Rum & Coke

by Kimberly Knight

  Fuck.

  Before I could think any more about it, there was a knock on my door. As I walked out of my room toward the door, Colton was sitting in front of the TV, baseball in hand and watching a new episode of PAW Patrol. We were making progress, little by little, and when he stopped obsessing over something I thought we could never shake, it amazed me. It made me wonder what the future had in store for Colton and me.

  Looking through the peephole, I saw it was Sophia. “Morning,” I greeted her as I opened the door.

  She looked me up and down. “Are you wearing that?”

  I looked down at my black Chuck Taylors, capri jeans, and Giants T-shirt—a jab at Vinny because not only did it rep the Giants, but it mentioned their number of World Series wins, which was currently higher than the Dodgers’. Plus, there was a game today. “Yeah, what’s wrong with this?”

  She entered and patted Colt on the head, saying hello to him before turning back to me. “You need to show your boobs.”

  I chuckled and closed the door. “He’s seen them.”

  “I know that, but you need to dress better for your date.”

  “It’s not a date.”

  She turned to face me. “Are you sure?”

  “Who brings someone to a shooting range with his friends for a date?”

  “His friends will be there?”

  I smiled. “Yes. They’re the ones who are going to teach me how to shoot.”

  “That’s a shame.”

  “A shame that I need to protect myself?”

  She shook her head slightly. “A shame he hasn’t had the balls to take you on a proper date.”

  “Sophia!” I scolded and motioned with my head toward Colton.

  She waved me off. “He’s watching his program. He’s not paying attention to us.”

  She was right. When he watched his cartoons, he was zoned out like any kid his age. Before I could say anything further, there was another knock on my door. I knew it was Vinny, and after checking in the peephole to make sure, I opened the door with a huge grin on my face.

  He smiled and then looked down at my T-shirt, causing his smile to fade instantly. “All right, I see how this is going to go down. You better clear some space because Dodger blue is about to fill up your world.”

  I cocked my hip, resting my hand on it. “Think again. I only bleed orange and black.”

  Tessa was trying to kill me.

  Okay, not really, but I knew she was wearing a Giants tee to ruffle my feathers. It was sure as shit working too. The Dodgers and Giants rivalry was a big deal, but it wasn’t unheard of for friends or couples to support rival teams; it made it fun. But I wanted to see Tessa in Dodger blue. Honestly, I wanted to see her in nothing.

  After saying a quick hello and goodbye to Colton and Sophia, I drove Tessa to the shooting range where I had set up an hour of shooting with Gabe and Paul. They were both going to be there because Paul was training for an undercover mission or something. The guy had a nasty habit of revealing just enough to make you confused, but then telling you he couldn’t tell you any more details because it was top secret—just like he did when he told me he was getting married to an FBI agent. He’d also quit S&R, and that made me take a step back when it came to Tessa and me because both Gabe and Paul had quit because of women.

  The night before when I’d picked Tessa up at Red Diamond, she’d asked me what we were doing—meaning us. I wasn’t sure, but I knew I wanted to keep getting to know her and not quit S&R. Saddles & Racks was more to me than just having fun with clients; it was a way to make the money I needed to live the fun life I had. Sure, I could survive on my teacher’s salary, but I also loved being able to go wherever I wanted on a whim. If I only had my teacher’s salary, I’d live paycheck to paycheck and have to save money to afford any vacation.

  “Have you ever shot a gun?” Tessa asked as we got closer to the range.

  “Nope,” I replied.

  “Are you going to today?”

  “Yep.”

  “Do you think the Giants will win today?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you only giving me one worded answers because you’re mad at me?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s not the first time you’ve seen me in Giants attire.”

  “So?”

  Tessa chuckled. I was just messing with her. I wasn’t really mad or using one worded answers on purpose. It had just come out that way.

  When we pulled up to the cement building, Gabe and his fiancée, Autumn, were getting out of Gabe’s Yukon. Tessa started to open the passenger side door but stopped. “Is that his fiancée?” she whispered, looking over at me.

