Tequila Tequila

by Emma Hart

  Thank God.

  I’d had the worst headache all day, and while this morning’s had been down to tequila, it was now down to stress.

  Stress because tequila. And bad choices.

  “Right. Pizza ordered.” Blaire put her phone on the coffee table and snuggled back under the blanket. “And you’re going to listen to me. You can avoid Luke all you want, but you have to talk to him, Aspen. Regardless of how you feel or what happened, you can’t leave it like this forever. The only reason you didn’t talk to him about it before was that you were afraid to lose his friendship. Well, I’m telling you right now: Talk to him, or you will lose him.”

  I sighed, hugging the cushion tight.

  I knew she was right. This whole situation existed because of my fear of losing my best friend.

  Except now, I was afraid that would happen no matter what I said or did.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN – ASPEN

  Drama Is Better On TV

  I served the tray of tequila shots to the laughing bachelorette party in the corner. They had the longest table in the place, and this was their third round. I was half-expecting them to bust out the old karaoke machine in the corner.

  At least they had food. We rarely served it, but they were making their way through grilled cheese and chicken wings like total champs.

  Not to mention the roughly ten bowls of chips and salsa I’d placed on their table.

  Drunk chicks could eat.

  Then again, I knew that. I, myself, was an excellent drunk eater.

  “Can I get y’all anything else?” I asked, smiling at them all.

  The bride-to-be beamed at me. “Maybe some water?”

  “Sure thing. Would you like ice and lemon with that?”

  “Can you bring the lemon on the side?”

  “No problem. I’ll get y’all a couple jugs and bring it right over.” With another smile, I turned and headed back to the bar. I motioned to Mr. Gomez to give me a second while I got the water, and he responded with a warm smile. He was here late, celebrating with his wife—his daughter was pregnant, he’d told me earlier, and that was cause for breaking his steadfast routine.

  I couldn’t help but agree.

  I fixed the party their water, making sure to add extra ice and putting the lemons on a small side plate as they’d asked. It took some serious balance skills to not drop the two trays holding everything, but I managed it.

  Going back to the bar, I gave Mr. Gomez his bill. “And congrats, Grandpa!”

  He grinned, his slightly crooked teeth adding a ton of character to his already lively personality. “Thank you. I couldn’t be more thrilled. Here you go, Aspen, and thank you for the free drinks.”

  “Free drinks? Who’s giving out free drinks?” Declan stepped out to the bar behind me.

  “That would be me.” I held up my hand.

  “I’m gonna be a pappy!” Mr. Gomez exclaimed, smile still planted on his weathered face.

  Declan grinned, leaning past me to shake his hand. “Well, congrats, my friend! I suppose I’ll let her off for giving away my best beer for free.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned to the register. “You’re such a drama queen.”

  “King,” he rectified. “I’m a man.”

  “Fine, be a king.” I shrugged. “History dictates that queens were more powerful, but whatever.”

  “Women.” Dec shook his head. “Best hope that baby is a boy, Mr. Gomez.”

  “All I’m hopin’ is that it’s healthy and grows up to be as much of a pain in the ass as Gabby was,” Mrs. Gomez said, joining him at the bar. “Come on, honey, we’ve got to go. Family Feud re-runs start in fifteen minutes, and I didn’t set the DVR.”

  I dipped my head to hide my smile. “Your change.”

  “Keep it.” She winked at me. “Buy yourself a pretty dress to find you a husband with.”

  Three dollars wouldn’t get me far, but I laughed and took their empty glasses off the bar. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mrs. Gomez. Thank you.”

  “They’d have to be one hell of a patient husband.”

  The glasses I was holding slipped, shattering into thousands of little shards as they hit the floor.

  I drew in a deep breath before I’d even turned to look at Luke. He was standing at the bar, leaning forward, biceps pressing against the sleeves of his white t-shirt.

  Honestly, it was unfair.

