On the Rocks (Kingston Brothers Book 1)

by Isabel Lucero

  I slide out of the booth once he’s gone. “Well, damn. Hopefully they figure shit out.”

  Elijah stands up. “It might be best if they break up.”

  “Maybe. Well, I guess I’m gonna close the place up.”

  “I’m gonna take my old, boring ass home and go to sleep.”

  I bark out a laugh. “All right, old man.”

  He flips me off as he walks toward the door, and my laugh follows him out.

  After the bar is closed up, I check my phone as I stroll to my car, and I’m surprised to see a text from Midge.

  I talked to Cillian earlier and now I need to talk to you. Text me back when you get this.

  Midge never texts me, so getting a message from her is weird. And the fact that she talked to Cillian and it somehow relates to me is confusing. Why would she need to talk to the both of us? As I get in my car and start the engine, I send her a message and then drive home wondering what this could be about.

  Hunter came home late from his fishing trip, so I never got the chance to talk to him yesterday. Instead, he’s on his way over right now, and my stomach is in knots just thinking about the conversation we’re about to have.

  This will catch him completely off guard, but I’m just hoping it doesn’t turn ugly. I don’t want to have a screaming match, so hopefully this can be done maturely.

  I keep peeking out the window, waiting to see him drive toward my apartment. When I finally spot the white truck turn down my street, I pull away from the window and stand in front of the door wringing my hands.

  He knocks three times, and I take a deep breath, push my shoulders back, and open the door.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  He moves in for a hug and kiss, but neither last for long. I pull away, and he seems to notice my tension, but besides a quick furrowed brow, he doesn’t react. He sits on the couch as I close the door, and then I drop into the chair.

  “Why are you sitting so far away?”

  I begin to wring my hangs again, then I breathe in a lungful of air and begin. “Hunter, we need to talk.”

  He shifts his body, turning toward me as frown lines pull his brows down in confusion. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  “I think we should break up.” I blurt the words out, not wanting to beat around the bush.

  Hunter tilts his head, his face scrunching up. “What? Why?”

  I give a small shake of my head. “We’re not meant to be together, Hunter. I think we’re better suited to be friends.”

  “Friends?” He sounds offended. “Why? Because we haven’t slept together since we got back together? That’s not my fault, London. You were the one wanting to take things slow, and now that we’re basically platonic, you want to break up?”

  “It’s not that. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting, and while I really like you, I’m not in love with you. I don’t say that to be mean, but it’s the truth. We both deserve to be with people who are better for us. We don’t click the way we should.”

  “We were fine before you wanted to break up!” he shouts.

  “We weren’t! That’s why we broke up. Look, I thought that if you hung out with my friends, maybe things would be better, but it’s not fully about that. I’m not happy. Shouldn’t that be enough? Shouldn’t I be happy?”

  “You’re not happy? Could’ve fooled me.”

  “Because you’re oblivious!” I say, my voice rising.

  “So this is my fault?”

  I take a breath and try to regain my composure. “I’m not saying that. I just feel like there should be more between us, but I’m starting to realize it’s not possible. You and I are completely different people, and while sometimes that may work for couples, it doesn’t work for us. I want passion and excitement. I want to feel cared about.”

  “I’m not giving you enough attention. That’s it?” he questions, sounding annoyed.

  “The fact that you don’t get what I’m saying is a problem. When we’re together, you treat me like one of your friends. If that. Your guy friends always get more of your attention when we’re together. I don’t feel like I’m that big of a deal in your life. It seems like I’m someone you’re just passing time with. Which is fine, Hunter, because I never thought this was going to lead into marriage. It’s time to end this and let each other find someone we feel strongly about.”

  He looks down at the carpet, rubbing his hands together. After several seconds, his head slowly comes up and he pins me with a sharp look. “Is that what this is about? You’ve found somebody you feel strongly about?”