  “Yep.”

  “Now’s not the time for your one-worded answers Vincent.”

  “Why?”

  She rolled her blue eyes. “Because you didn’t tell me that I was coming to hang out with the fiancée.”

  “Why’s that a problem? Autumn’s cool.”

  “Do you forget how we met?” she asked, motioning with her hand between us.

  A lightbulb went off in my head. “Oh. I don’t think she’ll care.”

  “Does she know?”

  I shrugged. No one had said anything to me. In fact, I hadn’t heard from Gabe much since the night of his bachelor party a little over two months ago. I had my class, dates a few times a week, and I was spending time with Tessa. He and Autumn were probably banging every second of every day in conjunction with planning a wedding and the arrival of their baby. The older you got, the busier you got.

  “I don’t want to be confronted by the fiancée, Vinny. That’s not cool.”

  “Why do you think she’ll do that?”

  Tessa sighed and shook her head slightly. “Because women always blame other women when, in fact, it was the men—or in this case, the friend—who hired me.”

  “Autumn knows what Gabe and Paul used to do for a living—”

  “Use to do? Paul doesn’t anymore?”

  “No. They both quit the game because of the women in their lives.”

  Tessa stared at me, not saying anything. Did she want me to quit? Did she want to be with me? Like, truly be with me as boyfriend and girlfriend and not friends. She was starting to become one of my best friends, but at the same time, I didn’t know how to do the boyfriend thing other than pretending when I was on dates, and I just had to do that a few hours at a time.

  “Let’s just go inside. I’m telling you that Autumn’s cool. She’s also pregnant, so I doubt she’ll start something with you.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “Just come on, Tess. I promise not to let anything happen to you. If she starts to get upset, I’ll step in and remind her it’s not your fault and you were only doing your job. Plus, nothing happened.” Shit, nothing had happened with us, and I’d spent more time alone with this woman than I had with any other woman in my entire life, including my ten-year relationship with Shelby.

  “Promise?”

  “Yes. Let’s go. Paul’s already here. That’s his Jeep.” I pointed at it parked on my side of the SUV.

  “Okay.”

  Tessa finally opened her door, and I followed. We walked inside and were welcomed by my friends, plus two other people I didn’t know.

  “What’s up, man?” Paul greeted as he gave me a bro hug consisting of a strong handshake and a pat on the back.

  “Hey,” I replied and then turned to Gabe and gave him the same hug. “Thanks for doing this.”

  “No problem,” Paul stated. “Vin, this is my Joss and her best friend, Seth. They’re here for—”

  “Practice,” Joss cut in and glared at Paul as she extended her hand toward me. I got the impression she was used to the guy not being able to keep his mouth shut.

  “Nice to meet you,” I replied, and we all shook hands.

  I turned to Tessa. “This is Tessa. Tessa, you remember Gabe and Paul.” She waved hello, and so did they. “This
is Autumn, Gabe’s fiancée, and like you heard, Seth and Joss.” She shook hands with them too.

  “Now that we got the formalities out of the way,” Paul chimed in, “it’s time to show this little lady how to shoot.” He turned and went to the counter with Gabe, but we didn’t follow.

  Autumn stepped toward Tessa. “Gabe told me that you had a stalker the other night.”

  I looked to Gabe, wondering how he knew. He motioned his head in Paul’s direction, and it clicked.

  “I’m not sure if it’s a stalker,” Tessa replied. “But someone followed me when I left work the other night.”

  “Where do you work?” Joss asked. “I can maybe look into it when I’m done with the case we’re working on.”

  “You’re a cop?” Tessa asked.

  “FBI actually.”

  “I’m a cop,” Seth stated. I knew he was here to help, but I assumed he was with the FBI too.

  “Thank you, but I already contacted Vegas Metro, and they’re supposed to be following up,” Tessa informed them.

  “If they don’t, or it happens again, let me know,” Joss said.

