On the Rocks (Kingston Brothers Book 1)

by Isabel Lucero

  “Of course,” Midge drawls. “So, Royce you be with London, and Daniel and Hunter can be on the same team.”

  Before anyone can object, Midge stands up and starts pulling cards. “All right, Jon. Let’s focus. I’m gonna get two hard cards and two easy.”

  As Midge sets up her cards, I sit on the same couch as Royce, but leave the middle cushion between us. Hunter sits alone on a chair pulled from the kitchen, and Jon and Daniel share the loveseat.

  Royce looks over at me and gives me a wink. My heartrate speeds up, and I chance a glance at Hunter, but notice he’s too involved in his phone to notice anything around him. Just like he didn’t notice I needed help with the games, and didn’t notice my new dress.

  I take a gulp of my drink and then watch Midge try to act out her words for Jon. One word is bracelet, and she lucked out because she’s wearing one, so all she had to do was shake her wrist. Another easy one is arm, and then she struggles with the third one. She’s doing something with her arms, but even I can’t tell what she’s trying to convey. Jon’s throwing out guesses like sweeping, dancing, and exercising, but she just shakes her head violently.

  Royce leans over and whispers to me, “Canoe.”

  I watch her, and sure enough, she could be paddling a canoe. The card falls because they ran out of time for that card, and when it does, she takes off down the hallway, leaving us all confused.

  “Where’d she go?” Jon questions.

  Soon enough, she comes flying down the hall holding one of my shoes, stroking the heel.

  “Shoes, stilettos, stripper heels,” Jon yells.

  “Hey!” I say with a laugh.

  Midge focuses on the heel again.

  “High heels!” Jon screeches right before the card falls. Midge grabs it just in time.

  “Yes! Jesus,” she pants, out of breath.

  “What was the other one?” Daniel questions.

  “Canoe. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  I cut my eyes over at Royce who’s already looking at me with a smug grin on his face.

  “All right, we got four points,” Midge says. “Royce, you go next.”

  Royce stands up and picks up four cards.

  “All hard,” he says, giving me a smirk. “We can do this.”

  I shake my head. “You better be really good at acting things out.”

  “I told you I’m skilled.”

  Hunter finally looks up from his phone and his eyes meet mine, but I turn my attention back to Royce, and he goes back to his phone.

  The first one is fairly easy, he mimics shining his shoes, and I correctly guess shoeshine. With the next one he acts out eating something, and after incorrectly guessing eating and food, he changes it up a bit, and I finally guess spoon.

  The third card has him on the move, rushing to the kitchen and turning the water on in the sink. When he comes back with a glass of water, I instantly guess water, and we move on. The fourth card proves more difficult, as all he does is point to me.

  “Girl, woman, lady, blonde.” I fire them off, hoping something’s right. When I say blonde, he gives me a so-so gesture, then points to himself and then back to me.

  “I have no idea!” I screech.

  He raises his arms and makes a circle up above him and then points to me.

  “The card is shaking!” Midge yells, making me aware it’s about to drop.

  The card falls, and Royce groans. “Sunshine.”

  “What? I tried.” I answer, thinking he’s just using my nickname.

  “No, the word was sunshine.”

  “Oh,” I say with a laugh. “Damn.”

  “What’s with the sunshine thing?” Hunter questions.

  “Oh, it’s just something he calls me,” I say, not wanting it to be a big deal.

  Hunter looks at Royce, but Royce just comes and sits down on the couch. “We almost got all of them.”

  “Sorry. I screwed that up. I’ll make it up to you when it’s my turn.”

  “You better,” he says with a smile.

  Daniel and Hunter are next, and Hunter defers to Daniel to do the acting. They aren’t the best, but Daniel picked out all easy cards, so they were able to get remote because one was on the table, and drink because after pointing at all of our cups, Daniel finally just took a drink.

  We finish the game after about twenty minutes, and though it’s close, me and Royce actually edge out Midge and Jon by two points.

