Epilogue
Chase
Six Months Later
I pushed through the crowd toward my usual booth.
It wasn’t “my” booth anymore; it was “our” booth.
I tried not to spill the beer I’d gotten from Benji, but the jostling from the bargoers was a force of nature.
It was opening night of the new hockey season, Lightning versus Boston, and Barbacks was overflowing with excitement.
Six months ago, this place had been busy on game nights.
Now it was a phenomenon.
The Lightning effect was real.
After Skyler Shaw, Erik Lindqvist, and Tyler Chen had shown up that night in April, everything had changed.
Other players started coming by. They’d post photos on their social media.
The team had even given Finn, Mark, Jacks, and Benji tickets to several playoff games.
The guys had sat in a box with some of the players’ families, watching the Lightning beat Carolina in the first round.
The team hadn’t won the Cup. They lost to their archrival from Miami in the second round, but the exposure they gave us had been incredible for our business.
Now, Barbacks was the most official unofficial Lightning bar in Tampa.
And on opening night, they hit capacity an hour before puck drop.
I found a spot in our booth and watched Finn work behind the bar.
He was in his element, laughing with customers and pouring drinks with practiced efficiency.
His auburn hair messy, something barely worth noting, as it was always a bit unruly.
His sleeves were rolled up, and there was a flush to his cheeks from the exertion and the heat of the crowd.
Pride stabbed into my chest like a dagger.
God, I loved him.
As if sensing my attention, he glanced up and caught my eye. His whole face lit up with that brilliant smile that still made my chest tight.
He mouthed something that looked like “crazy night.” I nodded, grinning back.
My hand went to my jacket pocket.
It was still there, still safe.
I’d been carrying it for two weeks.
“Dude, you need to stop touching your pocket,” a voice said beside me.
I jerked my hand away and turned to find Diego sliding into the booth across from me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“You invited me, remember? Big game, big night, come support my future brother-in-law.” Diego raised an eyebrow. “Or did you forget in all your nervous pocket-checking?”
“I’m not nervous.”
“You’re about to piss yourself, and that wouldn’t be a good look, even for a lawyer. Just do it already.”
“I’m waiting for the right moment.”
“The right moment was last week. Or the week before. Or—”
“Diego—”
“Fine, but if you don’t do it tonight, I’m telling him myself.” Diego leaned back, looking around the bar with obvious approval. “This place has blown up. Finn must be thrilled.”
“He really is. They all are.” I watched Benji do a complicated bottle flip that made several customers cheer. “They’ve worked so hard for this.”
“And you’ve been right there with them.” Diego smiled. “You know you’re basically part owner at this point, right? Between the marketing strategy, the lease negotiation, and all the shifts you’ve worked—”
“I haven’t worked that many shifts—”
“You worked five shifts last month when Jacks was sick. You know the drink menu better than some of the actual staff.” Diego’s expression softened. “Shit, you’re a better bartender than Jacks.”
“Jacks is a barback.”
“See. That proves it.” He shifted in his seat, turning his body so he faced the nearest TV. “You found your place, Chase. I’m happy for you.”
I had found my place.
It was here, with Finn, and with these people who’d become like family.
Which was why tonight felt so important.
It was why it had to be perfect.
The game started, and the bar erupted in cheers as the Lightning won the puck drop.
I watched Finn whoop and high-five Mark, both of them grinning like kids.
My hand went to my pocket again.
Diego kicked me under the table.
“Stop it,” he mouthed.
The game was incredible.
The Lightning won 4 to 2, and the bar lost its mind.
Benji led a chorus of “Don’t Stop Believin’” that could probably be heard in Orlando.
Jacks high-fived every customer within reach.
Mark was already calculating the night’s revenue with barely concealed glee.
And Finn . . .
Finn was in the middle of it all, laughing and celebrating with the regulars who’d also become like family.
I loved watching him like this, seeing him happy and successful and thriving.
This was what he’d worked for.