  Nobody should have looked that good in a plain white t-shirt.

  Between the dark hair and the tanned skin and the toned biceps… yeah, no. Who did I submit a complaint about ridiculous good looks to? Was God accepting those?

  Not that he’d listen to me. He and I hadn’t been on great terms since my hamster died when I was seven. I’d never really forgiven him for that.

  “You all right, Aspen?” Dec eyed me.

  “Fine. Luke scared me, is all.” I leaped over the broken glass to reach for the dustpan and brush. “It’ll only take a second to clean up.” I snatched the cleaning stuff from under the bar and got onto my knees to sweep up the glass.

  It took me a few minutes, during which Dec and Luke had a casual conversation about football that I tuned right out of. The glass clinked as I tipped the dustpan into the trashcan.

  “Hey. Sorry.” I stood and tucked a wisp of hair behind my ear. “What’s up?”

  Luke’s lips twisted to the side. “That’s what I came to ask you.”

  Ah. Right. That missed call and three ignored texts would do that. He hated being ignored. Much like a four-year-old.

  Dec shot me a confused look.

  “Sorry. My phone was dead.” I shifted on the spot.

  Luke’s smirk knew.

  Why the fuck was I lying to him? That was like saying you didn’t eat the cookies with chocolate all around your mouth.

  “Do you have a break coming up soon?” he asked, glancing at Dec. “I only need ten minutes.”

  I hesitated.

  Dec nudged me in the back. “Take your break. I’ve got the bride squad over there. You’ve got twenty minutes, all right?”

  Great. Just great.

  I needed to move to New York City to avoid someone. It just didn’t work here.

  I took a deep breath and nodded for Luke to follow me. I walked right through the bar right to the outdoor patio, taking a moment to pause to turn on the fairy lights that illuminated the covered area.

  Declan’s grill area took up one corner, the fuel from last weekend’s Fourth of July party still sitting in the bag next to it.

  I perched against the table on one of the benches, gripping the edge of the wood. Looking at him was awkward, so I stared at his knees until I could get the words out of my mouth.

  His knees.

  I know.

  What the fuck?

  “So… What’s up?”

  “My knees are flattered you asked,” Luke retorted. “But you know what’s up.”

  I gripped the wooden slats a little tighter. “Do we have to have this conversation right now?”

  “Yes. I told you—we’re talking about this, Aspen. You’ve ignored me all day, so I came to you.”

  There was a big ass lump in my throat that made swallowing really hard.

  “I’m at work,” I replied. “I don’t have the time for this right now.”

  “You either talk to me right now, or I’ll wait for you to finish.” His eyes met mine with a fire that burned brightly. He was serious. “Dec said we’ve got twenty minutes, and we’re going to use them.”

  “You know my break is for me to pee and drink and get a snack, right?”

  The look he leveled on me said he really didn’t care.

  I supposed I’d brought this on myself. If I hadn’t been a total wet wipe about all of this, I’d be eating chips and salsa right now.

  “Fine.” I rolled my shoulders. “Say what you need to.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, he checked the door to the back area was closed. The bar wasn’t busy enough for anyone to com
e back here, and the smoking area Dec had designated was out the front.

  Luke scratched the back of his neck and brought his gaze back to meet mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I remembered. I asked you if you knew what happened because I hoped like fuck you didn’t remember, and when you fed me that bullshit story, I really thought you’d forgotten.”

  “I wish I had.”

  “Not as much as I do. Trust me, Asp, that night was… unfortunate,” he continued. “And not because of the fact we had sex, but because of how fucking bad it was. Like, that was the stuff of nightmares. I’ve gotten myself off in the shower and lasted longer than that.”

  I sucked in my lower lip and bit down on it so I didn’t laugh.

  “But it was you. You’re my fucking best friend. I couldn’t ever imagine doing anything to destroy our friendship, and I swear to God I did that last weekend.”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but he held his hand up.

