She nods and walks out of the bar.
I hear Cillian sigh. “Game nights with her boyfriend and friends, a surprise dinner or some shit tonight, and you’re thinking you have a chance? This girl is gonna use those high ass heels of hers to pierce your heart.”
“London’s not malicious.”
“I didn’t say she was. I like her. She seems like a cool chick, and she’s not even gonna realize she’s hurting you because you’re lurking in the back. I say, either lay it all out there and let her know how you feel, or leave it the hell alone.”
“Oh, now you think I should tell her?”
“You’re playing the friend card, Royce. A flirty friend, but friend nonetheless. She’s gonna stay with her boyfriend, and you’re gonna be there to witness every moment of it. You’re actually putting yourself in the friend zone. Look, there’s still the potential of you getting hurt, but you should probably let her know you really like her and are looking for something to happen between you. She’ll either say no and break your heart, or she’ll hear you, break it off with whatshisface, and try things with you. But if you keep acting like you just wanna be her friend, she’ll never make a move.”
I let out a sigh. “I hear ya.”
“I hear ya, too,” Midge says, creeping up out of nowhere.
Cillian laughs and takes a drink.
“Midge, what the hell?”
“Calm down, Royce. I’m on your side.”
I look past her and don’t see Jon and Daniel anymore. They must’ve left, so she inched her way over here while I wasn’t paying attention.
“Cill’s right, and I have an idea.”
“I have some plans of my own.”
“And how long are you gonna wait to put them in motion?”
I take a deep breath. “All right. What’s your plan?”
When I step out of the noisy bar and onto the silent street, I look to my left and right, waiting for Hunter to drive up. It takes a couple of minutes, but soon he pulls up and leans over the console to open the passenger door for me.
“Hey,” I greet, climbing in and closing the door to his giant Ford F150.
Hunter kisses my cheek before driving off. “Thanks for meeting me. I know you enjoy your nights with your friends.”
“Well, I enjoy my nights with you, too.”
He gives me a small smile. “This was a last-minute thing, but I thought you’d want to come.”
I tense, unease expanding in my stomach, because it doesn’t sound like it’s a date night he planned. “Where are we going?”
“All the guys are over at Creaking Creak.”
My mouth falls open. “We’re meeting your friends for coffee?”
Whenever he and his friends go to Creaking Creak, all they do is drink coffee, order large cinnamon rolls or some other type of food that’s not really a meal, and periodically go outside to smoke. It’s never fun, at least not for me.
“Well, you can order some food, too,” he says with a laugh.
I try to suppress my anger. “You pulled me away from a bar with my friends so we could meet with your friends to have coffee?”
He surveys me with a furrowed brow. “Are you mad?”
“Hunter, seriously? Why would you think I’d want to go to this?”
“I thought you said you enjoyed your nights with me.”
“Yes, you and me. Not you, me, and your friends. Have you realized that when we’re all together, I barely talk to anyone? You talk to me when you’re not deep into a conversation with them, and occasionally Ryan will speak to me. Everybody acts like I’m intruding on a boys’ only club meeting.”
“That’s not true. They love you.”
I throw him a look. “I thought you were gonna take me to dinner or something. Something just for us. We spend more time with your friends than we do alone together. When I invite you over, you tell me you have plans with your friends. When you don’t have plans, and I suggest dinner, you want to invite your friends.” I shake my head, frustration building.
“We can still have dinner,” he says, his voice becoming a little softer. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”
I cross my arms and glare at the passing buildings from the passenger window. I’m sure I look like a pouting child, but I don’t have it in me to care right now.
The ten-minute drive is filled with nothing but silence. When he parks in front of the restaurant, I can see through the windows and already spot his friends drinking their coffee and throwing their heads back in laughter.
I reach for my purse and grab a couple of Advil to prepare myself. “You owe me one,” I tell him.
“Okay,” he replies.
“On Friday, I’m inviting some friends over for food, drinks, and games. You’re gonna be there.”
He moves to react but I pin him with a look. “If I have to hang out with your friends all the time, you can hang out with mine, too. It’s only fair.”
“Okay, fine.”
He hops out of the truck and comes around to open my door. He extends his hand and helps me out of the too tall truck and gives me a smile. “We don’t have to stay for long.”
“Okay.”
“I still can’t believe he took you away from me just to go have coffee with his lame ass friends,” Midge complains as she helps me make food for the party.
I sigh. “I can’t tell you how pissed I was. I was so mad, I just went silent and stewed in my anger.”
“Well, it gave you a card to play. Now he can’t get out of coming to this party.”
“That’s true, but I’d have rather stayed at the bar with you guys. We got there, and I basically spent the whole time on my phone, scrolling through every social media account I have. I even stalked the Instagram page of an ex-boyfriend I had in Philly back when I was fifteen. That’s how bored I was.”
Midge laughs. “And they just drink coffee and talk? I mean, I know we go to the bar and drink and talk, but at least our drinks make everything a little more fun, plus I’m cool as fuck. What do they talk about?”
