“They are.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome anytime.”
“Can’t believe you ditched Midge and your brother at the bonfire.”
He shrugs. “Hey, it’s every man for himself at that age.”
I shake my head. “I wish I had known you earlier.”
“You know me now.”
“That’s true. I just wish I could’ve gone to small town parties and bonfires and met you that way.”
“You want to have a bonfire? I’ll have Cillian set one up, and we can pretend we’re teenagers again.”
“On it!” Cillian yells from the next room.
I laugh before becoming serious again. “I just wish my situation wasn’t so complicated when we met.”
“Un-complicate it.”
“Easy to say.”
“Perhaps. Let’s not worry about it right now.” He grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. “Come eat dessert, then I can take you home.”
Around the table again, the four of us talk and laugh like we’ve been friends for years. Him and his brothers make me feel so comfortable, and I almost don’t want to leave.
It’s only been three days since I’ve seen London, but I find myself watching the door and waiting for those long legs of hers to bring her in.
Seeing her interact with my brothers on Sunday filled me with a joy I didn’t know was missing. They already adore her, and she thinks Elijah and Cillian are the cat’s pajamas. Her words, not mine. Don’t worry, I made fun of her for it. She told us she always wished she had older brothers, but being the only child left her with only her mom and dad as company, and then later, just her mom.
We stayed at the dining room table later than we usually do, but Elijah and Cill enjoyed bringing up embarrassing stories, and London only encouraged them. London shared a few of her own stories, though none of them were quite as crazy as ours, we did find out about the time she was able to keep a stray cat in her house for about a week before her parents found cat poop in the living room.
As I’m putting on a show for a group of college co-ed’s, tossing bottles and making drinks with flourish, I spot my ray of sunshine walk into the building. She gives me a smile and I throw her a wink as I finish making and serving the drinks. I get a ten-dollar tip from the easily impressed group, then make my way to London.
“How’s my favorite customer?”
“Pretty good,” she answers with a smile.
“Midge not coming?”
“She’s outside on the phone. Said she’ll be in soon and to order her a cosmo.”
“On it. So how’s your week been so far?”
She fiddles with the zipper on her wallet. “Typical, I guess. I’ll be talking to my mom tomorrow.”
I nod. “That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
I want to ask her if she’s thought any more about what I said. I want to know if since I cracked my heart open and spilled the contents to her if she’s going to break up with Hunter because she realizes she belongs with me. But I don’t.
Midge shows up right as I’m placing their drinks on the bar. “Thanks, doll. You’re the best,” she says, instantly taking a sip.
“Enjoy,” I say, rapping my knuckles on the bar before walking away.
I decide to keep some distance between us tonight. We spent a lot of time together on Sunday, and there isn’t much more I can say to her to prove to her that she’s much more than a one-night stand. That I need her in my life. The ball is one hundred percent in her court.
Luna chats with them as she serves them some Sprite, and I get caught up in another Craig and Jim sports debate for a little bit. A couple of women linger nearby, giving me the vibes. You know what I’m talking about. I’m polite and serve them while making a couple jokes, but I don’t lead them to think I’m interested. Not like I would’ve done before I fell for London.
When I finally make my way back to the girls, I overhear London tell Midge that Hunter went away on a fishing trip. They stop talking when I get closer.
“You guys need anything else?”
“No, I think we’re good,” Midge responds.
“Yeah, once I finish this, I’ll be heading home,” London adds. “I can pay now, though.”
As I take their money and put it in the register, I spot London tracking me. I take a glimpse in her direction and catch her watching me as she catches her bottom lip between her teeth. I continue to stare at her with a grin on my face until she finally meets my eyes. When she realizes she’s caught, she looks away, but I spot color flooding her cheeks and I can’t help but chuckle.
When my laugh reaches her, she snaps her head in my direction. Our gazes connect once again, and she laughs, knowing she was busted. Midge says something to her and then walks to the front door. When I come back with London’s receipt, I say, “There you go playing my favorite song again.”
She sputters, looking at me like I don’t make any sense. “What?”
“Your laugh.”
“Oh,” she replies, blushing while ducking her head and grabbing the receipt.
I grab a towel and wipe down the bar in front of me. “You know, this is becoming my favorite part of the counter.”
Her eyes and fingertips trace the small imperfections across the glossy wood, and then she closes her eyes briefly like she’s remembering how our night together began. I bend down, leaning close to her as I rest on my forearms. She tilts her head down, allowing blond strands to curtain the side of her face. I reach out, unable to help myself, and push the hair back behind her ear so I can get a good look at her.
London lifts her head, and I allow my hand to softly trace her cheekbone before my thumb slides gently over her bottom lip. It mirrors the first time we were about to kiss, and I want nothing more than to cover her mouth with mine and taste the whiskey from her tongue.
Her mouth parts as her blue eyes stare intently into mine. I study every inch of her angelic face before I remove my hand and tuck it back into my pocket.
With a crooked grin, I back away and return to work.
