10. Reese
Drunk Winnie is a handful. I don’t know how many of those little test-tube shots she had when I was in the bathroom, but enough to be a giggling mess. It’s like she’s a child again, and her dad is chasing her through the house, trying to get her into the tub. Except it’s me chasing her around the car, and she’s not naked. Unfortunately.
I get her in, grab my hat back, flip the child safety lock, and slam the door in her face before she can jump out. Again.
Sawyer rolls down his window and cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Yeah, yeah.” I brush him off and head around to my seat. “Go,” I tell him as soon as my door is closed. “Before she tries to jump through the sunroof.”
Winnie leans forward, and Sawyer floors it.
“I’m hungry.”
“I have something you can eat.” I grin, but she doesn’t. Instead, genuine confusion etches across her face, and Sawyer barks out a laugh.
“Trust me, you don’t want what he’s got. But there is a Subway on the way home.”
Winnie makes a gagging noise, and he frowns.
“Not a fan of Subway?”
“No. But I do like pizza. Is there pizza?”
The other two girls lean forward and squeal in happiness, wanting pizza too, and no matter how many times we tell them no, Sawyer caves and turns down the road that leads to our favorite joint.
It’s the definition of hole-in-the-wall, but they stay open until three a.m. for all the college kids to grab a slice after the bars, and their pizza is fucking amazing. Best in town, and I’ve tried them all, several times. But we keep coming back to Max’s Slices because it’s just that damn good. I’m glad I get to show Winnie it for the first time. I know she’s going to love it.
That is, if she is sober enough to remember how good it is. And if not, I guess I’ll have to bring her back when she is. I jump down from the truck and wander over to Sawyer’s side to pull open her door since she can’t do it herself. As soon as it opens, she tumbles out right into my arms. I steady her and try not to focus on how close my hands are to her ass. Or how she’s breathing on my neck and it’s fucking erotic as shit.
Her teeth chatter together, and I push her away to see her face. “Are you cold?”
I don’t wait for her to nod before I’m pulling off my sweatshirt and slipping it over her head. It hangs off her narrow shoulders like a dress. The sleeves are too long, and it hits her mid-thigh, but fuck it all if she doesn’t look so damn sexy in my clothes.
“Let’s get you some ’za.” Before I do something I shouldn’t. Like fuck her against Sawyer’s truck.
The best part about Max’s is the pizza by the slice. Any kind you want, and they have a ton that are ready after a quick run through the oven.
“It smells so good in here.” Winnie sucks in a deep breath with her nose in the air. “What do you normally get?”
“I like the pulled pork. But I think you’ll like the macaroni.”
Her eyes widen with excitement, reminding me so much of a young Winnie. “They have macaroni on pizza?”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “It’s really good too.”
“I love it here.” She spins to face me. Tilting her head to stare at me—or my lips, mostly. Losing all train of thought, I take in her lips, so soft, so pink, so wet from her dragging her tongue across them, and so begging me to take them.
My heart races. I lean down, she closes her eyes, and—
“Next!”
She jumps, ramming her head into my chin. We groan at the pain, and I feel around, but there’s no blood. Fuck, she has a hard head, though.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
I kiss the place Winnie is rubbing on her head before greeting Tony. He graduated from college within the last ten years and is a really cool dude. His brother Max, who he named the place after, is the biggest Timberwolves fan—specifically hockey—and Coach is cool enough to give Max and Tony season passes every year.
“Thanks, man.” I scowl, seeing his shitty grin because he knows what he just interrupted.
“Anytime, and who is this?” He leans on the counter between us and eyes Winnie with interest.
“Winnie.” Her voice is almost too sweet. Without a second thought, she offers her dainty hand to the big man behind the counter. He takes it, shakes, and brings it toward his lips to press a kiss.
“Alright, alright. He punched one dick tonight, we don’t need to make it two.” Sawyer pushes between us, making him drop Winnie’s hand.
“That right?” Tony lifts an eyebrow.
I shrug it off, not wanting to get into it. I order our food before stepping aside to let Sawyer get his, then lead a bouncy Winnie over to a booth and let her drop onto the squeaky seat before sliding in after her.
“Are you excited, or are you cold and trying to stay warm?”
She giggles the sweetest sound. “Excited. I haven’t had good pizza in so long.”
Shit, that’s right. I forgot the pizza place back home closed a few years ago.
