We focused on the games in front of us and when it was our turn to play, settled in beside each other. It didn’t take long for both of us to realize we were far out of our depths, especially me. I was out of the game in less than five minutes, and Nick not long after. Having been eliminated from the tournament, we went back to the bar, and I got a few drinks in while Nick got a few more sandwiches and we watched the tournament come to its close.
14
Becca
“Doesn’t it seem even a little bit strange to you that I am celebrating running away from my parents?”
“You aren’t celebrating running away from them,” Melissa said, leaning toward the mirror so she could fix her lipstick. “You are celebrating your new lease on life. Just because that new lease happens to involve your brother’s place rather than your parents’ house isn’t a bad thing.”
“Well, I’m not actually on the lease,” I quipped.
She slid her eyes over toward me. “Hypothetical lease. Metaphorical lease. Becca, work with me.”
“I’ve got it,” I said. “And I understand what you’re saying. Coming back here after the whole thing with Steven wasn’t exactly my dream scenario as it was. I definitely didn’t want to bury myself in a hole of pity and let my parents smother me.”
“And if you stayed in that house any longer, that was exactly what was going to happen,” she said.
“I know. Getting out now was the best thing I could do. Not that I would be able to completely stand on my own feet right now. Which was where the big brother came in. But does that mean I’m just relying on him to save me? Am I still being rescued?”
“It’s your big brother’s job to rescue you,” she said. “It’s not the same thing as when your mother starts drafting plans for a stone tower she can put you in. You’ve got good hair and all, but I really don’t think you’re Rapunzel material.”
She laughed and gave me a hug. “Now, let’s go. We have a celebratory dinner to go to.”
It was just going to be the two of us, but now that she put it that way, I was looking forward to going out and celebrating this new chapter of my life. My parents didn’t exactly take it well when I told them I was moving out. But at least it was to move in with Nick and not to be by myself.
I didn’t know if my mother would have been able to take it if I told her I would be living alone. She already seemed to think going to an interview for a job was the equivalent of running a gauntlet of serial killers and debauchery. But knowing I was going to be with my big brother helped to reassure her.
Melissa and I chose a restaurant that had opened while I was in California. Trying something new seemed to fit with the overall theme of starting over again.
We had just sat down and were perusing the wine list when I noticed a familiar face come through the door. Melissa must have noticed my expression change.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Tyler just walked in,” I said. I laughed and shook my head as he noticed me and came to the table. “How do we keep running into each other?”
He laughed. “I have no idea.”
“It’s fate,” Melissa said.
I kicked her hard under the table and made a show of looking around to distract from it. “Are you meeting someone here?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m just grabbing something for myself.”
I gestured toward an empty seat at the table. “Do you want to join us?”
“That would be great if you don’t mind,” he said. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding,” Melissa offered.
Tyler smiled and sat down. I handed him a menu, and Melissa took out her phone. She looked at it, and her eyes widened.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I just didn’t realize what time it was,” she said. “I have really got to be getting home.”
It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. “Melissa, you’re my ride. And we haven’t even gotten our food yet.”
“I’ll just order it to go when the waitress comes,” she said. “And maybe Tyler can take you home. Do you mind Tyler?”
“Not at all,” he said.
“Great,” Melissa smiled.
The waitress came up right at that moment, and the three of us ordered. Melissa made a point to ask for her food to be packed up to go. She paid for her dinner right then like she was doing her best to get out of the restaurant as fast as she could.
While we waited for our food, we engaged in the epitome of small talk. It was close to painful just how boring and meaningless the conversation truly was. Melissa was listing off the weather for the next couple of days when the waitress finally appeared again to put us out of our misery. She set plates down in front of Tyler and me, then handed Melissa her to-go container tucked safely in tightly knotted bag.
Melissa thanked her and barely waited for her to walk away before getting up.
“Well, guys, it was fun. I’ll be going now. Have a good night,” she said.
She scurried off, and I looked across the table at Tyler. He was drizzling thick pepper-studded dressing from a tiny bowl over his salad.
“Why does this feel like a setup?” I asked.
He laughed as he stabbed a bite of the salad up with his fork. “I have no idea.”
“So, how is everything going at the bar?” I asked. “It’s a really great place.”
Tyler nodded. “It is. Thanks. It’s going really well.”
Tyler and I melted into conversation, laughing and filling each other in on what had gone on in our lives during the time I was away. It flowed smoothly while we ate, and I wondered if the food was really that good, or if it was spending time with Tyler that made it seem that way.
By the time we got to dessert, our conversation had come back around to the present.
“So,” he said, “what happened with the interview? When do you start your new job?”
I took a bite of my tiramisu and raised my eyebrows at him. “I guess as soon as I find one.”
