Page 5

A manda hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Between talking, dancing, and playing pool, the night had flown by. All the extensive time she’d spent in bars had never been so enjoyable.

After she and Kasey played each other in pool, they’d paired together as a team and beat their competitors. The crowd got bigger throughout the night. People in the bar were obviously calling friends and telling them Dre, Kasey, and Harper were seen here tonight, and a lot of them decided to come see for themselves.

Dre and Kasey obliged everyone who wanted an autograph or picture with them. Some asked Dre about different games. Others spoke to Kasey about the extreme challenges he performed on his show. A few asked him why Harper left. Each time, he responded with, “You’ll have to wait until Star Breeze airs tomorrow to find out.”

At one point, he turned to Amanda and said, “Harper wanted publicity. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

After she sat with her worker friends for half an hour, Mike announced, “The bar will be closing in fifteen minutes.”

She stood and grasped her purse off the back of her chair. “Does anyone need a ride?”

Her coworkers waved her off with, “Uber’s coming.” “I haven’t touched a drop the last hour.” “I got a ride.”

Amanda glanced around. Kasey was surrounded by people. He shook their hands as they spoke. Everyone walked away with a smile on their face. She noticed the same thing happening with Dre.

Once the crowd thinned, Kasey approached her. “Thanks again for the food. You saved me from looking like a lush and being on the floor right now.”

“You’re welcome. You’re not driving, are you?”

He shook his head. “I’ll call an Uber to take me to my parents’ house.”

“I’ll be glad to drop you off. It would actually help me out. Your mom is hosting book club, so if I drop you off, I’ll know where I’m going tomorrow.”

~

T he lights flickered on in the bar. Kasey squinted and waited for his eyes to adjust to the brightness. He got his first good look at Amanda. “I like you with black hair. Accentuates your blue eyes.”

As if self-conscious, she crossed her arms. “Are you one of those guys who when you get drunk women start to look better and better?”

“Isn’t everyone like that when they drink?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Her lips made a straight line.

His gaze intensified. “You’ve never drank a drop?”

She shook her head. “Never. I’ve always been the designated driver.”

“Well, I may be one of those guys who thinks women look better after I’ve had a few, or in tonight’s case, a lot, but I thought you were beautiful before I started drinking.”

A precious pink blush flooded her face.

He grinned. “And even if my mind was in the right headspace to pursue a woman, it wouldn’t be you. You’re too high maintenance for me.”

“Why do you say that?” A spike of anger rang in her tone. “You don’t know me.”

His eyes studied her from her head to her toes. “Your hair, you obviously change it on a whim. Your nails—” He pointed at her glossy-red fingernails. “Are too perfect to be real. I know how much your purse cost. I bought my girlfriend one exactly like it a couple of years ago.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” she corrected.

“Yes, thank you, ex-girlfriend. She’s a high maintenance woman as well.”

“I’d like to mention, I didn’t jump to conclusions about you at seeing you in that shirt. It costs more than I make in a week.”

“Does it? I didn’t buy these clothes. I receive clothing from show sponsors and rarely buy my own. I spend twenty dollars on haircuts, and use sunblock or bug repellant for cologne.”

“I call bullshit on that. You smell too good for it to be sunblock or bug spray.”

She’d noticed his cologne. Why did that please him? “You got me there. I do wear cologne sometimes. Another gift from sponsors.”

“Well...” She held up her hands in surrender. “Since you’ve already judged me, I guess there’s no hope for us.”

“It’s better if we understand we’re just going to be friends.”

“Why would you think I want to be friends with you?” she asked.

“You’ve been extremely helpful tonight, and you didn’t have to be. You must like me.”

“Or I feel sorry for you.”

“I’ll take either one. Plus, I can’t tell the world I’m celibate, so I’ll have to moan to you about that.” He teasingly exaggerated the word moan .

She snickered.

“Friends?” He held out his hand.

Amanda shook it.

It took everything in him not to pull her close and seal their friendship with a kiss.

A friendly peck.

Probably.

Maybe.

It’d depend. If her lips tasted of the strawberry daiquiri she’d been drinking, he might need to deepen the kiss.

“If you’re sure you don’t mind dropping me off, that would be great.” He placed a hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go.”

They said goodbye to Dre and Quinn, who stood at the door thanking their friends for coming.

Amanda led him to an older model Honda. He opened her door, then went around to the passenger side as she started the engine.

“Take a right out of the parking lot,” he instructed.

As she drove, he thought about the night. It could’ve been miserable, especially because Harper showed up. But he’d actually had fun spending time with Amanda. He felt comfortable around her and had enjoyed the night despite the turmoil in his life.

~

K asey entered through the back door and collapsed onto his back on the couch. The room spun clockwise until he sat up. When it stopped, he took a deep breath. The lamp on the side table was on, like every time he’d come home late while growing up. It cast just enough light to see the kitchen/den.