  “In your face!” I yell, jumping up and pointing at Midge, the alcohol energizing me.

  She waves me off, and Royce and I raise both hands for a double high five, but he wraps his fingers around mine for a couple seconds.

  “We work good together, Sunshine,” he says quietly.

  “I guess so,” I respond softly, pulling my hands from his soft grip.

  As much as I may want to grab his hand and hold it confidently, like he belongs to me, I’m aware of my boyfriend in the other room, so I walk away and find the man who is mine.

  “Hey,” I say, wrapping my arms around Hunter’s waist as he puts a couple of sliders on a plate.

  “Hey,” he responds, looking down at me. “Feeling good?”

  I nod my head into his side and he chuckles. “Are you having a good time?” I ask.

  He moves to stand in front of me, so I drop my arms from his waist and look up into his brown-eyed gaze.

  “It’s okay,” he responds with a forced smile. “I’m doing this for you. Are you having a good time?”

  “I am,” I answer, “but I wish you’d allow yourself to have a good time.”

  “What do you want me to do, London? I’m playing the games.”

  “You’re disengaged. You’ve been on your phone almost the whole time, you don’t try to converse with anyone, and to be honest, you’re coming off like a stuck-up asshole.”

  Perhaps the liquor has loosened my tongue a little much, because the last thing I’d normally do is start a fight in front of guests.

  His jaw clenches and he quickly scans the room to see if anyone is paying attention to us. He grabs my arm and spins me around, leaving our backs to the rest of the group.

  “Look, this isn’t for me. I don’t hang out with people like this.”

  “People like what?” I spit.

  He huffs and shakes his head. “Midge is abrasive and loud. I don’t know how to talk to her. And Jon and Daniel, well…” He trails off, but I don’t have to question what he means. I know he’s being bigoted, and I’m disgusted.

  “Midge is a strong woman. She’s outspoken, honest, caring, and hilarious. She’s my best friend and one hundred percent confident in herself, and I resent your words. As far as Jon and Daniel, I knew you weren’t comfortable around them, but they are amazing, and you’d know that if you’d open your closed mind and give them a chance. They are far more than their sexuality, and I’m ashamed of you right now.”

  I step back, shaking my head. He reaches for my arm, but I take another step back.

  “London, I’m sorry. Please.”

  “We are not going to cause a scene right now.”

  I walk away from him, pour a generous amount of liquor into my cup, and join my friends in the living room. I spot Midge and Royce sitting next to each other on the couch, whispering and laughing, and a tiny stab of jealousy pricks my heart.

  I’m not normally a jealous person, and I’ve never been jealous of Midge. I adore her so much. Right now, though, I’d do almost anything to be her. I want to be sitting so close to Royce that our bodies touch. I want to be laughing at his jokes. I want to be free to do what I want with him.

  In this moment, I’m hit with a wave of complete realization. I’m unequivocally aware of what I need to do.

  On Saturdays, Midge and London, and sometimes Jon and Daniel, show up between eight and nine, but today, London strolls in alone at seven. I cock my head and examine my watch to double check the time.

  “I’m early, I know,” she says, wiggling her ass into the
seat.

  “Fine by me.”

  She grins, and I pull the Johnnie Walker bottle down and grab a glass.

  London reaches over and places her hand on mine. “Not yet. Can I have a shot?”

  I furrow my brows. “That’s new. “What do you want?”

  “Surprise me,” she says, digging into her purse and handing me her card.

  As I go to work on the shot, I ask, “Bad day?”

  She shrugs and then gives a slight shake of her head. “Not really.”

  I slide over the green drink, and watch as she brings it to her nose and smells it. “What is it?”

  “Liquid marijuana.”

  Her brows pull together as her lips purse. “Interesting.” Then she downs it in one gulp. Her tongue slides out and licks her lips. “Mm. Pretty good.”

  “Want your drink now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Since it’s pretty slow, and Chad has things covered on his end of the bar, I stay near London and talk for a little while.

  “So yesterday was fun.”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to do it again,” she responds, sounding a little indifferent.