  “Hunter,” I say softly, trying to keep things calm. “I’m ending this because I’m not happy and I think we’re wasting each other’s time.”

  “No. No, answer my question. Are you cheating on me?”

  “No!” I yell. “I’m not cheating on you.”

  He traces every line of my face, studying my response like he’s looking for a sign that I’m lying. “I don’t believe you.”

  “I haven’t cheated on you. I…” I pause, unsure if I should tell him the truth or not. It could really escalate this fight into something I don’t want to get into, but at the same time, it’s a small town, and if me and Royce get together like I want to happen, he’ll likely hear about it.

  “But what?” he asks, his voice growing frighteningly calm. “Something happened. Tell me.”

  My body is tense with nerves as I contemplate telling him the truth about what happened when he and I broke up. With a deep breath, I open my mouth and say, “After we broke up, I slept with someone else. It only happened that once, and never while we were together.”

  “What?” he roars, shooting up from the couch and towering over me. “Who the fuck did you sleep with?”

  I stand up and take a few steps back. “It doesn’t matter. It didn’t happen while we were together. I still gave you another chance after that.”

  His face twists into one of disgust. “And you didn’t sleep with me after that. Why? Because you felt like a whore?”

  “Excuse me?” I screech. “I’m not a whore. I slept with one person when I was single, however short-lived that was. That doesn’t make me a whore. I didn’t think we’d be back together a few days later.”

  Truth is, I didn’t want to ever have to tell Royce that I slept with Hunter again. Maybe I always thought we’d end up together, or maybe I didn’t want to go back to disappointing sex after my night of bliss with Royce.

  “Who was it, London?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Because I want to know! You owe me that.”

  I hear my mom’s words echoing in my head. “I don’t owe you shit! I didn’t cheat on you, Hunter. I tried giving us another chance.”

  “I could’ve slept with other girls while we were together, but I didn’t,” he spits.

  “Congratulations. Now you can go sleep with them,” I say, moving toward the door. “You can leave now.”

  He takes a few steps toward me. “I’m not leaving until you tell me who you’re breaking up with me for.”

  “I’m breaking up with you for me. Leave.” I open the door and stand there, waiting for him to walk through it.

  My eyes aren’t on him, but I feel him staring holes into my face. “It was Royce, wasn’t it?”

  My head snaps in his direction, and even though I heard him, the first word out of my mouth is, “What?”

  “I know it’s him. He has nicknames for you, and you’re always at his bar. It’s him, isn’t it?”

  “Hunter,” I say on a breath.

  He holds up his hand. “Don’t lie, just tell me you haven’t been sleeping with him the whole time we were together.”

  “I told you I never cheated on you. That’s the truth.”

  He shakes his head. “I guess I’ll never really know, but at least I know it was him. It makes this easier, because I could never stay with you while you still go see him twice a week.”

  �
��I never cheated,” I reiterate.

  He looks me up and down. “Bye, London.” And with that, he walks through the door and out of my life.

  Once I close and lock the door, I let out a sigh of relief.

  “You sure you’re gonna be able to get her to change her plans?” I ask Midge.

  She puts her hand on her hip and cocks it out to the side. “You doubt me? I got her to your place, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, but y’all always come to the bar on Saturdays. Isn’t she going to find this sudden change of plans weird?”

  Midge shrugs. “It’ll be fine. Why didn’t Cillian tell you about the bonfire?”

  “He’s been going through some stuff,” I reply. “But he was here yesterday. I don’t know. Maybe it slipped his mind.”

  When I responded to Midge yesterday, she wrote back telling me that she had run into Cillian and he told her about the conversation me and London had at Elijah’s on Sunday. Cillian told her he was going to plan a bonfire party, so she wanted to confirm with me. However, it was news to me, since Cill had darted out of the bar last night before telling me anything about it.

  “Well, I saw him early yesterday and that’s when he told me.”

  “Maybe he was wanting it to be a surprise?”

