Chapter 2 #2
He cracks his neck and shifts in his seat.
I notice the way he straightens his back, as if it’s bothering him, and he’s trying to find a position that gives him a bit of relief.
I return my attention to my drink before someone notices my attention is somewhere it’s not supposed to be.
Even though there’s definitely a bigger kick in my glass, I chug the contents and empty the glass.
“Damn, girl,” Oaklee mutters as Lizzie delivers her drink.
“Did you just chug that?” Lizzie asks, bewildered.
I nod, closing my eyes. “Brain freeze.” The two ladies both giggle as I reach for the glass of water Collin delivered and sip greedily.
When I shake my head and try to focus on the woman standing in front of me, I realize it’s not that easy. The tequila hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. Suddenly, my head feels a little…foggy.
Lizzie leans in closer and keeps her voice down. “Tell me you ate dinner before you came.”
“Of course I did,” I mutter, vision a little slow.
“She didn’t,” Oaklee says, taking a sip of her margarita. “Oh! This is delicious.”
“Isn’t it?” I ask, all bubbly and shit as the buzz starts to warm my veins. “I’ll have another.”
“Fine, but drink more of that water while I make it,” Lizzie says, walking away.
I can’t help but notice she goes straight to Collin, who leans down and listens to whatever she says. My suspicions are confirmed when he glances over his shoulder and makes eye contact with me.
“I think she tattled on you,” Oaklee murmurs.
I lift my hand and give my oldest brother a middle finger.
His eyes narrow as he leans toward his girlfriend once more and says something only she can hear.
Then, he presses his lips to her forehead and gets back to filling drink orders on the opposite side of the bar, fortunately.
I love my brother—all of them—but the last thing I need is another dad right now.
I had a shit week. I’m about to turn thirty, which means I’m more than capable of having a few drinks at my favorite watering hole without being babysat by my siblings.
But I’m also not going to look a gift horse in the mouth either.
I’m incredibly grateful Cade is here and willing to give me a ride home at the end of the evening.
It’s not like we have taxis or rideshare services in Cooper Town.
What we do have is a phone tree with friends on call, and I know I could find someone available to pick me up and drive me home if needed.
And if all else failed, I could go upstairs and crash in Lizzie’s guest room. I’ve done it before, though I try to use that as a last resort. Her walls are thin, and wherever she is, my brother is there too. The last thing I want is to hear…things.
A shiver of disgust sweeps through me.
“You good?” Oaklee asks, taking another sip.
“Yep,” I reply, popping my P. “Come on, Oaklee. Let’s go shoot pool.
” I practically jump off my stool and head for the pool table.
I ignore how foggy my brain feels and do my best to walk straight.
I can’t believe I’m already buzzed after only one drink, but I did ask her to add an extra shot of tequila.
Not to mention that liquor-soaked fruit slice, which probably didn’t help.
I put two quarters into the slots of the table and release the pool balls.
“I’ll rack them,” Oaklee states, grabbing the triangle out of the slot on the table and starting to arrange the balls.
Collin appears, holding a glass. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“Now I’m a kind sir, because I delivered your alcohol. Earlier, I was ugly.”
I shrug and take a sip of the strong frozen liquid. “I call it like I see it,” I insist with a cheesy smile.
Collin shakes his head and turns to our other brothers as they approach. “She’s gonna need to be carried into her house.”
“I’m just fine!” I swear.
“Okay,” he mutters, leaving me in peace with my margarita.
I take another healthy drink before setting my drink down on the nearest pub table and going to retrieve my cue stick.
Quinn is there, looking them over closely.
He pulls one off the wall and walks to the table.
I watch as he rolls it across the felt. I’ve done this a thousand times myself, but for some reason, watching him try to find a good stick is almost hypnotic.
That’s the tequila talking…
“Here. This one’s pretty straight,” he states, holding the stick out for me.
I stare at him, watching him move from side to side. Except, when I close one eye, he’s not moving anymore. “I think I’ll use the pretty one tonight,” I tell him, moving past him and retrieving a stick with turquoise designs.
He sighs. “You know that one’s more crooked than a politician on election day.”
“Yeah, but it’s pretty,” I insist, grabbing the stick from the holder and smiling.
Quinn sighs and hands the good stick to Oaklee. “Thank you,” she says, taking the cue and smiling at Cade.
He sits on one of the chairs at our pub table and grins widely at the woman who stole his heart. It’s gross, really, the way they keep staring at each other and smiling.
“Don’t take my drink,” I state, breaking their love bubble.
He glances down at the glass and winces. “No worries, Charli. I’m not a big fan of sugar encrusted tequila, practically straight from the bottle.”
I roll my eyes. “Says the guy who used to do body shots of said tequila off Emily Duncan’s stomach.”
He stares at me, clearly not impressed, and that’s when it hits me.
I spin to where Oaklee stands and wince. “Sorry.”
She shrugs. “It’s fine. I know he was promiscuous when we met.”
He snorts and takes her hand. “I’ve always been looking for you, beautiful,” he says softly, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly.
I make a gagging noise and move to the table. “I’m gonna break before you make me vomit.”
“That’ll be the margarita,” Camden states with a laugh.
I flip him off too and get myself into position. It’s more difficult than normal, lining up my break, but I manage. I hit the cue ball hard, sending it careening into the triangle of balls and watching them scatter. It’s a decent break, with two balls falling into the side pockets.
“Not bad,” Quinn says, “considering your major sponsor is tequila.”
I flip him off too.
“Tequila makes me better!” I insist, throwing my arms up and doing a little shimmy and a shake for my successful break.
“If you say so,” Quinn mutters, taking a drink of his beer.
“Oh, I say so,” I blurt out, walking around the table to find my next shot. “And I’m always right.”
Two of my brothers bark out laughs. “I don’t think so,” Cade announces.
“I call bullshit,” Camden adds.
“What. Ever.” I line up my shot but miss. I don’t say anything, but that eleven ball was moving something fierce when I tried to hit it with the cue ball.
Clearly, that means I need to keep drinking.
Oaklee moves to the table, Cade hot on her heels.
Normally I’d give them shit for him helping her pick her shot, but at the moment, I appear to be caught in some sort of force field.
My eyes are locked on Quinn, his dark hair a little wild from his earlier shower, probably.
Normally he styles it, sometimes in this faux-hawk style. It’s not really a mohawk, but kinda.
Makes sense, right?
Of course it does.
Anyway, it looks like he’s run his hands through his hair all night, which makes me wonder what those strands feel like.
In all the years I’ve known him, I don’t think I’ve ever touched his hair.
I mean, why would I? But all of a sudden, I want to walk over there and slide my fingers through those locks, just to see if they’re as soft as they look.
As if sensing my eyes on him, he glances my way. His dark eyes are intense as he stares back at me for way longer than appropriate.
What the hell is wrong with me tonight?
Quinn swallows a drink, keeping those dark orbs locked on my blue ones the entire time. The entire exchange feels…erotic.
Sexually charged.
Like foreplay.
And I don’t like it.
Not one bit.
Time to drink more tequila.