  “Hunter seemed…” I try to find the right word, but the right word would be mean. Luckily, London saves me.

  “Like an ass?” she says with a laugh. “Yeah. I’m sorry about him.”

  I shrug. “He didn’t seem like he wanted to be there.”

  “Well, next time he won’t be.”

  I’m about to ask more questions, but London changes the subject.

  “So, I’m interested,” she says, peering into her glass.

  I’m taken aback by her admission and struck silent. “What do you mean?” I ask, my voice dropping into a conspiring whisper.

  London’s eyes flicker up, and I see the blue of her eyes through long lashes. She straightens up and gives me the smallest smile. “In your story. You need to finish what you were talking about. You said you’re a restorer, but a restorer of what?”

  “Oh,” I state, straightening up to my full height and taking a step back.

  I thought she was finally telling me she was interested in me. Instead she’s interested in my story. Well, I guess that’s why I’ve been chopping it up like that, so she keeps coming back to me for more. Though I wish she was coming back to me for something else.

  “Well, you know how I told you I have another place besides the apartment upstairs?” She nods her head. “Well, I bought an older house out in the middle of nowhere. It’s about thirty minutes away, surrounded by nothing but land, and I’m using my spare time to restore it. It’s a beautiful place, but it was left unattended for a while, so I’m fixing her up.”

  “Oh wow,” she says, sounding impressed. “So, is the land yours too?”

  “Some of it.”

  “What are you gonna do with it? You gonna buy chickens and horses?” she laughs.

  I chuckle. “Nah, I love being here too much. I wouldn’t have time to take care of animals.”

  “That makes sense. Well, I’d love to see the house sometime,” she says, her eyes examining her glass once again, and her voice a mere whisper.

  “Really?” I question, leaning against the bar and looking down at her with a smile.

  “Yeah. Just whenever you’re ready to show it off.”

  “Okay. I’ll definitely let you know.”

  For the next hour and a half, I split my time between helping customers and going back to visit with my favorite one. She ordered some food from the kitchen, saying she’d be here for a while, drinking, and didn’t want to end up drunk too early.

  Around eight forty-five, Midge bursts through the doors, and twenty minutes after that, Jon and Daniel saunter in.

  “Since we’re all here,” Midge announces. “Shots!”

  “Yes! Royce, can you make me the same one I had earlier?” London asks. She’s had one shot, and currently working on her second Johnnie Walker. After this shot and the rest of her drink, she’ll probably be feeling pretty good.

  “You had a shot earlier?” Midge asks. “Without me?”

  “Oh stop,” London laughs. “It was good. Royce, we’ll all have one of those.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I get to making their shots, and see Midge and London talking quietly amongst themselves.

  “Royce, make one for yourself,” Midge says. “You can take one with us.”

  “I’ll take a half shot, because I have a feeling this won’t be the last time you ask me,” I say with a laugh. “I do have a job to do here.”

  “Oh, fine,” Midge says.

  Once the drinks are poured, we clink our glasses together and gulp the liquid down.

  “Whoo!” Midge and Jon yell simultaneously, then burst into laughter.

  “Bourbon?” I question Daniel.

  “You got it.”

  “Midge?”

  “Can I have that shot in drink form?”

  “Of course.”

  “Oh, me too!” Jon chimes in.

  Midge hands me some cash for all the shots and her drink, and Daniel hands me his card to start a tab for him and Jon.

  “Did you guys like my tarts yesterday?” Jon questions.

  “Oh, you made those?” I ask. “I took three home.”

  “Oh good!” he says, bringing his hands together.

  “Jon, they were so good!” London says. “I saved two to eat later tonight.”

  Jon looks pleased with himself, his grin spreading across his face. Daniel throws an arm around his shoulders and kisses his temple.

  “We can do game night at our place next time,” Daniel says.

  “And London, you can come over early and I can show you how to make those tarts,” Jon states.

  “Hey, I want to know too!” I say. “Nobody’s gonna make them for me.”