On Thursday evening, I sit down on my couch and make a phone call to my mom. As it rings, I take a deep breath and attempt to steady myself.
“Well, hey baby girl,” my mom answers, her voice full of surprise and happiness.
“Hey, Mom.”
“How are you? What’s going on?”
“Not much, I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice.”
We both sit in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. “I’m sorry for how I acted the other day. I’m still trying to process my feelings, and I’m holding a lot of anger, but more than that, I think I blame myself for a lot. I should’ve still tried to reach out to him, regardless of what was going on with you two. I regret not putting forth more effort.”
My mom is quiet on the other end of the phone before her shaky breath meets my ear. “I should’ve told you sooner. I shouldn’t have kept his letters from you, and I can’t apologize enough. I was heartbroken for so long, and more than that, I was infuriated. I couldn’t believe how quickly everything was ripped out from under me. I wanted to punish him, but I punished you as well, and that wasn’t fair. I’m not perfect, Bridgey. I’m sorry.”
Tears threaten to spill over my eyelids, but I do my best to hold them back. “I know, Mom. I know you are. I’m sorry I’ve been so hateful toward you. We can’t do anything to change the past, so we gotta move forward. I don’t want us to miss out on the time we have, you know? I want a clean slate.”
“Yeah?” she questions, hope blooming in her voice. “I’d love that, Bridgey.”
“Why don’t you plan a trip down here soon?”
“Oh, that would be great. I can probably make it down next month.”
“Well, let me know when you decide to come and I’ll take some time off.”
“Sounds great. Now, tell me, what’s going on with you?”
I t
ell my mom about work, Midge, Pennywise, and fill her in on some of the changes that’ve happened in the town since she left. I mention Merrick’s band getting a deal and moving away, though she doesn’t know who I’m talking about. I tell her it’s Royce’s brother, and then tell her about my dinner with him and his brothers.
When I think I’m done, she asks, “And your boyfriend?”
“Oh.” I pause, feeling guilty that I didn’t even think of mentioning him. “Yeah, well, we had a fight recently and broke up, but he begged for another chance and I felt like I owed him that.”
Silence stretches between us before I hear my mom clear her throat in the way she always does before she’s about to give me some life advice. “Bridgey, you don’t owe anybody anything. You owe yourself everything, okay? You owe it to yourself to be happy, whether you’re single or in a relationship. Men tend to put themselves first and women tend to put themselves last. We’re born thinking we have to make everyone happy, and in the process, we lose our own happiness. If you don’t want to be with Hunter, don’t think you have to be because you owe it to him. Why would you owe him you?”
I take a deep breath and then explain to her what happened between Royce and I. After the story is finished, I sit back and wait for her to scold me for being a trollop.
“Well, first of all, you didn’t cheat on Hunter. You guys had broken up, and you probably thought you were done for good, right?” I nod, even though she can’t see me. She continues anyway. “The way you talk about this Royce, he seems to be someone you care about. You said you had dinner with him and his brothers?”
“Yeah. We’re…friends, I guess.”
She chuckles. “Yes, and you think you owed Hunter another chance because you felt bad about sleeping with Royce while you were broken up?”
“I mean, it was the next day.”
“What about what you owe yourself and Royce?”
“What do you mean?”
“You say you owe Hunter a second chance, even though he was the one who was messing up. Does Royce deserve a chance? Do you deserve to be happy?”
“Well…”
“Honey, listen, you don’t have to have a reason to break up with someone. It seems like you’re waiting for Hunter to mess up again, so you have an excuse to break up. Sometimes the reason to break up with someone is simply because you aren’t meant for each other. He doesn’t have to treat you badly or cheat on you for you to break up with him. Maybe you’re better off as friends. Perhaps there just isn’t a spark between you. If you think you have something special with this Royce, if he gives you feelings that Hunter doesn’t, you deserve to explore why that is.”
I let her words wash over me, wondering why I never thought of it that way. She’s right. Why did I feel like I had to wait for something to happen to give me a reason to break up again? Why can’t I tell him I don’t think we’re right for each other?
Hunter isn’t a terrible person, but he doesn’t make my stomach flip by simply looking at me from across the room. My skin doesn’t prickle when he’s nearby and my heart doesn’t race when he watches my lips with desire in the depths of his eyes. And it’s not that it’s just because we’ve been together for a while, none of those things ever happened. There’s never been a lot of passion between us.
However, those things have happened with someone else, and I’m so mad at myself for being so fucking stupid.
“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
She laughs. “I love you, sweetie. That’s what Momma’s here for.”
“Can I call you back? I have to take care of some things.”
“Of course. Let me know how it goes.”
“Will do. Bye, Mom.”
“Bye, Bridgey.”
After I end the call, I quickly call Midge.
“Hello?”
“Why have I been so stupid?”
“I don’t know. Why have you been?”
“I’ve finally come to my senses.”
“Oh. Finally!” she breathes. “I was getting worried there for a minute.”
“Well, you’ll be happy to know I have a plan.”