When his reality show became a success, he’d tried to convince his folks to let him buy them another home, but they insisted they loved this one, and it was the only home they wanted. They accepted his help for renovations, though, which the house desperately needed after they’d raised five boys.

They’d gutted the kitchen, along with most of the house. They’d changed the black appliances for white ones, the dark stained cabinets to light, and white countertops to gray. A dinette with four chairs was by the back door. Lots of pictures of their family, art, and prints about Jane Austen and her books hung on the walls. A wooden wall unit held the television and his mother’s crystal vases, most inherited from her mother. The cream couch and chair were bought last year, along with a coffee table and end tables that resembled decorative, traveling trunks.

He reached for the remote on the coffee table and noticed the book To Each Her Own right beside it. A voracious reader, his mother always kept a book out. He’d bet money book club would discuss this book tomorrow night.

Amanda would attend.

He couldn’t get her out of his head.

Which didn’t make sense. He’d sworn off women. The breakup with Harper made one thing perfectly clear. No matter how confident he was in a relationship, he never really knew where he stood. He’d thought his proposal would be accepted, and they’d live happily ever after.

One question still nagged him. Would Harper have said yes if not for Ethan?

It didn’t matter.

Before Harper, he’d never dated anyone longer than a few months. He usually broke it off when he felt the girl was getting too serious about him.

That’s what made his relationship with Harper unique. He’d been so invested he proposed. He’d actually thought about forever with someone.

The overhead lights came on.

“Hey,” Ethan said.

Kasey rolled his shoulders. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Ethan opened the icebox and pulled out a longneck beer. “Turns out disloyalty leads to insomnia.”

Leave it to his brother to defuse the situation nonchalantly. Ethan had a talent for self-deprecating comments.

“Want one?”

Kasey shook his head, then regretted it when the room swirled again. “We shouldn’t talk right now, I’m drunk.”

“Understandable. Harper said you and she talked.”

“We have to get along. We still work together.”

“She wasn’t sure you’d honor your contract.” Ethan twisted the cap off his beer as he plopped into the recliner. “I told her you would. You’re an honorable guy.”

Kasey sighed. “You done complimenting me?”

“I need to apologize.”

“Okay.” He crossed his arms and finally looked his brother in the eyes. He could see anxiety and guilt on full display in his brother’s expression.

“I’m sorry, Kasey.”

“For what, exactly?”

“Breaking your trust. I swear I didn’t plan this thing with Harper. When you invited me to work on your set, I was grateful for the opportunity.

Ethan served in the military for six years and came out with no degree and a specialty in working on helicopters. There weren’t many job openings for Army helicopter mechanics outside of the Army. He’d looked for work for a year. Their mom had complained about Ethan’s situation every time Kasey talked to her, so he finally asked Harper to give him a job. The guy could fix anything electrical and kept the camera equipment working.

“I never imagined myself and Harper together. The few times I’d met her when you brought her around, I couldn’t understand the draw between you two. She always seemed snooty, and I believed she thought she was better than us, well, better than me. Now I realize she’s got a lot of responsibility and is often distracted because of it. I misjudged her.” Ethan took a long pull off the beer.

“So did I. I never thought she’d cheat on me.”

“She didn’t.”

What? “She didn’t what?” As hazy as his mind was, Kasey wanted to put a finer point on the betrayal.

“I guess she technically cheated because we went out a couple of times, but we didn’t even kiss until she left for the airport tonight.”

Shock slammed through Kasey, sobering him a bit. He narrowed his eyes at his brother. “You haven’t slept together?”

“She couldn’t cheat on you.” Ethan shrugged. “Neither could I.”

It was a relief he and his brother weren’t both having sex with Harper. “I’m not sure how to feel about that. I hope you’re not telling me this because you’re looking for my blessing.” Kasey grabbed the book and stood, then leaned to the left as if going down.

Ethan rose and reached out.

Kasey jerked the other way and steadied himself. He stepped around the coffee table, away from Ethan. “I have one question. Did you know what Harper planned?”

“I didn’t. Harper told me she didn’t tell me because she didn’t think I’d be able to keep it a secret from you. And she was right. I would’ve told you.”

He stared at Ethan a few seconds, believing his every word. His brother wasn’t known to lie.

“You’re being more decent about this than I thought you’d be.”

Kasey laughed. “How’d you think I’d react?”

“I thought you’d act like you did when we were growing up. You’d yell or rip me a new one. Perhaps we’d wrestle.”

“Consider me older and wiser.”

“And too drunk,” his brother added.

Kasey walked toward the stairs feeling betrayed, yet relieved. He’d dodged a disastrous mistake of marrying someone who wasn’t wholeheartedly in love with him.

“I live for watching TV and partying with my book club.” ~ Lauren Lapkus