  Tessa smiled at her. “I will. Thank you.”

  “Where is it that you work?” Autumn asked again.

  Tessa turned her head to look up at me, and I grinned at her. I assumed Autumn would be okay with it given she knew all about S&R and the fact that I still worked there. Shit, how was it possible that I was in a group of people that consisted of two former male escorts, an FBI agent, a cop, a stripper, a current male escort, and a—well, I didn’t know what Autumn did. She used to be a housewife, but I knew that she now helped Gabe and Paul with their self-defense classes.

  “Red Diamond,” Tessa replied.

  “The strip club?” Autumn asked.

  Tessa nodded, and I placed my arm around her, letting her know I was going to live up to my promise. Paul and Gabe came back with target sheets and whatever else we needed.

  “Were you the stripper from the bachelor party?” Autumn questioned.

  Tessa peered up at me again. “Yes?” It came out like a question, and I knew it was because she was nervous to admit the truth.

  Autumn smiled and punched Paul in the arm. “This jackass said they were only going camping. I found out when Gabe got home that they’d hired you.”

  “Are you mad?” I asked, stepping in.

  Autumn chuckled. “No, I’m not mad. Paul has a big mouth, but not when it comes to strippers apparently.”

  “Good to know,” Joss chimed in.

  “Gorgeous, I don’t need to hire strippers anymore. I’ve got you,” Paul replied and pulled her in for a hug.

  “Now that we know what everyone does for a fucking living, I’m going to go shoot some targets,” Seth cut in and started to walk away after snatching a sheet out of Paul’s hand.

  “Me, too,” Gabe agreed.

  “Let’s pick out a gun for you to use,” Autumn said, and motioned for Tessa to follow her to the counter.

  Before Tessa stepped away, I leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Told you she was cool.”

  “Yeah, but I have a feeling there’s a joke about walking into a bar somewhere in this situation.”

  I laughed. “Fuck yeah, there is.”

  Three escorts, a stripper, a housewife, and two law enforcement officers walk into a bar … Yep, don’t see that every day.

  Tessa stayed with the girls to pick out a gun, and I went into the back with the guys. Apparently, since Gabe and Paul held their classes here, the fee for the hour was put on their tab. I was cool with that. When I’d called Paul yesterday and told him the situation, he told me he’d take care of everything and he and Gabe would meet us here. Didn’t know the entire gang would be here minus my boys, Brad and Nick. Like Gabe and Paul, they were ex-military. I was the odd man out in the group, but if that dude Galen called Mark and got hired, I would no longer be surrounded only by military men talking about wars. There was nothing wrong with that, but I didn’t have any war stories to share. I didn’t know Galen’s story, other than he wanted to become a fireman. Plus, Gabe and Paul were out of the game, and we needed more in the group.

  “Saturday.”

  “Saturday, what?” I asked, looking at Paul.

  “That’s the day Joss and I are getting married,” he replied, clipping a target into place.

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “Well, shit. Now I need to change my date to Sunday.”

  “You’re still escorting?” Gabe asked.

  “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  He looked at me as though he were confused. “Tessa. She’s okay with that?”

  I chuckled. “We’re not dating.”

  “You aren’t?”

  “No.”

  “Vin’s scared to pull the trigger,” Paul stated.

  “It’s not like that,” I corrected. “We’re just friends.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Gabe laughed. “See how being friends with Autumn turned out?”

  I nodded. “Situation’s different though.”

  “While not all relationships are the same, it’s clear you both want each other. I can tell that just by being in the same room as you two with your dreamy looks toward each other. It will happen.”

  “And I’ll have to quit S&R.”

  “Take a break,” Gabe suggested. “If it doesn’t work out with her, then you can go back.”

  “I need to talk to Tessa,” I confessed.

  “Then do it.”

  “Take her to my wedding,” Paul chimed in.

  “Do you three talk like this all the time?” Seth cut in.

  We all turned to look at him.

  “What do you mean?” Gabe asked.

