Chapter 21 Lake
Chapter twenty-one
Lake
Pour Another Shot seems both an incredibly appropriate name for a cop bar and yet also a little weird.
Are a lot of cops here doing shots after their shifts?
That’s one way to take the edge off a hard day.
What kind of shots do they do here? I bet they’re great.
If I wasn't the designated driver, here to pick up my drunk fiancé, then I’d think about trying one. Maybe we could come back here sometime.
Grady and Sebastian are easy to spot, partly because they definitely stand out in a crowd, but also because my Grady radar is on point. He’ll always be the first person that I find in a room.
They’re at a tall round table, feet hooked in their stools.
There are… a lot of glasses between them.
There’s a flush on Grady’s cheeks, visible even from here, that’s totally endearing.
Love it when my big man lets loose properly.
He holds himself so tight, coiled like a predator watching for enemies on the horizon.
He turns his head before I reach him, his smile reaching his ears. The unfiltered response does things to my heart that I want to roll in, enjoying every second of it.
“Taxi for Grady.”
He slips while getting off his stool and barrels into me, forcing me to slide one foot back to take his weight without both of us hitting the ground. He wraps his arms around me enthusiastically, burying his face in my neck and giving it a lick, which isn’t helping matters.
“You’re stronger than you look,” Sebastian remarks, taking a sip of a drink he probably shouldn’t be having.
Though he looks more sober than Grady, I imagine a good portion of the drinking glasses are his too.
Besides, his lopsided eyeglasses give away his illusion of sobriety. Could almost get away with it, though.
“Piloting is hard work.” So many people don’t realise just how physical it is, and how much strength is required. “Daily physical training requirements help too.”
Sebastian nods, shrugging with his mouth. “Makes sense. Peyton is deceptively strong too.”
“Yeah, those spec-ops guys are something else.” Can’t imagine that Peyton let himself go after he retired. He was always the first there and the last to leave, like he had something to prove. I hope he’s found what he needs.
“You smell good,” Grady says, slurring slightly. He nuzzles my neck and inhales deeply. Goose bumps run from the spot all the way down my spine.
“You smell like a brewery,” I tease. Though truthfully, he always smells great. Even if he does also smell like a brewery. It only adds to his flavour. Does it change his flavour? My mouth waters at the thought of finding out. Definitely going to tick that one off the second we get home.
“Do you like that?” Grady asks huskily.
“Save it for the honeymoon,” Sebastian says with amusement. He salutes us with his glass and empties it.
“Aren’t you leaving yet?”
“My ride isn’t here. Guess I don’t tip my taxi driver as well as Grady.”
“You’re not actually getting a taxi, right?” I ask, to clarify. He has four boyfriends; surely one of them isn’t busy and can come get him?
Sebastian smirks. “No, Lake.”
That’s good.
“The bartenders have my keys,” Grady says. He leans more heavily against me, shifting more of his weight onto me.
“I’ll get them before we leave.” Considering I took an Uber here so that I could drive his car back, the keys will be pretty useful for getting home.
“Marry me,” he whispers into my ear.
“I am marrying you.”
His nose nudges my ear, and he kisses under my jaw. “No. Right now.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” I ask with a laugh.
“Seb can do it. He’s a lawyer.”
“Seb can do it?” When did they get to nickname basis? This drunk Grady is kinda cute.
“I know that there are two of you right now,” Sebastian says, flicking his finger between Grady and who I assume is Grady number two. “But that’s not how that works.”
“Lawyers are not celebrants.” Or maybe they are? I don’t know. “Do you get that with your certification?” I ask curiously.
Sebastian shakes his head slowly and then blinks. “No.” He doesn’t sound sure, but I take him for his word anyway.
Grady’s hands fist in my shirt against my back. His next words are so quiet I almost don’t hear them. “Every second that we wait, you have time to change your mind.”
My heart cracks at the statement. Is that really what he thinks? That I’ll change my mind? How long has he been carrying this around?
There’s nothing, nothing, that will ever make me change my mind. He’s it for me. I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving him, and he’s just going to have to deal with that.
“Okay.”
He leans back, tilting his head. “Okay?”
“Yeah.” If this is what he wants, what he needs to feel better?
He can have it. I’ll do anything that reassures him that I’m in this one hundred percent.
