried to come up with something. She wasn’t doing very well, only one finger extended. After being the grownup for six years with her aunt, she’d made the most of her brain-not-done-developing adolescent rebellion when she got to college.
This had been before she’d met Pippa, of course. A truly good-natured, cautious person, Pippa understood Sophie’s past but would never have been close with her during her tough years.
Trying to think of something Asher might be able to Never, she was stumped. “I… I’ve never done it outside.” She shrugged, hoping it would work.
Nope, still nothing. They went around a few more times. Asher refused to offer his own Nevers. Freya shook one of her many extended fingers at him, “Ash, Grady and Pippa here are about to win. You’ve got to come up with a Never of your own, cuz; you’re getting your ass royally kicked.”
He shrugged. “Fine. I’ve never been in love.” It almost looked like he’d been stewing on that one for a while but hadn’t wanted to share that personal little tidbit until he was forced.
A very short while later, game over. Asher lost hands down, no pun intended. Sophie didn’t feel so bad; she was only a few fingers behind him in the losing status.
Pippa tried to kick her under the table but didn’t realize they were so far apart and nearly tumbled off her stool. “Sophie, I can’t believe you failed so miserably at that. You were a naughty girl before I met you.” Not actually judgmental, she flashed a wicked smile at Sophie.
“I had to explore many of life’s offerings, good and bad, out of the clutches of my evil aunt, before I knew what I wanted for myself.” She raised the frosty glass in the air to toast a fond farewell to her past and drained the amber liquid, until she was down to nearly half what she’d started with. Was that like saying it was half full? She was so much more the optimist now than she’d been before meeting Pippa.
Without a change in expression, as he sipped his beer, Asher’s free hand joined Sophie’s under the table. With impressive subtlety, he slid his hand into hers so no one would notice. Her long fingers slid between his like they belonged there. The heat the simple gesture stirred was still such a new sensation, setting every nerve in her body on fire with arousal and comfort in an unexpected, cohesive combination.
Freya topped off the non-driver’s beers. “We should have had this at home, then we could play beer pong and I could watch you all get loose and tell me all your secrets.”
Asher snorted, a dark, thunderous veil covering his gaze. “Not sure you want all of them, cuz.”
Letting out a rich belly laugh, Lincoln teased, “And, I’m officially done with party games. I’m going to see where we’re at on the billiards waiting list.”
After a short wait, one of the requested pool tables freed up. Leaving it to teams of two, Sophie declined, knowing her skills would be rather pathetic compared to the others as they smack-talked about their impressive strategies. Never having much talent at billiards, she was more than happy to hang back. Asher had stayed pretty quiet after I Never and offered to wait for the next table.
Watching the others settle in at billiards, Asher scanned the room. Looking above them, he smiled when he saw the dart board over their heads. “Wanna play?”
Sophie glanced up, noticing the dart board for the first time. “You’re on.”
Releasing her hand, he rose from the table. Rubbing her fingers together reflexively, she felt cold at the loss of contact. He disappeared to the bar for a moment and returned with two sets of darts while she moved to claim the dartboard.
Hands gripping Sophie’s hips, looking helpful from afar, his thumbs caressed under the hem of her top as he backed her up to the line to start the game. Stepping out of the way with a wink and a devastating smile, he let Sophie go first. She let the dart fly.
Nailed it. The board anyway. The bullseye was a long way off. Or anything that carried any point value. Of her three darts, one of them actually scored a few points.
Not that they were playing competitively. Asher took her spot at the line and nailed a cluster right in the bullseye. Scowling at his perfect throws, she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to play darts anymore.
With a shrug, he pulled the darts from the board and handed hers back. “We won’t keep score,” he grinned.
They neither kept score, nor kept much conversation for a few rounds. Not awkward or anything, more companionable silence. He showed her a few pointers, and she actually made a few decent throws. Hand-eye coordination had never been her thing.
“Did you work at the hardware store with your dad growing up?” For the first time, Asher missed the dart board entirely.
