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Page 20 of Soft Rebound (Mad City Moments #2)

Joe

I ’ve been in a bad mood for the past two days, ever since Liz pretty much refused to see me while her brother is in town.

I thought we’d been getting closer and something like meeting her brother would be a natural development, but she shut it down so fast my head is still spinning.

The old insecurities are rearing up their ugly heads, telling me I’m not worthy of love, that I go all in too hard, that women don’t want men who wear their hearts on their sleeves.

That I need to cool it down. Pace myself. Give her space.

Never mind that I’m sick of space. All I have is space.

There are a couple of knocks on my partly open office door, and then I see Trey’s curly head peeking through. “A bunch of us are leaving now to go to Happy Hour. I thought maybe you’d like to come along.”

I tilt my head toward my left shoulder, then the right, trying to get rid of a crick in my neck. “It’s 6:00 already? I didn’t even realize.”

“Yeah, you seem to be reverting to your workaholic-zombie ways. I haven’t seen you leave the office once over the past two days. And you were doing so well, behaving like an actual human and everything.”

I groan as I stretch my back. “Okay, okay, I get it. Give me two minutes to save my work and I’ll join you.”

Trey is a big fan of the Qpik Friday Happy Hour.

It rotates among a handful of different bars and the company actually pitches in to cover twenty percent of the cost of libations.

It’s a good opportunity to meet people from various divisions of the company.

Trey has his eye on a ginger software developer named Dylan who doesn’t even know that Trey exists.

Granted, I don’t think that kid knows anyone exists, but at least he and his team and a few others show up for the reduced-price drinks pretty consistently.

They’re good people and I don’t think I would’ve met them without the Happy Hour.

Fifteen minutes later, Trey and I, two other lawyers, and a couple of paralegals meet outside the bar.

“Cue heroic music as Qpik law team enters the saloon in slow motion,” I mutter, and Trey chuckles, shaking his head.

****

I t’s pretty busy when we arrive. Another paralegal was there early and is now waving us over into a large booth. I’m not sure it will fit all of us.

Right next to us are a couple of tables where some of the developers sit, but Trey’s unsuspecting paramour doesn’t seem to be among them. I’m about to check on Trey’s level of disappointment when I hear him say, “What have we got here?”

I turn around to see what he’s looking at and my stomach drops.

In one of the booths, there is Liz. Liz . My Liz. She’s sitting next to a lanky, somewhat rough-looking guy in a dirty baseball cap—who actually looks a lot like her on second glance— and the developer chick, Roxie. They are all laughing like they’re the best of friends.

“Joe. Earth to Joe.” Trey waves in front of my face, trying to get my attention.

“Uhm. What?”

“Look at that guy in the baseball hat. Isn’t he like a blue-collar version of Dylan?”

“Well, you certainly have a type,” I mutter.

“Let’s go have Roxie introduce us.”

“Wait,” I slap my hand on his chest to stop him. “Let’s figure out what to say first.”

“What to say? I’m going to say hi and try to sit next to Hottie Bluecollarson, figure out if he’s gay or heteroflexible, and take it from there.”

“Let’s get drinks first,” I say. My heart is beating fast, my mind racing. What the hell is she doing here? How does she even know Roxie? “Or actually, why don’t we sit with our team? That’s who we came here with.”

Trey looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “We hang out with our team all the time. We can join them later if this thing doesn’t work out.”

“Wait a goddamn minute,” I squeeze through my teeth. “I need a fucking minute, okay?”

Trey puts his hands up, realizing I’m serious. “Okay, Larson. okay. Let’s go to the bar, get some drinks.”

“Thank you.” It’s a miracle Liz doesn’t seem to have noticed me, given that I stand out like a sore thumb thanks to my size.

We order our drinks, and I manage to calm down some as we wait.

“So what’s that all about?” Trey asks, leaning against the bar. When I open my mouth to answer, he shakes both his finger and his head at me. “And, no, Larson, I will not accept the answer ‘Nothing.’ You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I sigh. “I’ve been kinda, sorta seeing a woman the past few weeks—”

“I knew it! I should’ve opened a betting pool at the office. We’ve all been wondering why you we’ve been on cloud nine.”

“It’s complicated. We don’t so much see each other as have sex together. She’s fresh from a breakup, so she doesn’t want anything serious.”

Trey nods and motions for me to continue.

“And now she’s here. Sitting with Roxie. And I have no idea how they know each other or why they’re here.”