  “Let me finish,” he said. “I was ready to get over it. I accepted you’d forgotten. You had no reason to lie to me, and you didn’t, not really. We both kept it a secret for a reason.”

  Yup.

  He ran his hand through his hair. “Shit—I could even get over thinking about you differently, you know? Not just as my best friend, but as someone I’m fucking stupidly attracted to. Someone I think about more than I have any right thinking about.”

  Oh, God.

  This was it.

  This was where twenty years of friendship went to shit.

  “Then your drunk ass mouth went and ran a marathon on me.”

  “That’s the most accurate description of Drunk Me that I’ve ever heard,” I replied.

  He held out his hands. “I’ve got several years of descriptions if you want them.”

  “Not really. I think this one is horrific enough right now.”

  His lips twitched to the side, and I hated how it made my heart flutter a little too much.

  “Seriously, Aspen. Your mouth runs faster than Usain Bolt. Especially when you’ve been drinking, and now I can’t stop fucking thinking about what you said to me.”

  I shifted. Squirming, almost. “Really? I wish I could forget.”

  “Tell me one thing.” Luke took a step toward me. “Do you see me the same way you always did?”

  “Honestly, I can’t get your weird sex face out of my mind.”

  “Aspen.”

  “Have you ever seen it? It’s like a cross between Shrek and the Grinch, just a little less green.”

  “Aspen…”

  “Just as hairy, depending on when you last shaved.” I paused. “Was that not the right answer? Do I not get to pass Go and collect two hundred dollars?”

  “Aspen!”

  “No!” I ran my fingers through my hair until they linked at the back of my neck. I met his eyes, slowly letting my hands fall away until they were flat on the table again. My fingers curled around the edge like holding onto it was a lifeline for me. “No, I don’t see you the same way anymore.”

  His throat bobbed, and he nodded. “How do you see me?”

  I couldn’t tell him I wanted more, could I? I couldn’t tell him just how thoroughly I’d thought about his hands moving over my body. I couldn’t tell him how I wanted to know if his fingers in my hair felt as good as I thought they would.

  I couldn’t tell him I’d literally dreamed about his lips and how good he’d kiss me if only I’d let him.

  I couldn’t tell him that the thought of his lips on mine made my heart skip a little faster.

  Nope.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, my stomach clenching tight.

  “Is that you not knowing because you don’t know, or because you don’t want to tell me?”

  “Both?”

  “I figured as much.” He took a deep breath, drawing it in before slowly letting it out. His nostrils flared on his exhale, and the intensity in his gaze made me pause.

  There was something new there.

  I’d seen laughter. Amusement. Bemusement. Disbelief. Shock.

  I’d never seen this. Not this darker flicker of emotion I wasn’t familiar with seeing in his eyes. It was deeper… Stronger. Something that grabbed hold of me and made sure I couldn’t look away.

  Like a puzzle I wanted to complete.

  A riddle I needed to figure out.

  There was a side of my best friend I’d clearly never met—but I had the feeling I was about to.

  “Don’t hate me,” Luke said, eyes on mine. “Okay?”

  “If I don’t hate you after last weekend, I’d be hard-pressed to now.”

  “Aspen. I’m being serious. This isn’t me messing with you. Just promise me you won’t hate me for this.”

  “For what?”

  “This.”

  His long legs closed the distance between us in seconds. My heart thundered against my ribs. This wasn’t normal—he was Luke, my best friend, my rock, my person.

  Why was he coming to me?

  My answer came in seconds.

  His large hand with its roughened fingers from working all day went to the side of my neck. He brushed his thumb over my cheek, his hand cupping the side of my jaw.

  He didn’t hesitate.

  Luke touched his lips to mine.

  And he didn’t just press them there.

  No.

  He kissed me.

  Kissed me.

  His grip on my head was firm. His lips moved expertly over mine. His body became one with mine, and I couldn’t help the way I reached out and gripped his t-shirt.