I finish the guacamole and start prepping the mini pigs-in-a-blanket while Midge cuts sandwiches into triangles. “After a while, I tune them out, because they act like I’m not there anyway, but I heard them talk about some fishing trip they want to go on. Jeremy and Pat talked about wanting to go hunting, and Hunter and Chip were talking about their trucks. It’s usually the same ol’ shit. They reminisce about their high school and college years, and occasionally a couple of the guys will talk about some girl they’re going after.”
“Fun.”
I take a breath and try to shake it off. “Whatever. Tonight will be better.”
“For sure. What kind of alcohol did you buy?”
“I got a lot. Probably too much, but that new liquor warehouse has so much! I got ingredients to make margaritas, daiquiris, cosmos, and then stuff we can use for shots if anyone wants to do that.”
“Me and Jon for sure,” Midge laughs. “And you.”
“So, we have sandwiches, pigs-in-a-blanket, chips, guacamole and seven-layer dip, hot wings, and pulled pork sliders. Jon and Daniel said they’re gonna bring some sort of dessert. That’s good enough, right?”
“Sounds good to me.”
The doorbell rings, and I rush over to open it while Midge starts eating the chips and dip.
“We’re not late are we? These damn tarts gave me the hardest time tonight,” Jon says as soon as the door opens.
“No, not at all.”
He moves past me with a glass container in each hand as Daniel gives me a one shouldered shrug and lopsided smile.
“You didn’t have to make anything fancy. You could’ve just brought store bought cookies or something,” I say, closing the door.
“Dear God, please enjoy the tarts,” Daniel mutters.
“Store bought cookies? Do you know me at all?” Jon questions, finding a home for his containers. “These, my dear, are homemade strawberry tarts. Way better than any cookies from the
store.”
“Well, I can’t wait to try them.” I walk over to take a peek and notice that he didn’t just drop slices of strawberries on top, but he arranged each slice of strawberry to form what looks like a flower on each tart. “Wow, they look almost too good to eat.”
He puts a hand on his chest as he gazes longingly at them. “I know.”
I raise my eyebrows at Daniel, but he just chuckles, obviously used to his boyfriend’s ways.
“Well, Hunter should be here soon,” I say, checking the clock on the oven. “You guys can help yourself to food and drinks, though.”
I turn to Midge who’s already eating a slider. “Did you invite anyone?”
With a mouthful of food, she tries to talk, but gives up and just nods and gives me a thumbs up.
I swipe my phone off the counter and fire off a text to Hunter to make sure he’s on his way. While I wait for a response, I excuse myself to my bedroom so I can change into a cute little dress I bought last weekend. I knew I’d make a mess of my clothes while I was cooking, so I stayed in a pair of leggings and a tank top while I prepared the food.
The dress was on sale, and I knew I needed it the second I saw it. It’s a white wrap dress covered in lemons and leaves. It’s such a cute summer dress. It can be dressed up with a nice pair of heels, or kept casual with flats.
Penny lies on my bed, staring at me with a look of boredom as I move around the room.
“Come on, boy,” I say, patting my leg as I’m about to leave the room. He slowly gets up, but disappoints me when he just turns around and lays back down facing the headboard. “Fine,” I say, leaving the door cracked in case he decides to come visit us.
When I walk back into the living room, I find Hunter has already arrived and is leaned up against the kitchen wall on his phone.
“Hey,” I greet, walking over to give him a hug and kiss. “Did you say hi to everyone?” I whisper.
“Of course, but it was still awkward walking in and not having you here.”
“They’re just people. You know how to talk to people, plus I wasn’t gone that long.”
He shakes his head and starts making a drink. I notice Midge across the room, and she’s already watching me with her eyebrows raised. I roll my eyes and start piling food onto a plate.
For the next ten minutes, we all stand around in the kitchen, eating and talking. It’s only slightly uncomfortable at first, because Hunter tried talking to me about work, but luckily Daniel asked him what he did, so it became more inclusive.
Not that talking about selling cars is super exciting, but it was something. Jon and Midge started talking about something that happened at the bar, and I tried to re-explain the story to Hunter so he wouldn’t feel left out. Okay, it’s a little awkward, but hopefully as we continue to drink, everything will get better.
The doorbell rings and Midge hops off the counter. “That’s my date.”
While she goes to open the door, Hunter compliments Jon’s tarts, and Jon grins from ear to ear. Well, at least he’s trying.
“Guys, my game partner is here,” Midge announces.
I peek around the corner and almost drop my plate.
“I think you guys know Royce,” she says with a mischievous smile.
After I say hello to everyone, London rushes over to Midge and pulls her away, whispering harshly. I can’t quite make it out, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t expect me to show up.
Hunter’s a few years younger than me, so we didn’t go to school together, but I’ve seen him around. I bought my Challenger from the dealership he works at, but not from him directly. I think Elijah dealt with him when he recently traded in his car, though.
“Royce?” he questions, stepping closer to me. “From the bar, right?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
He casually looks me over, sizing me up. “So, you’re with Midge?” he asks.
“He wishes,” Midge says, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me toward the kitchen. “Make you a plate, get a drink, and get ready to whoop ass at these games.”