What he’d dreamed about when he and Mark first opened the place.
“You’re staring again,” Diego said.
“I know.”
“You’re also smiling like an idiot.”
“I know that, too.”
“Are you going to—”
“Yes, as soon as the crowd thins out.”
Diego studied me for a moment, then smiled. “He’s going to say yes, you know.”
“You think?”
“I know. That man is head over heels in love with you. Anyone with eyes can see it.” He stood up. “Now I’m going to get another beer and leave you to your nervous planning. I think you should do it now, while the place is packed. It’ll make for a more dramatic event—and even better promo videos.”
I watched him go, then checked the time. It was nearly eleven. The crowd wasn’t even budging. If anything, the bar was cramming even more happy gays into the building.
My phone buzzed.
Mom: Good luck tonight, sweetheart. He’s going to say yes. I know he will. Love you.
I smiled. I’d told my mom last week, needing someone to talk to about my plans. She’d met Finn twice now and had declared him “absolutely perfect for you” both times.
Me: Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.
Another text came through, this time from an unknown number.
Unknown Number: This is Priya. A patient tried to stick my phone up her cooter. I promise this isn’t a puss-dial. I’m texting from a nurse’s phone.
Unknown Number: Just remember, if you hurt him, I know the name of every bone and muscle in your body. But seriously, congratulations in advance. He loves you.
I laughed despite myself and showed the text to Diego when he returned with his beer.
“That’s terrifying and sweet at the same time,” Diego said.
“That’s Priya.”
“She’s protective.”
“Very.”
By midnight, the crowd had turned over but was every bit as large and raucous as it had been during the game. Any hope of a quiet conversation drifted out into the Tampa night.
I stood up, my heart pounding.
This was it.
Diego caught my eye and gave me a thumbs-up.
I wove my way to the bar where Finn was juggling orders and Mark was cashing out a customer.
“Hey, you,” I said.
Finn looked up. “Hey, yourself. Hell of a night, right?”
“Yeah. Listen, can you take a break? I want to show you something.”
“Show me what?”
“Just—can you come with me for a minute?”
Finn glanced at Mark. Mark, the traitorous bastard, shook his head “no” and looked around at the crowd of men waiting on drinks.
Finn shrugged. “We’re kinda slammed. Can you give me another hour? It should thin out at some point.”
I couldn’t wait.
Not one minute longer.
The crowd be damned.
I tapped a few men out of the way, clearing a place on the bar, and vaulted to stand atop it.
Finn stepped back, eyes wide, mouth open. “Babe, what are you doing?”
The crowd was staring now. Even guys eating at tables had stopped and looked up, curious about the idiot standing on top of the bar.
“EVERYONE,” I called out. “PLEASE, EVERYONE. CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?”
Slowly, conversations quieted to a dull roar.
I sucked in a deep breath and turned to Finn, motioning for him to join me on the bar counter. His whole face scrunched up, and he started to protest, but Mark and Jacks were there and ready, shoving him forward and helping him up to tower over the crowd.
“Chase, what’s going on?” Finn asked, concern in his voice now. “You’re acting really weird.”
Jacks’s hand reached up and offered me a microphone.
Finn’s face lost the last of its color.
“I love you,” I blurted into the mic.
He blinked.
“The past nine months have been the best of my life,” I said, the words tumbling out now.
“Every day I wake up next to you, I can’t believe how lucky I am.
You’ve changed everything for me—my whole life, my whole world.
I can’t imagine going back to who I was before I met you.
Before I ran into you on that sidewalk and you looked at me like I was something worth knowing. ”
Finn’s expression shifted from concerned to stunned to something soft, his eyes bright in the dim light.
“And I don’t want to go back,” I continued. “I don’t want to imagine a future that doesn’t have you in it. I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to build a life with you. I want—”
A few guys in the crowd gasped. The old men, always there, cried again.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring box and dropped to one knee.
Finn’s hands flew to his mouth. “Oh my fucking God.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
I opened the box.