  “Like chicks braiding each other’s fucking hair. I used to live with Joss, and she wasn’t even as bad as you three.”

  Paul slapped him on the back and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s because you haven’t found your girl yet.”

  “I’ve only been in love once, and I have no desire to ever fall in love again.”

  “Young love is just the beginning, man,” Paul stated. “Once you find the one worth fighting for, you won’t give up if shit hits the fan. Look at Joss and me. She thought her past and being FBI would turn me away, and it didn’t.”

  “Look at Autumn and me,” Gabe went on. “I literally fought her husband for her.”

  All three of the guys turned to me, and I shrugged. “I got nothin’.”

  “You will,” Gabe stated. “It’s only a matter of time for the both of you.”

  “How the fuck do you know?” I asked.

  Gabe chuckled and grabbed Paul’s shoulder and squeezed it. “Because the night of my bachelor party, I told this fucker that someday soon some woman was going to barge into his life and he wouldn’t know what to do without her. A few weeks later, Andi, aka Joss, showed up on his doorstep ordering him to let her inside.”

  Their stories were nothing like ours. She wasn’t married or asking to move in with me. We were just doing our thing and getting closer with each passing day.

  Seth and I looked at each other and chuckled. “You’re so full of shit, Gabe,” I stated.

  “Okay.” He grinned. “When something goes down with you and Tessa, you owe me a grand.”

  “Speaking of a grand,” I said, thinking about the fact that Tessa’s boss wanted her to go with him to a fight tomorrow night. “Since you’re getting married on Saturday, what are we doing for a bachelor party?”

  Paul shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “We can’t do nothing,” I stated.

  “Yeah,” Gabe agreed. “Not after you stripped me down to my boxers and made me run in the fucking woods with you all shooting paintballs at me.”

  Paul laughed. “That was epic.”

  “And I warned you that paybacks are a bitch.”

  “We don’t have time to do anything,” Paul stated back to Gabe.

  “We can go to
the fight tomorrow,” I suggested.

  “What fight?” Seth asked.

  “Steven “The Predator” Williams versus George “The Thunderstorm” Campbell,” I replied. So, I might have gone home after dropping Tessa off and looked into what fight she was going to. I had to admit, I was a little jealous that she was going out with another man, even if it was her boss. “At the arena. There are tickets still available.”

  “I’m in,” Gabe agreed.

  “Me, too,” Seth replied.

  “I’ll get Nick and Brad to come, too,” I said. “It will be fun.”

  “It’s not paying you back for my shit,” Gabe stated. “But going to a fight does sound like fun, and I’ll have plenty of time to pay your ass back.”

  Paul shrugged. “All right. Let’s do it.”

  The arena was huge, but that wasn’t going to stop me from accidentally running into Tessa and her boss.

  Watching Tessa shoot a gun was hot. There was something about watching her handle a firearm that was badass and it made me hard watching her be strong and self-reliant. I loved it. Plus, she was a decent shot, and I knew if anything were to happen, she’d be able to defend herself. But then, when we were done, she wasn’t ready to purchase a gun. I understood. Guns weren’t my thing either unlike all of our other friends. So, Tessa settled on getting pepper spray from Autumn, who had a supply she sold to her class.

  Since Tessa had to go on a date with her boss the next night, I took her straight home after the range because she still needed to buy a dress for the fight. A high profile match brought out all the celebrities and power players, so people dressed up if they were in the decent seats where cameras might see them. Since she said she had to get a dress, I knew they had good seats.

  So, that meant I had to get the boys and me good seats too.

  Before I walked away from Tessa’s door, I asked her to be my date for Paul’s wedding. She was the only one I wanted to go with, and she was already getting along with everyone who would be there.

  “Now that you’re cool with Autumn and Joss, want to go to Paul and Joss’s wedding with me on Saturday?”

  Her blue eyes widened. “Yes!”

  I grinned. “I mean as my date, Tess.”

  “Like a real date?”