  Midge brings her thumb to her mouth and chews on the nail a bit. “Doesn’t make sense to me. You’d have to get off work.”

  “It’s fine. When I told him you told me, he didn’t seem upset. So, you sure you’re okay with going shopping with him?”

  She rolls her eyes. “If I don’t go, he’ll just grab a shit load of beer and nothing else.”

  “You’re probably right,” I say with a laugh. I look at the clock that reads six-thirty. “Well, I’m about to leave and go get ready. Want a ride to his shop?”

  “It’s not that far, I can walk, but it’s so hot, so yeah.”

  I chuckle. “All right.”

  On the short drive to Cillian’s tattoo shop, I ask Midge, “Do you think London will invite Hunter?”

  “Nah. Don’t worry about that.” She picks up her phone and starts typing out a message. “I’m gonna tell her now about the change in plans.”

  “What’re you telling her you’re doing?”

  “Well, since the bonfire is on your property, she’s gonna know pretty fast that that’s where we’re heading, so I’ll tell her that Cillian’s at your house but his car won’t start, and he needs a ride into town. She’ll just assume we’re still going to the bar, but once we’re there, surprise!”

  I laugh. “You’re scarily good at lying.”

  She glances over at me and smiles a slow, mischievous smile. “I know.”

  When we pull up in front of the shop, she opens the door and skips around the front of the car, coming to a stop at my open window. “All right. I have a list of shit to get, but it won’t take long. Me and Cill already told people to be at your place at eight. You gonna have the bonfire set up in time?”

  “Yeah, Elijah’s coming over to help with that.”

  “Cool. We’ll see you soon.”

  “All right. Thanks.”

  She winks and spins around and disappears into the tattoo shop.

  I can’t wait to see London’s face when she realizes she’s been invited to a bonfire. We only invited some of our closest friends, and hers, of course, so it’ll be an intimate little party, but I think she’s going to have a blast.

  Almost an hour later, Cillian and Midge come walking into my place with their hands full. Midge carries two bags in each hand while Cillian has two cases of beer in his arms. I rush over to take the bags from Midge.

  “Thanks for the help, bro,” Cillian gripes.

  “I’m a lady,” Midge chirps, holding out the side of her dress while doing some version of a curtsy.

  Cillian scoffs. “Right. You know she had us walking down every damn aisle? Why did we need to go down the bread aisle? We didn’t even get bread,” Cill complains as he walks to the kitchen to drop off the beer.

  Midge rolls her eyes. “I actually got hot dog buns.” She digs through the bags and names everything they got. “We got marshmallows and roasting sticks, as well as stuff for s’mores. Also, bags of chips and candy, and hotdogs. That sounds like what teenagers would get, right?”

  I laugh. “Well, it doesn’t have to be a full-on teenager party, but yeah, that sounds good. Thanks.”

  Cill rips open the case of beer and pops the tab on a can before taking a drink. “You’re welcome.”

  I grab the cooler I pulled from the garage earlier and start pouring bags of ice inside. “Who all did you invite?”

  “Well, Jon and Daniel will be coming,” Midge answers. She turns to Cillian. “And you invited Bree, Justin, and Wes, right?”

  Cillian nods. “Yeah, but Bree will be late. She has an appointment scheduled for seven-thirty. When she’s done, her and Khalil will head over. I also told Justin he could bring someone if he wants.”

  “Is Zoe coming?” I ask, grabbing the beers and stuffing them into the ice.

  “No,” he states simply.

  “Did Elijah invite anyone?” Midge asks.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I wish Merrick was here. He could serenade us while we sit around the fire,” she says.

  “You mean you wish Sky was here?” Cill asks with a smirk.

  “Pft. I’m not still clinging to some hope we’re gonna be together. It was fun for one night, that’s it.”

  Cill raises his brows as he takes a drink. “Well, I guess I’ll head out back and see if Elijah needs any help.”

