“No problem.” He smiled easily and kissed Sherry on the cheek. “Who are your friends?”
She quickly introduced us before Naomi shook his hand and I simply offered him a smile. When the silence turned uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and smiled at Sherry. “Come find me later.”
“And that’s why we send you to get the drinks,” Naomi said once he was out of earshot.
Sherry winked and took another pull of her beer. “You’re both hot. You could just as easily get us free drinks.”
Naomi took her phone from her purse and smiled as she typed out a text. “Yes, but I’d feel guilty about it.”
“Mob wife,” I muttered.
“Fine, if you’re such a paragon of good, why don’t you go find—” Naomi paused as she looked at Sherry.
“Kevin,” she supplied.
“Go find Kevin and give him money for your drink.”
I rolled my eyes as Sherry laughed into her drink. “Fine. You’ve made your point.”
Naomi’s smile was victorious. “I’m certainly not studying law because it’s fun.”
“I guess we’re just lucky Sherry has no moral compass.”
“Gee, thanks, guys,” Sherry deadpanned.
Naomi laughed as her phone went off again, and her smile grew as she read the screen. “Good news. Derek’s here. He says he’s got some exciting news.”
“It’s girls’ night. So unless his news is he got a sex change, tell him it’ll have to wait till tomorrow,” Sherry said.
“No can do, Sher Bear.” At the sound of Derek’s voice, Sherry cringed and glanced behind her, but not before I saw a flash of pain race across her face at the nickname.
“Sher Bear?” Naomi and I asked in unison.
“Ughh… I am forever going to regret getting drunk enough to tell you that nickname.” She groaned and banged her head on the table.
Derek laughed as he moved around to the front of the table. He leaned down and spoke in her ear, making sure it was still loud enough for the whole table to hear. “And don’t worry. The dick’s here to stay.” He winked as she shoved him, and Naomi gagged. A deep chuckle came from behind him, and that was when we noticed his shadow.
“Ladies, this is Gabe,” Derek said as he patted the newcomer on his back.
“Hey.” Gabe smiled and nodded at each of us, but when our eyes locked, his smile got wider.
“Gabe, this is my sister Naomi, my surrogate sister Alara, and of course, we can’t forget Sher Bear here.” He made a move to rub her hair when she growled, and he quickly retracted his hand.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Gabe.” Sherry paused and offered him a saccharine smile. “That being said, if you ever call me Sher Bear I will cut off your balls and make you wear them as earrings. Okay?”
Gabe choked on his beer but recovered quickly and nodded. “Noted.”
“She’s all talk.” Derek paused, glancing at Sherry’s raised eyebrows. “Well… mostly,” he amended with a nervous smile.
“I’m a lot nicer when I have a full drink.” She raised her already empty bottle in Derek’s direction. “Buy me another?” He smiled in response, and she winked as she got up and sashayed past him.
“You good?” Derek asked Gabe, his eyes trained on Sherry.
“Yeah.” Without a backward glance, Derek nodded absentmindedly and followed Sherry to the bar.
“Ughhh… my stupid brother and his stupid dick,” Naomi mumbled miserably as she watched them leave before downing her drink.
Gabe had followed Naomi’s gaze, giving me a few seconds to take him in.
I was pretty average all around, and that included my height. I didn’t need heels to go out (thank God), but I also didn’t have to worry about finding a giant to compensate for being too tall. So based on that alone, the only thing I could tell was he was just north of six feet. Anything beyond that and I was completely clueless. I didn’t really understand how girls always seemed to know how tall a guy was. They were always so sure of themselves, like, Oh, here comes this really hot guy. He’s six foot five, weighing in at 195 pounds with a 36x34 pant size. Was that even a real pant size?
But whatever his height and weight were, he wore it well. The only color in his outfit was the light-red button-down he wore, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing toned, light-skinned arms. I’d just made my way to the top of his black jeans when Naomi made a rather grandiose production of clearing her throat, compelling my eyes to fly to hers. With a knowing smirk, her gaze shifted between Gabe and me before returning her scowl to Derek and Sherry.
I felt the booth under me shift as Gabe sat, and when I looked over, he was already staring at me with a soft smile on his lips. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“Why do they continue to do this to me?” Naomi whined, drawing our attention back to her.
Gabe quickly looked toward the bar before raising an eyebrow. “She doesn’t like them dating?” he asked me.
“Oh, they’re not dating,” I said.
“No, they’re just fuck buddies,” Naomi spat out. “Against their better judgment and my numerous requests that they stop.” She exhaled loudly, and we all looked toward Derek and Sherry just as they exited the bar, his hand on her lower back. Despite Naomi’s insistence, I never really got the impression that they hooked up. Sure, they joked about it, but that was all it felt like… a joke. “I’m gonna grab another drink. Maybe find some bleach for my eyes. You guys need anything?”