“I thought you said that your interview went really well.”
“It did. But I didn’t get the job. She chose someone else. But she was really nice about it and said that I was impressive. The other candidate just had more experience. I can’t really argue with that,” I said.
“Just keep looking. The job that’s right for you is out there somewhere.”
“How about you?” I asked. “Have you thought about doing online tech courses?”
He looked hesitant. “I think I might be too old for that.”
“No one is ever too old,” I said. “When I was in college, there were several people in their fifties who were in class with me. You should just try.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a bit of a smile. “I’ll think about it.”
A few minutes later, we finished our dessert and headed out of the restaurant. As we started to head back to Nick’s house, I looked over at Tyler.
“I don’t want to go home quite yet,” I said. “Is that okay?”
“Absolutely. What do you want to do?”
We ended up going to a nearby park and strolling along the paths as we continued to talk. Now that we had found our stride again, it was really easy talking to him. He was funny and put me at ease. I could feel the connection growing stronger, but I couldn’t let it. I had to keep it under control.
15
Tyler
I walked into the library wondering if it was really the right plan. I knew I was older than most college students, but like Becca said, a lot of them were even older than I was. Working at the bar, while enjoyable at times, and certainly something I was good at, just wasn’t satisfying anymore, and getting a little more information about what I might want to do other than being a barback would be smart before I jumped in with both feet.
Ostensibly, the plan was just to grab a few introduction to tech workbooks, research the difficulty level, my own aptitude as it was already, and gauge if
there was something more specific I wanted to do. I already did a little bit of coding and was pretty sure that the conceptual ideas weren’t going to be a problem. But a little more information never hurt anyone.
When I arrived at the library, I walked right into the nonfiction section and began looking for the area of computing and tech materials when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. Someone that made my stomach clench and my heart tick up a few beats a minute.
Lo and behold, Becca was standing in the fiction section across from me, bent over and looking at a row near the bottom. For a moment I was dumbfounded, incapable of moving my feet or my eyes as I stared at her round, perfect ass, but when she stood, the spell was more or less broken, and I regained the control of my faculties again. I walked up to her and poked her on the shoulder, and she turned around surprised.
“Oh, hey,” she said, laughing. “Seriously, are you stalking me?”
“Looks like it,” I said, eyeing the books in her hand. “What do you have there?”
“Oh,” she said, looking down into the books in her arms. “Just some stuff I’ve been meaning to read for a while. You?”
“I think I might take your advice, actually,” I said. “I was here looking for some books on some subjects I was interested in learning more about. Perhaps through some college courses. Getting ideas on where I might want to go with all that.”
“Great!” she said. “Hey, would you want to sit with me?”
“Sure,” I said. “Just let me grab a couple books and I’ll meet you over there,” I said, pointing at a table in a far corner.
I turned and went back to the section I had been in, grabbing a few books that looked promising and heading back to the table where Becca sat. She had opened one of the books she’d picked up and was sitting cross-legged in the chair. As I walked up, she looked over the edge of the book and smiled at me. I put the books down in front of the seat across from her.
“Coffee?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “Two creamers, two sugars, please.”
The library had a complimentary coffee station, with one of those pod machines.
“Here you go,” I said as I sat her cup down in front of her.
“Thanks,” she said.
We spent a little time hanging out, enjoying each other’s company and reading mostly quietly. It was nice just to be near her, to be within touching distance of her even if I didn’t give in to my baser instincts and do so. I had gotten some pretty helpful information from a couple of my books when Nick walked around the corner to stand at the end of our table. He looked noticeably suspicious.
“Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
I pointed to the stack of books still unread on the side of the table. “Research,” I said.
Nick pulled out a chair and turned it backward to sit in.
“You plan this?” he asked, motioning to both of us. I looked over at Becca, and we made eye contact before both breaking into laughter. “What’s so funny?”
“No, we didn’t plan this,” I said.
“It’s just funny,” Becca said. “We keep running into each other.”
Nick didn’t seem to buy that explanation and was visibly irritated. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. How much did he suspect? It was starting to worry me that perhaps my best friend knew how I was feeling and wasn’t happy about it.
“It’s time to go,” Nick said to Becca.
“Sorry, he’s my ride,” Becca said, closing her book and gathering her things.
“Sure, yeah,” I said, trying to act like it was no big deal that my best friend was suddenly acting like I was bothering his sister. “I’m going to finish what I’m doing here.”
I stayed for a little while longer, checking out one or two of the more in-depth books and taking my notes home for further contemplation.
I got home that evening around six, stopping at a local restaurant to grab something to eat before going home rather than cooking. I had barely opened up my takeout and one of the books when there was a knock at the door.
“Mason?” I said as I opened it up.