“I’ve even got the ring right here.” Shifting Grady in my arms is awkward, and we stumble a little, but I manage to get my hand into my pocket and pull out the small square box.
I’ve been keeping it on me for weeks. “See?”
He stares at it for a long time. Not blinking.
As if he’s scared it’s not real, and everything around him will fade.
He wraps his hand around it and my hand and then kisses me hard.
Whatever he’s been drinking tastes like sweet bourbon with hints of orange.
It’s really nice, and I lick his tongue and the roof of his mouth to get more of it.
Can I get drunk this way? Would I fail a breathalyser?
“No, seriously,” Sebastian says, raising his voice a little to be heard over the crowd around us and the rushing of pleasure in my ears. Can he hear that too? “I can’t make this legally binding.”
Grady nips my bottom lip and kisses the corner. “Sure you can.”
With a light chuckle, I say, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think he cares.” And neither do I.
Sebastian shrugs. He goes to have another drink and frowns when he sees that the glass is empty. Probably for the best. We can’t have our celebrant falling on his face during the ceremony. “Alright. Where do you want to do this? It’s hard to think in here.”
I’m not sure he’d be able to think anywhere, but I guess that’s not really the point.
Getting the two of them anywhere else sounds like a lot of work.
Sebastian isn’t Grady-big, but he’s not exactly small.
What if one wanders off in the opposite direction?
No, thanks. I’ll wait for the cavalry before I let either of them leave the building.
“What about the bathroom hallway?”
It’s the only place I can think of that will be semi-quiet. Anyone walking past can mind their business.
Sebastian snorts. “And to think if Quinn hadn’t gotten sick, I’d have missed all this.”
Grady is unsteady as we make our way across the bar to the swinging door that leads to the dark hallway.
Two recessed lights guide us, revealing nice, dark-red carpet and walls with tasteful paintings.
From what I know of the owner, Aubrey—who happens to be Sebastian’s boyfriend’s brother—he’s really into art, so I bet this stuff is genuine and expensive.
Sebastian follows us, surprisingly steady. I bet he’d pass the weird sobriety tests that they do in America despite being three sheets to the wind. Not that I’d let him drive right now. Neither would any of the bartenders, who’ll have his keys behind the bar too.
I choose the far wall since it has a modern-style, rectangular mirror in the centre. Grady blinks at it, then grins and turns me around so that we’re both facing it, my back to his chest.
“What are you doing?”
“We look good together,” he says, burying his nose in my hair, still staring at me through the mirror.
He’s not wrong. I love how big he is and just what he can do to me with that strength. Not just sexually. He makes me feel safe. He’s my happy place.
He presses his cheek against mine, the beard scratching pleasantly. “If I stripped you right here and fucked you in front of this mirror, you’d see everything.”
Christ. That imagery has my knees weak, almost buckling under the wave of lust rushing over me. We’re definitely getting a big mirror for the bedroom.
“Are you getting married or giving the bar a show?” Sebastian asks dryly. “Didn’t know you had an exhibition kink, Grady.”
“Look away,” is all Grady says, kissing my throat before biting down gently. Oh, that’s nice.
“Would you have to arrest yourself for drunk and disorderly?” Sebastian wonders aloud. “Or public indecency?”
Grady groans and lifts his head. “Why won’t you go away?”
Sebastian grins. “I’m your celebrant.”
“Oh.” Grady frowns, like he forgot. “Right. Okay, well, get on with it.”
“I was trying.”
“Try harder.”
“I think this friendship is going well,” Sebastian says, his smile widening. “We’re really bonding.”
Ducking out from Grady’s hold, I position him beside me, arm around my shoulder in a way that’s both intimate and also helping him to stay standing. I prefer my groom to be conscious.
“Wait, we need a witness,” Sebastian says. Almost immediately, the bathroom door opens, and a younger man walks out, wearing a suit that’s at least two sizes too big for him. “Hey, you.”
He startles and then looks between us, eyes wide. “M-me?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, we’re friendly.”
“Speak for yourself,” Grady mutters. I nudge him playfully and reach up to kiss his cheek.
“Do you have a minute?” Sebastian asks. “We just need you to observe.”
“I…” He actually pulls up his sleeve and checks his watch. “I think so. What do you—what are you doing?”
“We’re getting married,” I reply brightly. It’s totally normal for people to get married in the bathroom hallway of a bar on a Sunday night. Everyone does it.
“Uh… okay.”