Chapter 11
Gage
I was all freshly showered, dressed up, and had keys in hand when my phone rang in my pocket. Ever get this gut feeling that picking up the phone would be a really bad idea? That it would screw up your entire evening?
That feeling hit me like a deluge of sewer water right out of the gate.
Please don’t be Cooper, please don’t be Cooper, please don’t be Cooper…
I peeked at the screen like it would bite if I looked at it full on.
Cooper.
Of course it fucking was. Why wasn’t I surprised? Only his timing could be this atrocious.
I picked up then winced. Dammit, pure habit right there, picking up the call. How dare you betray me like this, fingers? Welp, I’d answered. I was screwed now, so I might as well see what the latest fuck up was. “What?”
He giggled like something was funny. “Dude, I’m sooooo high.”
“Stay high.”
“Uh, what?”
“Just stay high for the night, Cooper. Stay where you are. I’m not getting you—”
“You gotta. I’m at a public park, and apparently I’m being a nuisance. The fucking cop over here said if I don’t get someone to pick me up, I’m in jail! Ha, that’s funny. Why’s that funny?”
I could tell he was super high. Baked. Why was he getting high in a park, of all places? Also, I really wanted an option. Why couldn’t those exist in real life? I’d abuse that button so hard.
I could feel my date with Logan heading down the drain and I wanted to cry. “Which park?”
“Kellogg.”
At least he was close, since Kellogg was the central park in Plymouth.
Still, even if I ran over there right now to get him, it would be at least fifteen minutes there, another five minutes to find parking, and then I’d have to make nice with the cop, and this whole thing would delay me at least an hour. Shit.
I hung up, seriously tempted to leave my brother’s ass there.
Maybe a night in jail would be good for him.
I could hear Logan’s voice in my ear, urging me to let Cooper crash and burn.
I wanted to listen to his voice so badly.
Although it would only delay the inevitable, as tomorrow I’d have to deal with Cooper and be screamed at by our mother.
She’d be livid if I left her precious baby in jail.
My gut started churning, and I felt almost sick with anxiety. No part of me wanted to deal with Cooper. I just wanted to go on a date! I just wanted Logan! Why was this decision so fucking hard? Why, why, why, why?
No matter what I did, I couldn’t win.
I didn’t want to screw up this date. We were so new, if I canceled on Logan, I’d be sending him the wrong signals. I couldn’t risk this man. I just couldn’t.
Some instinct whispered in my ear, and as if I was on autopilot, I called up Zar.
Zar answered quickly but sounded like he was munching on something. “Sup.”
“Zar. I’m asking for a serious favor.”
“Uh, okay. Hit me.”
“I’ve got a date tonight. In fact, I should be leaving right now, but Cooper just called me—”
Zar groaned like he was done already.
“—I know, I know, but he’s high as a kite and at Kellogg Park. Cops are already on scene and threatening to throw him in jail unless someone picks him up. I know it’s a huge ask, and he’s a pain in the ass even sober, but if someone doesn’t get him, it’ll be an even worse shit show tomorrow.”
I could hear my friend thinking. I started praying.
“Look, I owe you a favor because of the sex talk. I’ll do this for you, but…Gage, this is the only time I’m doing it. I owe you a favor, and Ash told me about this new guy, and it sounds like you seriously like him.”
“I really, truly do.”
“I don’t want you missing the date. So go. I’ve got Cooper.”
“I love you so much.”
“Say that to your date, not me!” He laughed and hung up.
I seriously had the best friends in the universe. I hustled my butt out the door and only texted Cooper that Zar would get him. Then I was in the truck and away. I didn’t care if Cooper had an opinion on that. He didn’t get to nitpick who picked him up and dealt with his shit.
Okay, happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Don’t worry about Cooper, focus on Logan. Happy thoughts.
We were doing something fun tonight. Axe throwing, in fact.
Logan had mentioned to me that he and his friends regularly met up on Tuesdays for Bonk and Brews, or so they called it.
A chance to meet up, vent if they needed to, and have fun with friends.
It sounded awesome. Why didn’t my group do that?
Granted, I worked with all my friends, and we generally hung out on Monday nights for DnD and Friday nights for live music, but still.
Anyway, I met Logan at the place, and I loved the vibe the second I was through the door.
Someone had put some thought into the space, as there was a bar with tables on the left side, and the right was four lanes of axe throwing.
