15. It’s A Secret
FIFTEEN
IT’S A SECRET
Lach
Since Eve arrived, I’ve been avoiding Jake as much as possible without looking suspicious. It’s hard to look your best friend in the face when your face has been between his sister’s legs. There’s no easy way to start that conversation without it ending in bloodshed. Most likely mine. Luckily, I don’t have to work with Jake tonight but instead Nora, which is only slightly better.
“Why are you fighting this? Because of some stupid rule you made up?” Nora rests her hands on her hips. “After witnessing that kiss last night, it’s hard to deny the chemistry you two have.”
With a furtive glance over my shoulder, my heart pounds in my chest. Since the coast is clear, I turn my attention back to Nora. “Jake’s my best friend, and he asked me to look out for her. I don’t think having sex with her is what he had in mind.” I rest my palms on the bar, locking my arms. “Jake, you, Dessa, and Rylee. You guys are all I have. You’re my family. And if I fuck this up with Jake, he’ll get you guys in the divorce, and I’ll be left with nothing.”
“I don’t think Jake would divorce you.”
I turn my head to face her. “I’ve seen him do a lot more for a lot less.”
“I’d be thrilled if I had a sibling date my best friend.”
“Too bad Eve can’t be your sister instead of Jake’s.”
Nora’s blonde braid whips around as she spins and rests her butt against the cooler. “So you’re just going to deny yourself happiness? Because you’ve never talked about a girl like you have her.” She leans in closer to me. “I’ve never seen you look at a girl like you look at her either. It’s like your eyes fucking sparkle when she’s within five feet of you. That doesn’t happen with just anyone.”
She’s right. I’ve never felt this way with anyone else, but that’s not the issue I’m most concerned about.
“Is it worth the risk?” She holds out her hands, palms up, moving them up and down like a balance scale. “Lose the girl and be miserable, or know that Jake will understand about the whole situation and be happy for you.”
I shake my head. “‘Jake’ and ‘happy’ aren’t necessarily two words that go hand in hand.”
A sly grin takes over Nora’s face. “You’re aware you and Eve are closing the bar tonight, right?”
I blow out a deep breath and drop my head. “I saw it on the schedule yesterday. I was tempted to call in sick today.”
“That seems unlike you.”
“That’s exactly why I’m here. Unknowingly, Jake’s certainly not making this easy on me.”
“What is his story, anyway?” She rests a hand on her hip. “He’s all business twenty-four seven. Can the muscles in his face do anything else besides scowl?”
“Jake’s?” My brows lift. “It’s complicated.”
“Clearly. He’s a ball of string knotted together. I’m going to go see if he wants to talk to me. Maybe I’ll try to convince him to set up a profile on OneDate. Someone may need a grumpy brute to intimidate an ex or something.” She pushes herself off the cooler.
I laugh. Jake on a dating app… That would be one cold day in hell. “Good luck.”
“I’d ask you, but you’re off the market and in love.” She winks as she strolls past me.
“Hardly.” I shake my head.
“So, Lach, I hear you’re hooking up with—” Dessa strolls behind the bar.
She returned to Harbor Highlands from her honeymoon yesterday. Being the resident mixologist, she creates all the drink specials at Porter’s. Since her now-husband is the catcher for the Seattle Warblers baseball team, she’ll spend the off-season in Minnesota, spring training in Arizona, and Seattle during the regular season.
“Shhh!” I zip my fingers over my lips.
Dessa clamps her mouth shut. Leaning in, she whispers, “Oh, so we’re keeping it a secret.”
“You remember that ‘I owe you’ you owe me? I’m cashing in.”
Last year, Dessa conned me into helping her go on a wild goose chase to find some tourist-trap machine where you put a penny in and turn a wheel, and it flattens the penny, imprinting it with an image. I spent my entire day rummaging through five fully crammed storage buildings to find it for Garrett, and now I’m asking for my favor in return.
“What is it?” She reaches for a shaker and tosses in a scoop of ice.
“You can’t say anything to Jake.”
She laughs. “You know this is going to blow up in your face, right? Big ol’ explosion?”
“Probably.” I scrub my hands down my face. “But I don’t know what to do.”
She rests a hand on her hip. “It’s simple. You either stop fantasizing about sleeping with his sister, or you tell Jake you’ve slept with his sister and want to do it again.”
I exhale a deep breath. “Honestly, both of those sound like terrible ideas.”
“Continuing to sneak around behind his back is probably the worst idea yet.” She quirks an eyebrow at me.
I hate that she’s right. Fucking Dessa and her rational behavior. “We’ve only shared a kiss since she’s been here.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t want more,” she sing-songs.
I tilt my head and stare at the ceiling. This shouldn’t be so hard. Quantum physics is hard. Telling your best friend you slept with his sister, and you want to continue sleeping with her isn’t quantum physics. Why would I rather learn how to split an atom than tell Jake?
“I just need time to figure out my plan. So far, it’s not working out so well. It’s like the universe just keeps shoving us together, and my willpower?—”
“Is non-existent,” Dessa finishes for me.
