Chapter 22 Abby #2
He tilts his head to the side. “I thought you said you needed the booze tonight.”
“Oh, I do,” I say, widening my eyes as I nod. “My friend Riley is pregnant.”
He nods in understanding. “I’ll come up with something special,” he says with another wink that makes all the butterflies erupt in my stomach.
Coming from most guys, it might seem cheesy or over the top, but from Wyatt, it seems so natural and just him. He isn’t putting on a show. It’s just who he is.
He starts pouring a bunch of different things into a shaker. His head snaps back to me, like he realized or remembered something.
“Oh… is this the Riley who’s with your friend Cole that you were here with last time?” he asks.
I’m surprised he remembered. “Yeah, that’s her.” I guess he really was as in tune with me that night as I was with him.
Good to know. Or maybe not. I don’t know anymore.
My eyes bounce between Wyatt and Linc as they go about making the drinks. It’s like my mind can’t decide which one to focus on, so I just give up and let myself enjoy staring at both of them.
One by one, the drinks appear in front of me.
“I don’t think I thought this through,” I admit, staring down at the six glasses in front of me. “I only have two hands.”
I hold my hands up to emphasize the point.
Wyatt’s eyes shine with humor. It looks like he’s biting his cheek to keep himself from saying something.
Someone shouts from the opposite end of the bar about needing to close their tab. Linc and Wyatt both let out a subtle groan, locking eyes.
They don’t say a word but quickly move through three rounds of rock paper scissors. Linc mutters a curse under his breath as he walks away to help the customer with their tab.
“I guess you’re stuck with me,” Wyatt says, rounding the bar.
“Tragic,” I say with mock disgust. We each grab three of the drinks and make our way to the table.
The girls aren’t even attempting to hide the way they are eyeing Wyatt with curiosity and pure amusement.
“Ignore anything they say,” I whisper to the man at my side.
“Now, why would I do that?”
“Because I guarantee at least one of them is going to say something unhinged.”
“Good thing I like things that are a little unhinged. What’s life if you aren’t living it just a little on the edge? Vanilla is great, but throw in some chocolate syrup and sprinkles, and it’s even better.”
I don’t get a chance to answer him because we reach the table. It’s probably for the best because I have no idea what I was going to say.
“Good evening, ladies,” Wyatt says with his full-scale smile. He sets the drinks he’s carrying on the table.
They all return his sentiment, beaming up at him. I slide in next to Leah, pushing the drinks to the right people. Riley eyes her glass suspiciously.
“You must be Riley,” Wyatt says.
“Yeah?” she says it more as a question.
“Your beautiful friend here…” he starts as he tilts his head in my direction.
The corners of Riley’s mouth tilt up ever so slightly, even if she’s trying to keep a straight face. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Sienna cover her mouth with her hand.
Wyatt continues, “She asked me to make you something a little more special than just a Sprite. I promise there isn’t anything in there that will hurt your little one.”
Riley’s eyes dart between Wyatt and me. She picks up the glass and takes a sip.
“If you don’t like it, I can get you whatever else you want,” Wyatt says.
“I wish it was a margarita loaded with tequila,” Riley jokes.
Wyatt laughs. “Come back in a few months, and we’ll make it happen.”
“Deal,” Riley says, and I can already tell he’s entranced her with his charm. “It really is perfect. Thank you.”
He taps the table twice, looking down at me. “I guess I should get back over there.” He points over his shoulder at the bar. “I don’t love the idea of getting killed by my brother tonight, so I should go.”
I steal a peek. Linc is trying to drill holes in the back of Wyatt’s head with his stare alone.
When he sees me looking, his eyes shift to an entirely different kind of intensity. It’s so potent, I can’t hold his gaze for very long before I divert my eyes back to the table.
Fuck me. What have these men done to me?
I’m so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even realize Wyatt walked away. “Wyatt,” I holler after him. He comes to a stop, glancing at me. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he says with a warm smile that does things to me that I don’t want to analyze right now. Then, with a nod, he walks back to the bar.
Linc shoves his shoulder once, and then they’re both sucked into the controlled chaos of manning the bar.
“Well, fuck me,” Riley says before taking a large sip of her drink.
“I agree,” Hadley says, widening her eyes so much it looks like it might be painful.
Sienna leans over the table as much as she can. She’s pretty short, so she doesn’t get far. “Start talking.”
I take three sips of my rum and Diet Coke before I do just that. I tell them everything. Well… maybe not everything.