I spotted Logan leaning against the bar, chatting with the guy behind the counter.
It felt like I unclenched a little at the first sight of him. Ah, there he was.
“There you are,” Logan said, unknowingly repeating my very thought. He drew me in for a kiss and a light hello.
I melted. Coming to my date was one hundred percent the better choice. With that thought, all worries about Cooper sort of splintered and spun off.
“Ready to throw some axes? Channel your inner Viking?”
“I will throw things at the speed of gay.” I was ready to hit things, too. It sounded like so much fun.
Logan snorted. Aww, he liked my jokes!
I’d keep him just for that.
The guy behind the counter walked us to our lane and went over the safety rules, which were mostly common sense.
Logan gave me a crash course on how to throw the axe so it actually hit the bull’s-eye instead of bouncing off, which kinda helped, although it took me three tries to get an axe somewhere in the wood.
Logan was damn near a pro. He wasn’t hitting the bull’s-eye every time, but he got damn close.
Look at him, though, those muscles under the shirtsleeves flexing when he threw.
Did he work out? Or was this the result of some hobby of his?
I had to wonder what he benched and whether he’d like to be a gym buddy too.
“Put some feeling into it,” he encouraged. “You’re too polite right now. Think of something that’s pissed you off and then throw.”
Oh? That I could do. Axe, you are hereby Cooper.
I stared at the metal, reimagining the whole scenario right before I’d left, and anger filled me like quicksilver.
Imagining dealing with Cooper instead of being here actually incensed me this time instead of sparking the usual dread.
I hefted the axe, then threw it with all my might, and the motion felt satisfying even before the axe fully left my hand.
But, uh, what the fuck? How the hell did the handle of the axe get buried in the wood and not the blade?! As cathartic as that’d felt, embarrassment started creeping in. I could feel the heat of the emotion in my cheeks.
Stunned silence fell for a second. I questioned how physics worked, because that shouldn’t be possible. Logan stared at axe like he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Then he turned to look at me, concern evident. “Honey, want to talk about it?”
Well, shit. I couldn’t quite look him in the eye, my blush reaching atomic levels. “Cooper called me just as I was leaving.”
“Ohhhh.” He came in closer to sling an arm around my shoulders, a gentle sort of hug. “Tell you what, I think we’ve hit the brews part of the evening. Let’s warn Joey that he needs to replace the wood on this lane, get a beer, and talk.”
The gentle way he handled me undid my embarrassment by half.
I still felt a touch mortified, but he was taking the situation in stride and wasn’t ribbing me.
I wanted to kiss him in thanks. He paid attention, this man, and it was hard for me to reconcile his tales of being an angry teenager when he was such an incredibly patient and attentive man.
I ordered a beer and fries, because hard conversations went down better with fries, and we snagged a back table. It gave us a buffer from people, and this was a conversation I wanted only him to hear.
Logan scooted in close, our knees brushing together, and the warmth in his brown eyes almost undid me. “All right. So your brother called, but you still came on the date. First, good job.”
“It’s not what you think.” I sighed, picking at my fries. “I actually called Zar.”
“Who’s Zar, again?”
“Zar is the second childhood friend. He’s a cop in Plymouth. Also dating Asher, for reference.”
“Okay, got it.”
“Anyway, Cooper called me, and he was so high I’m honestly amazed he remembered how to work a phone, and said he was being thrown out of the park. Either I picked him up or he’d spend the night in the drunk tank. I almost left him there.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because it would be worse tomorrow. My mother would have lost her mind if I hadn’t gotten her precious baby and brought him home. She’d have given me hell. I wouldn’t have lived it down for months. I just…I didn’t want to miss our date. I couldn’t make myself do that. So I called Zar.”
“Does Zar normally help you?”
“No. Normally, no one helps me. I think this is the first time I’ve ever asked someone to handle Cooper. Zar owed me a favor, though, and was willing to help this one time.”
Logan hummed softly, processing.
Ugh, the situation felt shitty, like I’d still somehow screwed up somewhere.
“Can you walk me through your family dynamic?”
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. “Which part?”
“Either? Any? What you feel comfortable talking about?”
None of it, to be honest, but something in me wanted to tell him. Wanted to explain. Just so he knew where I was coming from, if nothing else. “Dynamic between us brothers?”
“Well, yeah. Why your brother is the pampered one, why you’re the responsible one?”