“Pretty much.”
Dessa grabs two bottles and pours the liquor into a shaker. “Alright, well, I’m not taking the heat for any of this, so if Jake says something to me, I’m blaming you.”
“Fair.”
Using the gun, she squirts cranberry juice into the shaker. “Also, your secret is safe with me.” She shoves the cap on the shaker and tosses it back and forth. “For what it’s worth, if you like her, which it seems like you do, go for it. She could be your one, and you don’t want to miss your opportunity.” She grabs three glasses and pours equal parts into each one.
Nora returns, a grin on her face. “He told me ‘hell no,’ which is better than ‘fuck no,’ so I think he’s easing into the idea.”
Both Dessa and I laugh.
“Here, try this.” She slides one glass toward me and one to Nora.
I take a sip and frown. “Too sweet.”
“Yeah, I agree with Lach,” Nora adds. “Jake, try this.” She holds out her glass to Jake as he passes behind us.
“I don’t drink,” Jake deadpans.
Nora whirls around. “Wait! You own a bar, and you don’t drink?”
“That’s what I said.” He stops at the register and presses some buttons until it pops open.
“That’s very Cheers of you. But also, how did I not know this?” Her gaze slides from me to Dessa, and we both shrug.
“I don’t air my dirty laundry for everyone to see, unlike all of my bartenders.” Jake closes the register with a heavy thud. “You’re what? Twenty-five? How do you know about Cheers ?”
“My mom watches a lot of reruns of old sitcoms. She has a lot of time on her hands, and I get sucked into watching when I’m with her.” Nora crosses her arms over her chest.
Jake nods but adds nothing else to the conversation. “I’m going to the bank and then dropping the truck off for Eve, who’ll be in shortly.” He comes to a halt in front of me and leans in.
My body tenses. Can he smell my fear?
“Keep Eve away from the expensive liquor even if you have to tackle her. I don’t want to write off any more bottles of Scotch,” he says quietly so no one else can hear.
Tackle Eve. My body on top of her. Her tits pressed against my chest. Her soft, breathy moans at the shell of my ear. Fuck. Nope. There can’t be any tackling happening tonight. “Sure thing,” I choke out.
As the night carries on, Dessa leaves. Nora leaves. And I’m left with Eve. Who hasn’t spared a single glance my way. Granted, the night has been busy as hell, so we haven’t had time to chitchat. Every time she strolls past me, I get a whiff of her coconut shampoo, and all I want to do is grab her and bury my nose into the crook of her neck. It’s agony to want something you can’t have. When the clock rounds 12:30 a.m., the crowd settles down and I restock the coolers. The sooner the closing duties are done, the sooner we can leave.
Eve stretches on her tippy toes, and the hem of her shirt rides up, exposing a small patch of skin on her belly. I itch to lean down and drag my lips over her soft skin. My dick twitches in my pants. All she needs to do is exist, and I want her. She stretches a little more until her fingers brush against the bottle of Scotch. It inches closer and closer to the edge of the shelf. She changes her position, but her toe catches the edge of the rubber mat. Gravity takes over, and the bottle tumbles off the shelf. Her arms windmill as she tries to regain her balance while catching the bottle.
I abandon the drink in front of me, and in two leaping strides, I wrap an arm around her waist. With a loud smash, the bottle crashes to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. The spray of liquid soaks my jeans. The smokey aroma wafts around us. Her hand latches onto my bicep, and her eyes pinch shut, bracing for impact. A second later, her lashes flutter open. Her hazel eyes stare back at mine.
“You caught me.” Her words are soft and breathy.
“Always.”
Her nose scrunches, and her lips purse. “Jake’s going to be so mad at me. He warned me about breaking any more bottles.”
“I’ll tell him I did it,” I blurt.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t, but I will.”
Her pink lips curve into a soft smile. Fuck. I’ve missed her smile, especially when it’s directed at me.
“Instead of those ‘Number of Days without an Accident’ signs, we should get one for you that says ‘Number of Days without an Eve Accident.’” Fuck. I’m rambling. I don’t ramble. But I want to keep talking to her. Just like this. With her in my arms.
“Today it would go back to zero.” She smiles. “Um. Can you help me stand?”
Shit. I forgot she’s still in my arms. It’s easy to get lost in her. I hoist her to the standing position. I’m reluctant to let her go. Her touch and closeness are what I’ve missed.
She steps out of my grasp. Bending down, she collects the larger pieces of broken glass. “Your pants are soaked.” She pulls a towel off the bar, brushing it over my shins and up my thighs, inching higher and higher.
My dick gets the wrong idea. I take a step back so I’m out of her reach. “It’s alright. Why don’t you get the mop? I’ll clean up the glass.” Mostly, I need her to stop touching me. She nods and rises to her feet. We work together to clean up the mess. For the rest of the night, there’s a little less hate tension between us, but the palpable sexual tension is at an all-time high. Before we close for the night, I leave a note for Jake that I owe him a bottle of Scotch.