“Oh, she’s the chick that looks like she might be related to my future boyfriend? Joe Larson, we might become related by marriage!”

I roll my eyes. “Getting way ahead of yourself there, Trey.”

“Seriously now,” he says. “I think you’re overthinking this. They’re clearly here for the Happy Hour as Roxie’s guests. We’ll go over there and talk to them and find out how they know Roxie. I’m sure it’s nothing nefarious.”

“Yeah, okay.” I take a deep breath. “I know you’re right.”

He pats me on the back. “All right, let’s get some beers and go introduce ourselves to Hottie and your lady friend.”

“Liz.”

“Your lady friend Liz.”

I take a few quick breaths, like I’m gearing up for a run.

“You are glad to see her, right?”

“More than you know. I’m just worried she won’t be happy to see me at all.”

“That’s nonsense,” Trey says. “You’re an absolute delight.”

“Not sure a man my size can be called something as dainty as delight.”

“Pfft.” Trey waves away that ridiculous notion. “That just means you’re a whole mountain of delight. And I bet you rock your lady friend’s world.”

I grin. “I definitely try.”

****

B eers in hand, Trey and I approach Liz’s table. Roxie is the first to notice us, and she opens her arm to the side in a welcome.

“Joseph Larson, Esquire! I haven’t seen you at one of these in forever. Literally. I’ve never seen you at Happy Hour.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” I say. “Hi, Roxie. You know Trey, right?”

“Only by reputation.” She holds out her hand to shake Trey’s and they exchange names. “Do you guys want to sit with us? I’m here with my friend Liz and her brother Bobby, who’s visiting from St. Cloud, Minnesota.” She gestures toward the pair who are seated on the opposite side of the booth.

I’ve been avoiding looking directly at Liz until now, so I slowly turn my head and meet her shocked face.

“Hi, Liz,” I say. “It’s really good to see you.”

Both Bobby’s and Roxie’s eyebrows shoot up. Their stares dart between Liz and me, clearly picking up that something’s going on.

“Do you two know each other?” Bobby is the first to speak.

“Yes, we do,” I say, my eyes not leaving Liz’s.

She just nods.

Trey breaks the awkward tension. “Okay, these two clearly have stuff to discuss. In the meantime, Bobby, I am very pleased to meet you.” The two shake hands.

“My name is Trey and I think you’re smoking hot.

If that doesn’t freak you out, I would love to buy you a drink once you’re done with that one. ”

Bobby’s mouth spreads into a wide grin and he honest to God blushes. “That does not freak me out. And thank you. That sounds ... great.”

Liz hasn’t said a word since I got there. She keeps staring at me.

Roxie clears her throat. “I think maybe Liz and Joe might want to chat for a bit, and that will give Trey and Bobby a chance to get to know each other, and me a chance to not be a fifth wheel and do some scouting of tonight’s local talent.”

Bobby gets up so Liz can slide out of the booth and stand right next to me. Trey takes her place right next to Bobby.

Liz gets closer to me and finally whispers, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for the company-sponsored Happy Hour. Same as Roxie.”

“You work for Qpik?”

“Yeah,” I say. “But I guess you didn’t know that.”

“I didn’t.”

“I’m sorry. I suppose it never really came up.”

“I interviewed at Qpik a few weeks ago,” she says. “That’s how I met Roxie. She introduced herself to me in the bathroom and now we’re, like, this tight.” She wraps her middle finger around her forefinger.

I smile. “Roxie does seem like a woman of action.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know you worked at the same company as Roxie. And that you’re friends.”

“I mean, I know her a little. She’s pretty friendly and it’s easy to remember her since there are so few women developers.”

“Seriously, Larson?” Roxie jumps in, clearly having eavesdropped the whole time. “I'm only memorable because I'm a female developer? Not because I'm an absolute delight?”

“Joe’s a delight,” Trey chimes in. “A mountain of delight.”

I shake my head and turn my attention to Liz. “You gonna be okay if I sit with you? I honestly had no idea you would be here.”

“I know,” says Liz. “I’m actually ... really glad to see you.” She strokes my upper arm. I look down at her hand, and she pulls it away.

I lean down and whisper into her ear. “You can keep touching me, you know.”

“My brother is here,” she replies, just as quietly.

Bobby clears his throat. Everyone can hear everything in this goddamn place. “Speaking of your brother,” Bobby says as he looks me in the eye, “what’s your relationship to my sister?”

I smile, looking at Liz. “We are friends. Very close personal friends.” Liz smacks me on the upper arm, her mouth ticking up in amusement.