  “Oh, doll. You can come learn, too,” Jon says with a chuckle.

  I notice London gazing at me with a smile. “What? They were really good.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” she replies, still smiling.

  After I serve them their drinks, I move on, helping other customers since it’s starting to fill up.

  By the time eleven rolls around, we’ve had our second group shot—my third. I’m babysitting the remnants of my third drink, and feeling extremely good. The alcohol courses through my bloodstream, making me louder, braver, and to be honest, hornier.

  Why in Jesus’s name does Royce have to look so good right now? His signature black T-shirt clings to his muscles, like I want to cling to him. At one point, he steps away and lifts his shirt to wipe some sweat from his forehead, and I’m blessed with another glimpse of his toned abs. He moves to the sink to wash his hands, then goes back to work, being the sexiest and most charming bartender to ever exist.

  He smiles at the girls, garnering a shit load of tips, and talks with the guys, seemingly gaining friendships with each customer.

  Midge bumps into me, spilling some of her drink on my arm. “Oops,” she laughs.

  I laugh and lick the liquid from my skin. “At least it’s good.”

  “Have you told Royce yet,” she whispers into my ear.

  “No, too busy gawking at him,” I answer honestly.

  “The man’s fine,” she agrees. “I was gonna try to make you jealous at your place yesterday by flirting with him, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

  I laugh. “What’s funny is, I was jealous. Y’all were just talking, but it was then that I really realized that I wished I could do that. Just sit close to him and talk and laugh.”

  “Oh. Well, job well done by me, I guess,” she laughs. “I was wanting to just get you to be honest with yourself about how you feel about him.”

  “Well, I’m well aware of what I want,” I say, letting my eyes roam up and down his body as he works.

  Midge gasps. “Are you all horny drunk?”

  I smile and then we both burst into a fit of giggles. “Drunk sex is the best,” I say. “I haven
’t had drunk sex in so long!”

  “Well, make sure Royce isn’t drunk, otherwise he won’t be able to perform, and then you’ll have disappointing sex.”

  We start cackling again, and Royce makes his way over.

  “What’re you two laughing about?”

  “You really want to know?” I ask.

  But Midge says, “Talking about drunk sex.”

  Royce’s eyes widen. “Oh. Is someone else having whiskey dick problems?”

  I laugh harder than I need to. Thanks, alcohol. “No. Well, nobody I know.”

  Royce flinches. “Well, good for you. Need anything else?”

  I sober up a fraction, confused by his quick attitude change. “No, I’m good.”

  He walks away and I look at Midge. “What was that?”

  She stares at me with confusion marring her face as well, and then her eyes widen. “Oh my gosh. He thought you were bragging about Hunter not having whiskey dick problems. You just let him believe that you and Hunter are good to go in the sex department. Probably hurt his little feelers,” she says, making a pouty face.

  “Feelers?” I say with a laugh. “Well, shit. That’s not what I meant.”

  “He doesn’t want to think about you having problem-less sex with someone else!”

  “Fuck.”

  “Shot?”

  “Yep.”

  “Whoo!” she squeals before searching for Jon and Daniel.

  After they join us and we take the shot, Daniel says, “Gonna need to get a ride home.”

  “You can walk to my place and crash there. It’s only a few blocks away,” I say loudly.

  Jon nuzzles into Daniel’s neck bringing a smile to Daniel’s lips. “We should probably go home.”

  I giggle. “Well, I’m jealous.”

  “You’re jealous of gay sex, doll?” Jon asks, amusement in his eyes.

  “No, just sex in general. Drunk sex.” I sigh. “Me and Midge were just talking about this. Where is Midge?” I ask, skimming the crowd.

  Daniel glances over his shoulder. “Looks like she found a dance partner.”

  “She moves fast. She was just with us.”

  “Well, go home and screw Hunter’s brains out,” Jon says.

  “I broke up with Hunter.”

  Jon gasps, and Daniel appears mildly surprised, his eyebrows lifting up.