Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
WAYLON
“You’re having a shot now?” I ask John David. The Copper Moon is closed for Wes’s bachelor party, which isn’t even set to start for another half hour. It’s going to be a half bachelor, half bachelorette party since Rose and her friends are coming by for a drink or two before going back home for a sleepover.
“I need a shot before Ash gets here.” He throws back the shot of moonshine he poured for himself and winces.
“It’ll be okay,” I say, as if things have ever been okay between them. “He’s not bringing strippers.”
That I know of.
A cab dropped him off at my house late last night, and he promptly passed out in my guest bedroom. This morning I woke up and he was just eating straight up coffee grounds and chasing them with water instead of making coffee like a normal person, wearing a red, tiger printed silk robe. I have no idea what he’s doing at the house right now, but I’m honestly a little worried.
Wes is somewhat chaotic, but in a lighthearted way. Ash is chaotic in a way where we worry he’ll end up dead or butt naked on a boat going down the Amazon River.
“Then where is he?” JD asks, going behind the bar and pouring himself a soda.
“He said he’d be here.” I shrug and check my phone. Nothing from Bianca, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
I take a deep breath and pour myself a shot too. I know I can’t pretend that I don’t have feelings for her anymore, especially after our day in together. Everything just clicked once I stopped getting in my head too much about it.
But now I have to think about what we are. And that thought is making my stomach churn.
I toss back the shot right as the door swings open. Ash strolls in. He’s impossible to miss — he’s wearing a bright red silk shirt, jeans, and boots, sunglasses on even though the sun has almost set. His tattoos peek out from his rolled up sleeves and the open neck of his shirt.
“Sup, nerds?” Ash asks, taking off his sunglasses. “Ready to party?”
“As long as we keep it reasonable,” JD says with a sigh.
“You look fucking tired already.” Ash grabs an entire bottle of vodka from behind the bar. “Lighten up. It’s a bachelor party.
“Don’t drink straight out of the bottle.” JD slides him a shot glass. Of course, Ash swigs directly out of the bottle. “You owe us fifty bucks.”
“Fifty dollars for this bottom shelf shit?” Ash looks at the bottle like it’s offended him.
“Surcharge for being a pain in my ass,” JD says.
“Oh, get fucked, JD. I’ve been here thirty seconds.”
“You can get on my nerves in half a second, easy.”
“Can we just relax?” I ask. I don’t know how I ended up as the peacemaker of us all, but it’s been my default position since we were kids. “We should just have a good time.”
Ash and I exchange a look. He listens to me about 50% of the time, and hopefully today is one of those days.
Ash sighs and leans against the bar. “Whatever. I’m still not paying for this bottle.”
“Yeah, you fucking will.” JD wipes down the counter, almost compulsively.
“Who’ll do what?” Wes asks, coming into the bar.
“Nothing,” I say. “You want a drink before people start arriving?”
“Yep.”
JD pours Wes, then all of us a drink.
“Who’s making a toast?” Wes asks, looking to me.
“To your last days with your dick free,” Ash says before I can get a word in otherwise.
I raise an eyebrow. “Try again.”
“To your past life and everything it taught you, and to the new life you’ll have with Rose in the future,” JD says after a long pause.
We tap our glasses together and take a drink.
“Surprisingly deeper than I thought you’d go,” Wes says.
“Still waters and all that,” JD adds, deadpan.
“It was hardly poetry,” Ash snorts and takes a sip of his drink.
From the way he and JD are glaring daggers at each other, it’s only a matter of time before they start at each others’ throats again, but thankfully, Jasper, one of our good friends who works at the bar, comes in with a few other people carrying bags of food.
Thankfully the food keeps JD and Waylon apart, and the party slowly starts to rev up. Ash takes control of the music and JD makes drinks. I always forget how many friends Wes has. It feels like half the guys in our town have descended on the bar.
“I can’t believe you’re getting married,” Jasper says, clapping Wes on the shoulder. “You. Of all people.”
Wes laughs. “Thanks?”
“Not that you and Rose aren’t good for each other — if you two didn’t get together after I choked through all that tension for months, I’d be pissed,” he says. “But if you told the version of you from four or five years ago about this, would you believe him?”
“Oh, fuck no,” Wes says with a snort. “I definitely wouldn’t believe I’m getting married period, much less marrying Rose.”
“See? There you go.” Jasper takes a hefty sip of his cocktail. “A lot of shit can change in five years.”
I hum in agreement. I wouldn’t have guessed Wes would be the first of us to get married at all. He really was completely different five years ago — he was still my twin and best friend, but he wasn’t nearly as mature and put together.
He was sleeping around, keeping things casual. He wasn’t unhappy, but he wasn’t nearly as happy as he is now.
A pang of jealousy pokes through my buzz. Part of me wants what he has — someone to come home to. But letting go of all my fucking baggage isn’t as easy as shaking off a lifelong rivalry. Then again, the tension between wanting Bianca and fearing I’m going to end up fucking myself over again is going to drive me crazy.
Having drinks and talking to friends is helping some, but I can’t help but feel like I seem off. Even when more people arrive and the party picks up over the next hour, I feel like I’m only 75% present.
“Oh, there’s Rose,” Wes says, his eyes lighting up.
He murmurs a goodbye and weaves through the crowd to his fiancée. I scan the room for Bianca since she’s supposed to be here too. I spot her next to the bar, facing away from me, and Ash facing her. The lazy, warm smile on his face while he talks to her says everything I need to know.