  I wanted him closer.

  Always closer.

  It was the kind of kiss that made your head spin. From confusion and conflict and the thought that although it shouldn’t be, it felt like it was right. Meant to be. Like it was a kiss that was filled with all the kind of things a kiss should be.

  My best friend kissed me the way a girl should be kissed. Thoroughly, with passion and the kind of heart-clenching magic that was reserved for movies and fairytales.

  My best friend.

  Luke.

  Luke Taylor, the boy who promised me cooties were real and that he’d slay the monsters under my bed was now a man, and he was kissing me.

  And boy, that man could kiss.

  Everywhere. I felt it everywhere. His kiss was pure magic. Straight-up ecstasy. The tingles that started at my lips cascaded over my skin until every part of my body was alive with his touch.

  Dammit.

  I was torn. So torn. Into a thousand pieces. Even that wasn’t enough.

  I curled my fingers into the collar of his shirt and pulled back. I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted him to carry on fucking kissing me and take me right here, right now on this damn bench.

  But this was scary.

  The way he exhaled against my lips told me he felt the same.

  It was fucking terrifying.

  “You’re my best friend,” he whispered. “And I can’t lose you, Aspen. But I can’t ignore the fact you’re driving me fuckin’ insane, either.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t,” I replied, my voice barely louder than his.

  The door to the patio slammed open. “Aspen! I can’t take these women anymore. It’s been ten minutes, and they’re singing ‘It’s Raining Men’ on the old karaoke machine. How much have they had to drink?” Declan demanded from the doorway.

  Luke took a step back from me, and I pushed myself off the bench, darting to the side of his body.

  Declan paused. “You’ve still got ten minutes. You’re good.”

  “It’s fine.” I wiped my hands on the skin-tight black skirt I was wearing. “I can handle them. We’re done here.”

  My boss looked between us both with a glint in his eye. “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.” I didn’t look back at Luke as I made my way back into the building. “Thanks. I got this.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN – LUKE

  Variety Is The Spice Of Life

 
I watched Aspen go, running back into the bar like I’d lit a firework and shoved it up her ass, all too aware of Declan’s eyes sliding their way toward me.

  He’d seen it. I knew he had. There was no way the greying, slightly pot-bellied beer expert hadn’t. Even if he hadn’t been looking right at us, he wouldn’t have missed it.

  Slowly, he raised one eyebrow. “Best if I don’t say anything, huh?”

  Grimacing, I nodded. “It’s complicated.”

  “Women always are, son. I’ve been married thirty years and still haven’t figured her out.” He shook his head. “You’ll figure it out.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I paused. “I don’t know what’ll happen if we don’t.”

  Dec let the door shut behind him and walked over to me. He rested his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “Listen to me, son. There ain’t no such thing as an easy relationship. Friendships, romantic ones—it doesn’t matter. But I do know this: the only relationships worth having are the ones that are tough.”

  “Sounds like a damn good reason to stay single for the rest of my life.”

  “Your grandma ain’t gonna be around to cook for you forever, boy.”

  “I’ll live in an apartment over Aspen’s garage when she meets someone she’ll marry.”

  He laughed, leaning against the bench the way Aspen just had. “Yeah, I’m sure you will. While you watch her happy and in love and making a future for herself. What I just saw definitely lends weight to that plan.”

  I blew out a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. “All right, maybe that doesn’t work for me right now.”

  “It’s never gonna work for you. I don’t have to be a bonafide genius to see that you’ve got some feelin’s for my girl.”

  “Yeah, well, neither does she, considering I just kissed her.”

  “Finally,” Declan replied. “She’s been mopin’ around here all day in a foul-ass mood. I’d have asked her if she needed a tampon if my wife hadn’t taught me better than that.”

  I laughed, dropping my chin. Yep. I’d been there.

  “Can this old man give you one piece of advice?”

  “You’ve already given me some,” I replied.