“Well, it’s the best. You can’t beat it besides the help.”
She giggles again and falls into my open chest. For as long as I can remember, Winnie has smelled of raspberries and vanilla. I broke down once and asked what the smell was, and she said it was her body wash. I’m glad she still uses the same stuff; the smell is so comforting. There were so many nights we would sit up on her roof, and I would catch whiffs of the sweetness. It brings back a lot of good memories.
I drop an arm on her back, and she sighs.
“I’m going to regret letting you hold me like this.”
“Guess I need to appreciate it while you do, then.” I pull her closer and kiss the top of her head. “You don’t have to regret it, though, Win. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
She doesn’t reply, not that I expected her to. The others join us after stopping off at the arcade games in the corner, and she sits up but stays close. Sawyer shoots me a look, and I shrug. I don’t know what’s happening. All I know is I’m enjoying holding her.
“Sawyer! Reese,” Max cheers when he sees us.
“Hey, buddy. What’s going on tonight?” Sawyer pulls him in for a bro-hug.
I stand and do the same across the table.
“Pizza, pizza, pizza.”
I can’t help but match his laugh. It’s contagious. “All the best things, then, man.”
Tony passes out our slices and rests a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t be rude, Max. Greet the pretty ladies these two chumps are lucky enough to court around.”
“Pretty! Pretty!”
“You remember my sister, Emma, and her friend, Laney?”
Max nods excitedly. Then he looks at Winnie, and his eyes get big. Me too, buddy. Me too.
“Red! Red!”
“Whoa, hold on there. This one is taken.”
Winnie slaps my hand wrapped around her body. “I’m Winnie. It’s nice to meet you, Max.”
“Max! Max!” He points to himself, so happy that she knew his name. Then he begins to sing the theme song of the Winnie the Pooh movie, and a laugh falls from my lips. Winnie slaps me again. Her smile is friendly, but I know if it were anyone else, she wouldn’t be smiling. She hates the comparisons, especially after losing her dad.
“Yeah, just like the bear.” She giggles.
“Alright, kid. Let’s let them eat.”
Max complains, but Tony promises he can check on us in a bit, which seems to soothe him enough.
“He’s sweet,” Winnie says.
“Yeah, he is. Their parents passed away years ago, so Max was left to Tony to care for and raise.”
“Oh, wow.” Her lips puff out a small amount. “That’s so sad.”
I look over the booth to the two brothers now behind the counter. Max jokingly snaps Tony with the towel, and he pretends to get mad. It can’t be easy, doing what Tony does and knowing there’s no end to the care Max needs, but I commend him for it. He mentioned there being a few times he’s caught people making fun of Max, and he’s kicked them out, but if it were me heads would roll. How can you make fun of someone just because they are different than you? I’ll never fucking understand.
“They make the best of it.”
Winnie nods, seeing the same thing I am.
“Dig in.” I squeeze her shoulder to turn her back around.
After the pizza, she seems even more sober, but she’s still leaning against my chest, and I’m too afraid to bring attention to it. Sawyer stands and collects all our garbage with the help of Laney, and they carry it over to the trash cans across the room. Emma is hardly awake on her side of the table. How she hasn’t noticed the tension between her friend and brother, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I know what I know, but when Laney accidentally bumps into him, she jumps away—way further than necessary—and her cheeks bloom a deep red. They share a quick look, but she is gone and heading for the door before anything can be said. It’s so painfully obvious now.
He stares after her for a long time, and his chest rises and falls as if he’s letting out a deep breath.
“Emma,” I call out, and Winnie jumps in my arms. She must have been sleeping, too, because now that she’s awake, she quickly removes herself from against my body, leaving behind a chill.
“Ready?” Sawyer asks, only getting nods in return.
“Later, gators,” I holler, waving to Max and Tony in the back.
“In a while, crocodile,” Max shouts before he starts singing the Winnie the Pooh theme song again.
Winnie smiles and waves. “Bye, Max!”
I open my wallet and grab a twenty. Sawyer paid for the pizza, and it’s a rule that whoever buys the food, the other is responsible for the tip, so I drop the cash on the table. Moving to fold up my wallet and put it away, I falter when Winnie snatches it from my hands.
“If you need money, baby. All you gotta do is ask.” My smile falls when she doesn’t pull out cash. Instead, she pulls out a photo.
Shit.
“What the hell is this?”