Stalking to the dropped dart, he picked it up without a word and walked back over. “As little as possible. Wasn’t really my thing, and I was in a hurry to graduate from high school, getting ahead by taking classes at the community college, so I didn’t have much time to work.” Trying again, he nailed the next round of shots.
She knew she shouldn’t pry. It wasn’t polite. He just… he exhibited absolutely no enthusiasm for working in the hardware store. She hadn’t seen it yet but had heard it was pretty well-stocked with practical and high-end goods. “Is it your thing now?”
He shrugged again and scratched at a non-existent itch in his thick five o’clock shadow. “It’s a job. Sitting around the house is less my thing.”
Sophie nudged him and laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sit still at home. What would you do, if you could pick any job in town, what would it be? Mayor? Beautician? Mailman? Go back to school?”
As she wasn’t actively playing anymore, he stole her darts and threw them too, with a bit more fierceness than before. “I have no idea.”
Staring at him a moment, she tried to come up with a good occupation for him. “You’d make a good cop. Or an EMT.”
Asher pulled the darts from the board and went at it again. “I’ve thought about it. Not the EMT thing. The cop thing. But there’s no way in hell Old Chief Larson would even let me in the door. Unless I was in cuffs.”
A riotous laugh echoed from their friends at billiards. Somehow, drunk Pippa had hit her ball off the table and was crawling around on the disgusting floor looking for it.
“Oh boy, time to get these folks home. Who drove you guys?” She noted Lincoln was as red in the face with laughter as much as his fiancée. Freya looked to be a little less drunk, but only marginally.
“Grady drove. He’s only had one.” Together, they watched the scene unfold before attempting to clear their friends out… before any damage or irretrievable embarrassment occurred. Without taking his eyes away from the comical Three Stooges scene, Asher asked, “You want to round them up and figure out who’s sleeping where tonight?”
Standing side-by-side, both stalled before moving on the plan. This could prove interesting if any one of the group wasn’t ready to leave just yet. “I can do that,” she nodded.
Pippa popped up with the ball and let out a boisterous, “Woohoo.”
“And… that’s my cue.” Sophie mobilized to round up the inebriated troops.
Asher headed for the bar and gave his credit card to Irene. Sophie couldn’t help but like him even more, knowing he w
as paying for the whole night without asking for reimbursement or even letting anyone else know who settled the bill.
Although it turned out to be more difficult than herding cats, she finally rounded up the drunks. Not normally drinkers, they’d gone all out for the party and were total lightweights. Surprisingly, they were all pleasant when she announced it was time to go home.
She liked how they decided to spend the drunk part of the evening together. That’s how Lincoln and Pippa operated anyway. They tended to find the whole girls’ vs boys’ night out a bit weird.
Lincoln planned to come home with Pippa to hold back her hair when she inevitably puked, but it was going to be quite a contest to see who puked first. Grady offered to drive Freya home since they were the only ones not going to the Sutherland residence, but Sophie suspected it was also to avoid vomit in his car. No choice in the matter, Sophie rounded up the others to hop in her car.
A long, giggling drive later, fortunately without any up-chucking from the tipsy peanut gallery of two in the backseat, they pulled up to the house. Lincoln treated Pippa to a wobbly piggyback ride into the house.
Without the same enthusiastic pomp and circumstance, Sophie headed to bed, feeling suddenly very much alone. The drive home had been rough. Fortunately, the oblivious, twittering bachelor and bachelorette in the back seat didn’t catch the raging sexual tension of silence in the front seat.
Sophie sighed, considering the odd turn her heart had taken. She wanted to talk to Pippa, to tell her what she was feeling. So physically close to Asher these last few weeks, yet so far, it was becoming physically painful to not be able to touch him when they were near. Sophie was regrettably, agonizingly stuck without being able to act on that overwhelming yearning.
Judging by Asher’s tightly clenched fists and rapid pulsing of his jaw, he was suffering from similar affliction, struggling to abstain from acting on the powerful compulsion. He’d headed straight for the dimly lit pool to burn off the tension as the rest headed for bed.
All the Days After Page 10