Finn stared at the ring—a platinum Claddagh, two hands cradling a heart beneath a crown. A diamond winked from the center of the heart.
“That’s a Claddagh ring,” Finn said, his voice thick.
“I know it’s traditional, but I thought—given that you’re Irish, and what it represents—” I swallowed hard. “Love, loyalty, friendship. That’s us. That’s what we have.”
“Chase, it’s perfect,” Finn whispered. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
“Finn O’Brien,” I said, my voice shaking now. “Will you marry me?”
For a long moment, he just stared down. His eyes were shining, and I realized he was crying.
“Yes,” he said, and his voice was thick with emotion. “Yes, of course, yes. How could you even—yes. Yes!”
The bar erupted. If the Lightning game had been an explosion, this was a nuclear reaction. I’d never heard anything so loud in all my life.
I stood, careful not to fall off the damn counter, my hands shaking as I took the ring from the box. Finn held out his hand, and I slid the ring onto his finger.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you, too,” he said, and then he was kissing me, his hands in my hair, his body pressed against mine.
I could barely hear myself think over the crowd. Still, Finn managed to whisper in my ear. “You’ve been so weird. Was this in your pocket the whole time?”
“For two weeks, yeah.”
“TWO WEEKS?!”
“I was waiting for the right moment.”
“You could have asked me any time in the past two weeks and I would have said yes,” Finn said. “You could have asked me in the car, or at home, or while I was taking out the trash. I would have said yes every single time.”
“I wanted it to be special.”
He pulled back, and I suddenly remembered where we were, standing on top of the bar in a building full of people. Jacks reached up and tapped my leg, then offered his hand to help us down. Once grounded again, Finn kissed me, harder this time.
“We’re getting married,” he said between kisses.
“We’re getting married,” I repeated, and the words felt surreal. “You’re going to be my husband.”
“OH MY GOD!” Benji screamed. “YOU’RE ENGAGED! FINN’S ENGAGED! THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED!”
“Benji, customers!” Mark snapped, but he was grinning as he pulled us both into a hug. “Congratulations, you two. I’m happy for you.”
“About damn time,” Jacks said, joining the hug. “Congrats, boss. This is—you two are good together.”
“The best,” Benji said, wiping his eyes.
“You’re the best couple I know. I’m so happy I could die.
Also, I’m planning the bachelor party. Both bachelor parties.
And they’re going to be amazing. And—” He stopped, his eyes going wide.
“Wait, does this mean you’re going to have a wedding?
Here? At the bar? Please say you’re having it at the bar. ”
“We just got engaged,” Finn said, laughing. “We haven’t planned anything yet.”
“But you’ll consider the bar, right? Because that would be perfect. This is where your love story happened. This is where it should be celebrated.”
I looked at Finn, and he looked at me, and we both smiled.
“We’ll think about it,” Finn said.
“That’s not a no!” Benji was already pulling out his phone. “I need to text Priya. She’s going to be so smug. She called this. She said you’d be engaged by the end of the year.”
Diego appeared with a bottle of champagne. Glasses were already making their way around to every customer as Jacks and Benji began uncorking bottles they’d pulled out of who-knew-where.
“I may have told Mark to have this ready. Call it my engagement present to you both,” Diego said with a grin. “Chase, you did good.”
We kissed again, and somewhere in the background I heard Benji say, “Okay, but seriously, we need to talk about the bachelor parties because I have ideas—”
And I thought, This. This is everything.
This messy, chaotic, beautiful life we were building together, this bar full of friends who’d become family, this man who’d looked at me on a sidewalk nine months ago and somehow saw something worth keeping . . .
This was home.
This was forever.
And I couldn’t wait.
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed your first Barbacks experience.
Continue your journey with Finn, Mark, and everyone else in Tapped!
, book two of this series. I've thrown in a few sample chapters on the pages that follow to whet your whistle.
Please forgive any errors you might find.
Tapped! is still in the hands of Dear Editor.