My eyes widened as I shot her a you-better-not-leave-me glare. “I’m good,” I answered, raising my nearly full whiskey sour. She noted my drink but purposefully avoided my eyes, like she knew what was waiting there.
“Would you mind grabbing me another beer?” Gabe asked.
When he pulled out his wallet, Naomi finally looked at me. Her eyes widened and she nodded her head toward Gabe before shooting me a pointed glare. I subtly shook my head and nodded toward her seat, code for sit your butt back down. She ignored it, and once he handed over a twenty and told her her drink was on him, she started walking away with a pleased grin.
“Excuse me one second,” I said before scooting out of the booth and grabbing her arm. She looked over my shoulder before scowling.
“What’s wrong with you? Get back over there. He’s hot, and you promised to socialize.”
“Yeah, with supervision,” I hissed.
“Oh God.” Naomi started laughing. “You’re not a child.” I gripped her arm harder.
“I know. But it’s like those stupid Dos Equis commercials.” I paused to clear my throat and mimic his deep voice. “I don’t always talk to random strangers, but when I do, I make it awkward as fuck.”
She paused in her retreat as we both started laughing, and relief blossomed in me that she wasn’t actually leaving. That—
My thoughts cut off as she pivoted and began walking away.
Okay, so she was going to leave me; she just did so while cackling.
…
I slid back in the booth, keeping a fair amount of distance between us. Gabe turned his body toward me and let his gaze roam over my face. I started to fidget, becoming uncomfortable with his presence, when he relaxed back against the seat and turned his body back toward the dance floor.
As he watched everyone else, I watched him. He had a thick head of dark hair with a subtle yet attractive widow’s peak and blue eyes that shone from beneath full eyebrows. His very defined jawline was lightly covered in a five-o’clock shadow that faded naturally into his high cheekbones.
I swallowed nervously as I prepped myself for the awkward conversation we would most likely have to suffer through. I absolutely despised small talk, but I’d promised Naomi and Sherry that I’d try to be more social. Ugh, why the hell do I do this to myself? I hate going out. I hate people. I hate everything… Taking a large sip of my drink and a deep breath, I tuned out my inner drama queen and initiated conversation.
“So how do you know Derek?” I asked. Really impress
ive, I know. But baby steps.
The safe distance I kept was eliminated as he scooted closer so he could hear me. I repeated the question as he began picking at the label on his bottle. “We actually just met. I got a job at the bar.”
My eyebrows rose as I thought of the busiest college bar in Carillo and all the crazy stories Derek had told me about it. “That place can get pretty wild.”
His smile grew as he lifted his arm to rest on the booth behind me. “Do you know this from experience? Will I be seeing you there a lot?”
“Not even if you paid me.” Gabe chuckled as I continued. “My favorite coffee place is just down the street, so sometimes I stop by for lunch when Derek’s working. He’s told me stories, and the night crowd sounds like a little bit too much for me.”
“Well, I guess I’ll find out. Hopefully, it’s not too much for me. So what’s this coffee place?”
“Caffeine IV. I’ve been going there since my senior year in high school.” I smiled as I remembered the first time I walked in. “I was actually walking to the bar to meet up with Derek when all of a sudden, it started pouring. I grabbed the first handle I saw and was immediately greeted by Kath.”
“Kath?”
“Yeah, she’s this retired nurse from Alabama. She’s a mother of four and a widow as of six years ago, when she moved here. She works there to ‘keep busy’ since apparently none of her children visit much since her husband’s death and her move. She loves to volunteer at the hospital, has an affinity for hand-knit scarves, and is allergic to blueberries.”
Gabe wrinkled his nose and his eyebrows bunched in adorable confusion as I listed this off like I was reading stats off the back of a baseball card.
“She told me all this the first time I met her. I don’t think she took a single breath in that ten-minute conversation. I could probably write her biography by now, three and a half years later.”
“So she’s a talker?”
“Only in every single sense of the word.” We both laughed as our gazes swept over the floor in front of us. A tolerable silence descended as I mentally patted myself on the back. Okay, this isn’t so bad. I can totally be a normal human.
Just as I had that thought, the quiet started to feel tense. Should I force more small talk or just let the awkward silence hang there? Maybe it wasn’t awkward for him. Maybe I’m just crazy. No, I’m definitely crazy, but that’s beside the point. Small talk or awkward silence… my constant internal dilemma.
“So based on earlier, I’m guessing you hate all bars, not just Derek’s?” he asked.
