Page 59

Thirty-four
Patrick
The crowd starts todie when we call last-call around midnight. Technically we don’t close until 2AM but if there’s one thing the four of us agree on, it’s that this night needs to be over already. As soon as Tess’s boots hit the bar and she makes the announcement, blowing kisses at frat boys when they flip her off for cutting them off and flipping off drunk girls as they stumble out the door, toward the cavalcade of Ubers waiting to drive them back to their sorority houses.
“You’re a charmer,” I tell her, grinning up at her when she plants her hands on my shoulders as I help her off the bar.
She blows out a hard breath that ruffles the dark hair that falls into her eyes. “It’s why all the boys want me.” She gives me a wink, making me laugh even though laughing is the last thing I feel like doing. It’s after midnight and Cari still isn’t home from her date.
What did you think was going to happen? She basically got asked out by the man of her dreams. Did you really think you stood a chance?
Behind me, Declan is cashing out the waitresses. I can feel Lisa standing close. Too close. She’s practically breathing down my neck. On impulse, I grab Tess by the hand and pull her down the bar. Leaning over her, I brace a hand against one of the wells. “Put your arm around my waist,” I tell her quietly and because Tess is a trooper, she does it, no questions asked.
Well, almost.
She pushes up onto toes of her boots, bringing her mouth as close to my ear as she can manage, considering there’s almost a foot and a half height difference between us. “Are you gonna kiss me?” she whispers. “Because if you kiss me, I’m probably gonna throw up in your mouth.”
I turn into her, pressing my mouth to her ear, trying not to laugh. “Kiss you? Please—I’d rather eat dog shit.”
Tess tossed her head back and laughs, the sound of it loud and deep. When Tess laughs, she goes for broke and everyone in the room stops to listen. “So, I guess that means you’re not taking me up to your swingin’ bachelor pad to give me the honor of sucking your dick?” Her hand slips off my waist and onto my ass, her fingers digging in hard enough to make me jump. I know she’s doing it for Lisa’s benefit but it feels wrong. Really, really wrong. Like, getting groped by my sister wrong.
“Cari told you?” I want to slam my head against the bar.
“She told me everything.” She shakes her head, grinning at me like a loon.
“I had a momentary lapse in judgment.” An embarrassed flush creeps up my neck. “I blame Conner. And Jameson.” And Cari. I blame her too. I look over my shoulder to find everyone watching us. Sara. The waitresses and Declan.
As soon as I look, everyone snaps into action. Declan gets busy with pulling cash and receipts from the drawer while the waitress walk away, mouths hidden behind their hands while they whisper. Thankfully, they take Lisa with them.
“Goodnight, ladies,” Tess says, lifting her hand off my ass to flutter it in a girly wave that is so unTess it makes me snort.
As soon as they’re out the door, I laugh and push myself away from her. “You’re an asshole.” I hear the cash register slam shut a second before I see Declan move out from behind the bar, heading down the hall toward the back office. The door slams shut a few seconds later. “What crawled up his ass,” I mutter.
“I did,” Tess says, grinning ear-to-ear.
I laugh out loud, shaking my head while collecting empties off the bar. “You shouldn’t poke at him,” I told her. “He came in on his night off to help us out.”
“His night off? Are you serious? I don’t even work here,” she says, scoffing loudly. “I came in because Con wouldn’t answer his phone and I wanted to tell him I cleared the deck at the garage and what do I find? You drowning in a sea of Malibu and IPA and our loveable manwhore, turning trick in the bathroom.” She throws up her hands before settling them on her hips.
“I didn’t ask you to stay,” I remind her, even though I should be kissing her ass because she did. Over her shoulder, I see Sara watching us with avid interest and not a little jealousy. It’s pretty obvious she didn’t believe me when I told her Tess and I were just friends. I suppose watching Tess grab my ass didn’t do a whole hell of a lot to convince her. Great. That’s all I need.
“Yeah?” Tess arches an eyebrow at me for throwing her attitude. “Someone had to get a handle on this mess and it sure in the hell wasn’t going to be you two fuckwits.”
“Turning tricks implies I get paid,” Con calls from the back of the bar. “I provide a valuable service, free of charge.”
Tess rolls her eyes so hard, for a second I’m convinced they’re going to fall out of her head and bounce across the floor. “I had plans!”
Conner’s disembodied laugh slams its way around the bar. “Hanging out with your cats doesn’t count as plans.”
“Fuck you, Gilroy—I don’t have cats.” Tess shouts, while she swipes chewed up cocktail straws and wadded napkins off the bar and onto the floor with a bar towel. “I have one cat. Singular. And for the record, Shadrach is awesome.”
“One cat, plus… how many strays do you feed at the garage, again? I lost count.”
Tess throws a couple of empty beer bottles into the trash. “Shut-up.”
“Seventeen?”
“I hate you.”