“Hey, bud, was over on your street dropping off a couple fliers and thought I’d hit you up,” he said.
“Sure, come on in,” I said, backing up into the house and taking a seat back in front of my books and food. I closed the book and sat it back on the stack. When Mason made his way to the table, he looked curiously at them. “I got a bunch of extra pasta if you want some,” I said.
“No, that’s okay. Ava is making dinner tonight,” he said. “What’s all this?”
“These?” I said, contemplating just how up-front I would be about them. Mason was fiercely protective of the bar, and of all the brothers he was the one I was most nervous about talking to about my possible plans.
“Yeah, these,” he said, motioning to the books.
“Well, I’ve been thinking about maybe doing some online classes. Getting an education in tech work, you know?”
“Why would you want to do that?” Mason asked. “You have a career. With us, and the bar.”
“Well, I have a job,” I said. “Not really a career.” Mason made a grunting sound and sat down. He was viewing me with a combination of confusion and hurt. I hated that.
“Tech?” he said, finally.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to do it, really. I mean, I know you and Matt and Jordan and Tom all have things figured out. I get that. But I don’t. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”
Mason took a moment before responding, keeping his gaze on my eyes and looking like he was measuring his words carefully.
“Is that what you really want?” he asked.
“I don’t know, maybe?” I said. “I know I’m not happy. Or well, maybe that’s not the right phrase. I’m not satisfied. That’s it. I like being at the bar. I like working with my family and being able to spend so much time with you guys. But some of you are made for that job. You fill a specific role, and it satisfies you. Nothing I do there does that for me.”
“Do you want to change positions? Move into the kitchen or something?” Mason asked.
“No, it’s not where I am in the bar. It’s the bar itself. It’s fun sometimes, and when it is, it’s great. But most of the time, I stand there and wonder what I’m doing with my life, you know? I don’t have a family, and I’m working as a bartender at almost forty. I just want something I can do on my own that will give me that satisfaction.”
There were a few tense moments before Mason sighed heavily and sat back in the chair. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but my heart was pounding in my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was upset my brothers, but this had been weighing on me for so long.
“Well, then I support you,” he said, a smile breaking across his face. I couldn’t believe it, and I nearly welled up right there. I kept it together, though, and took a sip of my drink to center myself.
“Thanks,” I choked out. “That means a lot to me.”
Mason nodded. “Good. One thing, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe you should stay at the bar for a bit, just to keep the money flowing. College can be expensive.”
“For sure,” I said. “And I wouldn’t want to leave you guys in a lurch or anything.”
“It’s not that,” he said, waving me off. “I’m not concerned with that part. We would figure it out. If this is really what you want to do with your life, then you need to go after your dreams. We will figure the bar out. I just want to make sure you can still take care of yourself while you’re studying and going after this thing.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” I said. “I would probably stick around for a while.”
“Man,” he said. “I’m happy for you, I really am. I could tell something was bugging you recently, and if this was it, I’m just glad it’s something you can do something about. But I also want to take care of my brother and make sure you aren’t going
to starve.”
I laughed. “I won’t starve, but thank you.”
“Now, hand me one of those takeout containers. I’m starving.”
“I thought you said Ava was cooking,” I said, laughing.
“Yeah, well,” he said. “That was before I noticed this was from Mary Angelo’s. Did you get the cannoli?”
“I did.”
“Christ. Okay, you are sworn to secrecy. Give me that bag.”
Laughing, I handed him the bag and a fork, and we dug in together.
16
Becca
“What’s for dinner?” I asked as Nick pulled into his driveway. I was half expecting him to say pizza or Chinese takeout, so it surprised me when his option was something homemade.
“Chicken and rice,” he said.
“Like, as in you are going to cook something?” I asked incredulously.
“I’m an adult, Becca. I can use an oven,” he said reproachfully. “Besides, I get one of those boxes where they send you the ingredients and a recipe. It’s really easy.”
Ah, that made sense. Still, I wasn’t going to rain on his parade and make a snide comment. Truth was it was nice that someone was cooking for me. Melissa might be my best friend, but her attempts at cooking were often met with calls to the fire department. Cooking for myself often seemed like a lot of work for very little benefit. It would be nice for someone else to make something for me, and it was sweet that my brother wanted to do it.
We went inside, and I sat down in the living room to watch TV while he cooked. I asked if he needed help, and he shooed me out of the kitchen, saying he needed his concentration or else he would screw it up. I made it through an entire episode of a game show when he announced that dinner was almost ready. I hopped up, grabbed plates and utensils, and set the table, sitting down just in time for him to bring a smoking skillet out piled high with rice and chicken.
His Best Friend's Sister: A Secret Baby Romance Page 8