I chuckle. “What games are we playing?”
“Don’t know, but we’re gonna win them all. How good are your drawing skills?”
“Drawing? Okay, I guess. I’m not Cillian.”
“I think Lo has Pictionary. Probably Taboo, Guesstures, and who knows what else.”
Jon practically skips toward us. “Sooo, I know you’re not on duty or anything, but do you think it’s possible to make me some sort of delicious drink? London bought all kinds of drinks and mixers, but doesn’t know shit about creating a good drink.”
“Hey!” London squeaks from around the corner. “I heard that.”
“Sorry, doll. No offense.”
I laugh. “Sure, let me see what we got here.”
I walk to the table where London has all the drinks set up and inspect the bottles. After I spot a couple ingredients, I yell out to her, “Hey, Sunshine, do you have orange juice in your fridge?”
As soon as her nickname slips from my mouth, I look to Midge and make an oh shit face. Hunter probably won’t like that. Midge just shrugs.
“Uh, yeah,” London responds, coming into the kitchen. “Help yourself.”
I grab the OJ out of the fridge and take the tequila and grenadine, and make Jon a tequila sunrise.
“Here you go. Simple, but I think you’ll like it,” I tell him.
He takes a sip and closes his eyes and tosses his head back. “Yes, perfection. Thanks, darling.”
I laugh. “No problem. Anyone else?” I ask.
“You weren’t brought here to work,” Midge says. “But yeah, you can make me something,” she continues with a laugh.
“Fruity?” I question.
“Sure.”
“You like peach schnapps?”
“I guess.”
“All right, well, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it.”
I mix the vodka, schnapps, and cranberry juice and hand it to her. “It’s called a woo woo.”
“Woo woo?”
“Hey, I didn’t make up the name.”
After Midge gives her approval to the drink, I make something for myself, and then London ushers us into the living room.
While she’s in the hallway, pulling the games out of a closet, I take a few seconds to give Hunter a once over as well.
He’s probably near my height, maybe just a fraction shorter than my six feet. He’s skinny, and more fair-skinned than me. His brown hair is styled in a sort of spikey hairdo. We’re damn near polar opposites, and that makes me wonder if I’m even London’s type. Does she have a type?
A crash in the hallway draws my attention, and I rush to help her.
“You okay? Let me help.”
“Oh, I’m fine. You don’t have to.”
I kneel down and pick up the Taboo and Guesstures boxes, then reach up onto the top of the closet to get Pictionary.
She tucks a blond strand behind her ear. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You look beautiful, by the way. Love the dress.”
“Oh,” she says, running her eyes down the fabric. “Thank you. It’s new.”
I give her a smile and then we walk back into the living room. I can’t help but notice her boyfriend didn’t come to help, and didn’t seem too worried about another man rushing to assist her either. But maybe that’s because he’s glued to his phone.
“All right. What do y’all wanna play first?” London asks, placing the boxes on the coffee table.
“I need more drinks in me before I act out anything,” Jon says. “So not Guesstures.”
“Taboo?” I say.
“Okay.”
She takes the contents out, and all of us pair up and start the game. Me and Midge go first and do a pretty good job, but there’s a few we didn’t get. Jon and Daniel are next and knock it out of the park. They’ve been together a while, so for something like “mistletoe” they get to say, what we made out under at the holiday party l
ast year, and the other person knows what they mean. When it’s London and Hunter’s turn, I expect the same thing, but it doesn’t turn out that way. They play like me and Midge. London had the word flowers, and where a couple could say, you buy these for me for my birthday or something, she went with stuff like, they smell good, they have different colors and names. It was a mess, and they only got a few right.
We play several rounds, but not surprisingly, Jon and Daniel whoop all of our asses.
“All right, all right,” I say, standing up. “I think I need another drink before we play anything else.”
“Me too,” Midge agrees.
When she and I get to the kitchen, she steps close and whispers, “All right, so we need to change things up a bit. Next game, I’ll suggest we switch partners, so you and London can be on a team.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, plus, what’s that gonna do?”
“Uh, make it obvious that y’all work good as a team?”
“What if we suck?”
“Well, don’t.”
“Oh, okay,” I answer sarcastically.
“Well, what’s your plan?”
“This was your plan, remember?” I say, making a drink.
Midge puts her hand on her hip. “But you see how lame he is, right? He didn’t even talk to us when he first came in. He’s barely said anything at all.”
“Hey, I’m Team Me all the way, but I don’t know what you want me to do.”
She stares off, and I can practically see the wheels rotating in her brain, trying to come up with something clever.
“I may have an idea. Come on,” she says, grabbing my hand and tugging me into the living room.
When Royce and Midge come back to the living room with drinks in hand, they’re also connected by their other hands. I eye it briefly before clearing my throat and getting things set up for Guesstures.
“Okay, so with this one, you can’t say anything. No noises or anything. Just use your body.”
“I think we should switch teams,” Midge announces. “No offense, Royce, but I want to be on Jon’s team for this.”
“Cause you know I’m a winner, huh baby?” he says with a wink.
On the Rocks (Kingston Brothers Book 1) Page 8