They don’t need to know the nitty-gritty details of what happened between Kane and me that night three years ago, but they get the necessary info.
“So, those two are twins?” Riley asks, pointing to the bar.
I nod, taking another much-needed sip of my drink. I didn’t want to share the truth about how I’m secretly harboring a mix of lust and feelings for all three of these men, but I think getting it off my chest is what I needed.
It isn’t something I’m carrying on my own now. It doesn’t help solve the never going to happen part of the problem, but at least I’m not bottling it up inside me anymore.
“And you already had history with their best friend?” Avery adds.
Again, I nod because what else am I going to say?
“I knew I wasn’t crazy,” Leah mutters quietly.
She looks up, seeing everyone staring at her. Her shoulders bob up and down.
“I could tell from the first time I saw you and Kane talking. There was obvious chemistry and familiarity, but when I saw you with Linc and Wyatt, I got confused. There were fires blazing there, too.” She’s full-on smirking now.
I hold my hands up helplessly in front of me. “Well… now you know why.” I let out a slow exhale. “And why nothing can happen.”
I turn to look at Riley when she speaks up. “I get what you’re saying, but what if it doesn’t end badly?”
They are all quiet as I process what she said.
Riley’s eyes are gentle. “Relationships don’t all look the same. Most of us at this table can attest to that.”
I know she’s right, but I guess I never thought of myself in that light. “I don’t even know…” The rest of the words trail off.
There are a million questions flying through my mind. I might not know a lot right now, but I do know with certainty that I feel a connection with all three men.
That’s not something I can deny anymore.
Most of my worries from earlier have faded into a faint buzz in the back of my mind, thanks to the drinks Wyatt and Linc have kept coming all night. All of us, apart from Riley, are a little tipsy.
We’re all out in the open space next to our table that we have turned into our own personal dance floor. Based on the looks the sexy bartenders keep shooting me, they don’t seem to mind us commandeering this section of the bar for the time being.
I don’t even know the song that’s playing, but it has a good beat, so I don’t really care. I haven’t had a group of girlfriends like this since I was in elementary school.
I love having a best friend that’s a guy, but sometimes you just need girl time. My stomach muscles hurt from how much I’ve been laughing. It’s been a damn good night.
Riley grabs one of my hands, spinning me in a circle. On the second spin, I smack into a brick wall.
It isn’t actually a wall, though. It’s a chest, a very muscular one at that. My eyes move up to meet Kane’s.
I can hear and feel the activity around the bar continuing, but I feel like I’m frozen in place. His large hands are gently gripping me just below my arms.
I didn’t notice it at first, but they must have landed there in an attempt to keep me from falling to the ground.
Flashes of the last time he caught me like this, in this very bar, fly through my mind. Our thoughts must be on the same exact page because our heads turn in unison to the spot where we collided years ago.
I swallow thickly, turning my head to face him again. “You saved me…again,” I whisper.
Normally, when I’ve been drinking, I’m pretty loud, but I barely get the words out. I have no idea why I chose to say that.
There are a million other things I could have said that wouldn’t draw further attention to the past lingering between us. I’m going to blame it on the alcohol floating through my system, apparently making me blissed out and careless.
He clears his throat. “Looks like you’re having a good night.”
I’m equal parts relieved and saddened that he didn’t say anything about that night, even when he was clearly thinking the same thing as I was. “Yeah, it’s been fun.”
He must notice his hands are still on me because they quickly fall back to his sides. I want to reach down and put them back where they were or maybe wrap them all the way around me, but I don’t.
I clearly can’t be trusted to make smart decisions right now.
Riley’s words from earlier ring through my mind. What if it doesn’t end badly…
He takes a few steps back. “Have a good rest of your night.”
“Thanks,” I say a little hollowly.
His eyes roam over me for another beat before he walks over to talk to the guys behind the bar.
I can’t bring myself to turn around and face the girls who are still dancing behind me. Not yet. I just need a minute.
I take a few deep breaths, then plaster a smile on my face. It isn’t completely fake. I’m having a great time tonight, but seeing Kane brought some things back into stark clarity.
I am bound and determined to enjoy the rest of this girls’ night, though. When I turn back around and see Riley’s concerned expression, I give her a shrug. She slides her hand into mine as we both start to dance with the group again.
Avery hands me another drink. Leah says something that makes me laugh. The night moves on with my melancholy mostly forgotten.