  “Yeah, I’m gonna go get London,” Midge says, looking out the window. “I think some people just got here.”

  “All right. See ya later.”

  She disappears through the door as Justin comes in with a girl on his arm. “Hey, man. Nice place.”

  “Thanks.”

  “This is Savannah,” he says, introducing me to the short, blond girl who seems to be trying to hide behind him. “She’s shy,” he explains.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she replies softly.

  I chuckle. “Elijah and Cill are out back. I’m just filling these coolers, then I’ll be out there. Head down that hall and you’ll see the back door.”

  “Cool.” He takes Savannah by the hand and struts down the hall.

  Before I can get the second cooler filled, the doorbell rings. Wes stands at the door holding a bottle of Jack Daniels with a grin on his face. “You live far as fuck, dude.”

  “It’s not that far,” I say with a laugh. “Come on in.”

  Wes has been working with Cill for years. His tattoos cover the left side of his body—arm, chest, stomach, and leg, and most of them are on full display since he’s wearing a tank top and camo shorts.

  “I brought some whiskey,” he says, holding the bottle up.

  “Thanks, man. There’s a few people out back already. You wanna take one of these coolers? I’m gonna finish filling this one and then I’ll be out.”

  “All right.”

  Ten minutes later, the six of us are out back with the fire going strong. Justin, Cillian, and Savannah sit in some chairs around the fire while me, Elijah, and Wes stand around with drinks in hand. Savannah and Justin are already attempting to make s’mores, and Cillian stuffs his face with two hotdogs, no bun.

  When I make a face at him, he says, “What? I’m hungry. It’s not like they’re raw.”

  It’s nearly eight-thirty when Midge texts me to let me know they’re close. I go inside to grab my Bluetooth speaker and start playing some music. I sit in one of the red, folding chairs and watch as the sun dips below the horizon at the same time my Sunshine walks around the side of the house.

  Her smile is visible even from here. She looks at Midge with wide eyes and says something I can’t hear before giving her a playful shove. My smile widens as I watch her approach the fire. She’s wearing a pair of jean shorts and a long sleeve, crop top. I never under
stood the reason for keeping your arms warm while baring your stomach, but I’m not going to question it anymore, because London looks damn good wearing that black top. Her flat stomach catches my eye before my gaze travels down her long legs.

  When my eyes travel back up to her face, I realize she’s watching me. My lips quirk up into a crooked grin as I push myself up from my chair and walk toward her.

  Midge rushes past me, and declares my chair as her own. London stopped walking several feet from the fire, so even though there’s a group of people behind me, we’re too far for them to be able to hear us, especially with the music playing.

  She smiles when I stop in front of her. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  “I can’t believe you did this.”

  “Well, I can’t take all the credit. Cill started inviting people before I even knew about it. He bought the supplies and said my house was the best place to do it,” I say with a laugh. “So, here we are.”

  Her gaze travels past me and I see the reflection of the fire dancing in her eyes as she takes in the scene. “This is amazing.”

  I turn and offer her my arm. She smiles and links hers through mine, then we make our way toward the fire.

  “Want something to eat?” Royce asks. “Or do you just want to start drinking?”

  “Drink, please!”

  He chuckles. “We have beer, because, you have to have beer at a bonfire. But Wes brought Jack Daniels, and I have some other stuff in the house.”

  I look toward this Wes person. He’s in the middle of a conversation with Cillian, but he looks up when he hears his name and gives a small nod. “Help yourself.”

  “This is London, by the way,” Royce offers. “That’s Wes, Justin, and Savannah,” he says, pointing at each person.

  “Hey,” I say, giving a little wave.

  They all respond with a hey and a smile.

  “I guess I’ll have a beer to really get the full teenage, bonfire experience,” I say.

  “This chair is so comfortable, Royce,” Midge says.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m gonna go get a blanket.”

  I kneel down in the grass next to Midge’s chair. “This is so awesome.”