The jealousy and anger that rush up in me nearly make me dizzy. I know Ash has no idea who Bianca is, but seeing him flirting with her makes me want to do something I’d possibly regret. Possibly . Ash and I get along well and almost always have, but if I had to, I could beat him in a fight.
I storm over, locking eyes with Ash for a second. He looks bewildered, an eyebrow going up, and Bianca turns to look at me too. She smiles, and I manage to smile back a little.
I slide an arm around her waist and kiss her the moment I can get a hand on her. She smells even better than she usually does, and I want to press my face into her neck. Is it her hair? Or just her lotion? I don’t know, but it’s making me even more feral.
“Ash, this is Bianca. My girlfriend. Bianca, this is my brother Ash,” I say, cutting off whatever conversation they were having. I don’t even care that I’m being rude. My pulse is still racing, but having Bianca close is slowing my heart down.
“ Oh. The girlfriend I’ve heard whispers of. So that’s why he looked like that,” Ash says with a grin, shaking her hand and giving her a little more space. “I’ve never seen him look like that in his whole life.”
My face flushes with heat, especially when Bianca looks at me, curious.
“Look like what?” she asks.
“Like he wants me dead for even daring to look your way.” Ash notices that my face is probably beet red, but thankfully ignores it and says, “When’d you roll into town, Bianca?”
“A few months ago,” she says. “How’d you know I was new here? Or did Waylon tell you?”
“I can tell by looking at you. I haven’t lived here since I was eighteen but I can still tell when someone’s not from around here.” He sips his drink. “And I’ve spent enough time other places. I’m in a band.”
“Oh.” An inscrutable look crosses her face before disappearing. “Where are you based?”
A dark look crosses over Ash’s face for a moment before he pulls himself together. “Yep. And right now…kind of all over the place. The band tours a lot.”
There’s definitely more to what Ash is saying, but if I ask, he’ll never tell me.
“To be honest, I’m surprised Waylon’s seeing someone.” Ash recovers with a smirk and elbows me. “Especially someone half-way interesting.”
He’s not completely serious, but I still glare at him. He grins in response, not a care in the world.
“Being from out of town doesn’t automatically make me interesting,” she says. Her tone is the same, but I can see the shyness in her eyes.
“More interesting than a lot of people who never leave this place.” Ash glances at me. “Waylon doesn’t count, though. And neither does Wes.”
Bianca just nods, completely unaware of the dig at John David. He went straight from high school to under Dad’s wing at the company, taking remote college classes instead of leaving for school. Ash was fully moved out of the house the day after high school graduation, and has only come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas when he’s felt like it.
“How’d you meet, then?” Ash asks. He’d never admit that he’s just as nosy as Mom is, but he is.
“Just luck, mostly. Everything just fell into place.” Bianca looks at me with such warmth and affection that I can’t help but feel that in return – even if it’s fake. “We connected because he was taking care of my great aunt’s dog after she passed. He’s really helped me feel more at home here and helped me get used to being a dog owner.”
“Waylon the dog whisperer.” Ash scans Bianca’s face, more out of curiosity than flirtation like he was earlier. “I’m glad to hear y’all found each other, then. It’s been a while since Waylon’s looked at home with someone.”
Ash saying something like he means it is rare, so the compliment hits differently. Our relationship isn’t real, but are we really pulling it off that well? Ash’s bullshit detector is pretty good, but he’s convinced.
“Y’all want a shot?” He asks, grabbing his bottle off the bar.
“No, I think I need something to eat to balance this.” Bianca holds up her can of moonshine margarita.
“Let’s get food, then.” I lace my fingers through hers and nod goodbye to Ash.
The food is just from the tavern next door, so nothing special. But Bianca fills up a little plate with chips and guacamole, plus a single lemon pepper wing.
Now that I’m not focused on keeping Ash away from Bianca, I can take her in. Out of everyone, Ash is the only guy I know who’d have the balls to approach someone as gorgeous as Bianca. She’s wearing more makeup today, something glittery around her eyes that’s not too over the top and a lipstick in a shade of red-orange. I don’t know anything about makeup, but she must have done something else, too, without looking like she’s trying to be someone else.
And her dress. It’s red, form-fitting and a little short. She looks way too good in it.
“I didn’t tell you how beautiful you look,” I say, taking a chip from her plate when she holds it out to me.
She smiles, warm and familiar. “You don’t have to tell me that every time, you know.”
“If it’s true, I’ll say it.” I look around at the party. “Things with Rose and the others are good?”
“Yeah, really good.” She holds her hand in front of her mouth while she chews. “I like that we spent two hours getting dressed and we’re only staying for less than an hour. Not sarcasm, by the way. I always wanted to get dressed up but going to sit in a loud club after everyone already saw my outfit was really exhausting.”
“Isn’t the club the whole point of the night?” I ask.
“Technically, yes, but it’s not the most fun. Clubs are just a weird, fancy way to judge people. You’d be horrified if I told you all the weird stories I have.” She shakes her head. “It was just a thing for social media anyway. Going out in Jepsen suits me better. Especially since it’s not deafening in here.”
I bite back the question I want to ask — does she want to stay, since it seems to suit her more?
I try to think of what life would be like if she did. Would we keep this charade going? I can only see this tension between fearing the mess a relationship can bring and wanting her getting worse the more time goes on. If that’s tearing me apart now, it’ll only get worse later on as we grow more attached.
And if we get attached…that didn’t work out well at all the last time, as much as I was into Catherine.
I’ll talk to her about it after the wedding. We weren’t supposed to “last” much longer than that, so it’s a place to end this. A short term hurt to save us both a lot of heartache. I’ll savor the illusion until then.