“Are we talking about what I think we’re talking about?”
“I don’t know. What do you think I’m talking about?”
“If it’s not about dumping Hunter and getting with Royce then I am done with you.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry. We’re on the same page. I just need to talk some things out with you.”
“All right. Let’s figure this shit out. Hit me with your plans, lady.”
I spend the next forty-five minutes on the phone with Midge. Telling her my plans takes less than ten minutes, but then we get caught up talking about the conversation with my mom, and then she tells me she saw Cillian and heard the bonfire story came up. We spend a while laughing about that again as she tells it from her side.
The rest of the night goes by quickly, and when I go to sleep, I go with a smile on my face. I just have to get through tomorrow.
“Hey, man. You can go ahead and go home. I’ll finish up,” I tell Lennox.
“You sure?”
“Yep,” I answer with a nod. “It’s already two and the bar’s cleared out quite a bit already. Luna’s staying, so I’ll have some help if I need any.”
“Well, I won’t say no,” he says with a chuckle, standing up from the leather chair behind the desk. “I didn’t see the blonde out there.”
I grin. “She doesn’t normally come in on Fridays.”
“Ah. And how are things going? Don’t think I didn’t notice you caressing her face the other day.” He belts out a belly laugh, and then runs his large hand over his cheek, mimicking what I did to London the last time she was in here.
I grab a blank piece of printer paper, roll into a ball and throw it at him. “All right.”
He laughs. “What? That’s what you did.”
“Definitely didn’t look like whatever you just did.”
He takes his wallet from the top drawer and slips it into the back pocket of his pants, then he finds his keys and slides his finger through the keychain and twirls them around. “That’s what I saw. So, y’all together or what?”
“Or what.”
He presses his lips into a line. “I see. You still got that wall up?” he asks.
“That wall has fallen, my friend. She’s thrown all the bricks necessary to take it down.”
“And she still has her wall up, I take it?”
“I guess,” I say with a shrug.
“Hang in there, man,” he says, putting his hand on my shoulder before he passes me and leaves.
I follow him out of the office and find Cillian and Elijah still sitting at one of the booths. Besides them, there’s two older gentlemen at the bar, and a group of four college-aged kids finishing their drinks. Once I’ve closed out everybody’s tab, I slide into the booth next to Elijah.
“Will London be joining us this Sunday?” Elijah asks.
I blow out a breath. “Probably not. Last week was just a stroke of luck.”
They both surprise me by not asking further questions.
Cill’s phone rings, and when he looks at the screen he says, “Shit. I’ll be right back.”
“Him and Zoe fighting again?”
“He doesn’t talk much about it, but I think something’s going on.”
“What’s up with you?”
“Same shit different day.”
“Fun,” I say with a short laugh.
He shrugs. “I feel like if my life was a movie, it’s currently stuck on a loop of the same shit over and over.”
“Like Groundhog’s Day?”
“Exactly. Nothing changes. I go to work, I go home and grade papers, I work out, and then life repeats itself.”
“I know you don’t like to talk about it, but maybe dating would be good for you.”
He looks over and smirks. “I’m not lacking company.”
“Right, I know,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But fuckin
g and dating is different.”
“How would you know? You don’t date either.”
“Touché. But I’m waiting on someone. If shit doesn’t work out with London, then I may try to date.”
“The women I’m with don’t excite me enough to want to spend more than a night with them. Usually, by the end of the night, I’m ready for them to leave. I know that makes me sound like an asshole, but we all have needs, and I’m getting mine met without subjecting myself to a relationship I already know won’t work out.”
“So, you need to be on the lookout for a different kind of woman. You’re probably sleeping with the other professors. No offense, but bor…ing!”
He smacks my arm. “Asshole.”
“You’re not getting any younger, man. I’m just sayin’.”
“So now I’m a boring old man?”
“You live like it.”
“Whatever,” he says with a laugh. “Go do your job or something.”
Cillian slides back into the booth, irritation painting his face red. He slams his phone down on the table and takes his beer and swallows the rest of it down in one gulp.
“What’s up, bro?” I ask.
He takes a minute, his chest heaving as he tries to gather his thoughts. “I think Zoe’s cheating on me.”
“What?” me and Elijah say in unison.
“Typical signs, you know? Late nights at work. Lots of nights out with her friends. She’s on her phone all the time, but when I ask who she’s talking to or texting, she gets flustered and tries to distract me. She’s a terrible liar. I’ve asked her to come over a few times and she’ll say she already has plans or she’s too tired. But she’s been giving me shit about not being available, and then when I am, she doesn’t want to be together. What kind of shit is that?”
“I don’t know. Sorry, bro.”
He shrugs, but he’s still fuming.
Elijah and I exchange a look, unsure of whether we should change the subject or not. Cill’s phone dings, and he angrily swipes it up and reads a text. After typing out a response, he stands up. “I gotta go. I’ll talk to y’all later.”
“All right, man.”
“Be careful,” Elijah states.
On the Rocks (Kingston Brothers Book 1) Page 21