Small talk it is.
Taking another generous sip of my drink, I turned my body toward him slightly. He took in my change of position with a grin and moved his hand down so it settled more firmly on my shoulder. “Earlier?”
He coughed as a faint pink crept over his cheeks and he looked toward the bar. “You just didn’t seem thrilled to be here. You looked…” He trailed off before meeting my eyes again. “Uncomfortable.”
“I definitely don’t love them, but I don’t hate them either.” I shook my head and laughed. “And honestly, even if I were a fan, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, I’ve been informed that I have RBF.” At his raised eyebrows, I clarified. “Resting bitch face.” To which I constantly wanted to scream to the world, THAT’S JUST MY FACE! But I digress.
He threw his head back and laughed, bringing his arm in full contact with my shoulder and back. The small movement stirred the air around us and brought with it the slightest trace of mint, the scent so faint I could’ve almost convinced myself it was never there at all. Against my better judgment, I leaned toward him and subtly inhaled the hint of sweet mint. I loved that he didn’t feel the need to overload on cologne. Fragrances shouldn’t be used to impress anyone within a ten-foot radius. They should be a reward for that one person you trusted enough to get close.
I’d just finished leaning back when he brought his head down to face me with an irrefutable smirk plastered there. His eyes were alight with humor, making it more than obvious he’d caught me sniffing him. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, no doubt wondering why the heck I’d smelled him, I quickly continued my explanation from earlier.
“No, I wasn’t hating it. I just wasn’t feeling particularly excited about coming out tonight. But it was girls’ night, and I’ve been informed it’s a best friend’s duty.”
He smiled softly. “You must be a really good friend, then.”
Yes, I was a great friend… such a great friend that I didn’t notice Naomi had been gone for almost twenty minutes. I lifted myself off the seat as I scanned the bar and surrounding areas, frowning when I couldn’t find her.
“You think she ran off with my money?” Gabe asked as I sat back down.
“Probably. I mean, twenty bucks can get you so much these days.”
He smiled wider and moved a little closer, and as he continued to stare, I refused to grow uncomfortable. Instead, I tried to focus on keeping the conversation going until Naomi came back.
“So you meet Derek for what, half an hour on a job interview, and he invites you to come out with perfect strangers?”
“Well, actually, he offered me a place to live first.”
My eyebrows skyrocketed to my hairline, and I took in Derek’s new roommate before looking out at the dance floor. “That’s going to be a lot of Derek. Are you sure you can handle that?” I asked nervously as I tried to discreetly move away from him. There was certainly no way I could go back to his place now.
“So far he doesn’t seem so bad. I certainly like the company he keeps,” he said softly.
Slowly, I brought my eyes back to his, and we stared at each other for several seconds before my palms began to feel slick and my mouth dry. I clenched my jaw, a nervous habit I exhibited when I felt out of my depth, as I waited for him to say more. I couldn’t think of—
“We are pretty great company.” Naomi’s voice broke through the fog in my brain as she sat down beside me.
I jumped slightly as my eyes snapped to hers and widened, a silent thank you for her excellently timed return. She slid a beer over to Gabe and leaned back, shamelessly grinning as her gaze shifted between us.
“Where have you been?” I accused.
“Sorry, Mom. I ran into some friends.” She shrugged. “So what did you two do while I was gone?”
I shrugged and shifted away from Gabe a bit. “We talked. Derek met him when he got a job at Pick Your Poison, and guess what else? He’s Derek’s new roommate.”
Naomi chuckled and nodded her head at me, her way of saying, Okay, you get a pass. “That’s great! So I guess we’ll be seeing you a lot, then?”
Smiling broadly, Gabe gave Naomi a brief glance before his bright blue eyes came back to me. “I sure hope so.”
I meant what I said. I could definitely get used to this—it barely even registered that I’d just met these girls an hour ago. They were just like Derek, laid-back and easy to talk to. Their voices weren’t going up several octaves when they talked to me; they weren’t throwing themselves at every guy they saw—or any guy really. Two things I couldn’t stand when I went bar hopping. No, these girls were just hanging out and having fun.
When I’d followed Derek earlier and we arrived at the table, I hadn’t even realized it was the same table I was staring at earlier until I moved around him and my eyes landed on her light-green ones. She was still sitting, so all I could make out was her minimally made-up face and simple, dark-floral tank top.
Thankfully, since Naomi’s return, Alara seemed to be less nervous. Even though it was probably nothing personal, I hated it when women felt uncomfortable around me. Naomi was giving Alara updates on the friends she ran into while I searched the room. Derek and Sherry still hadn’t returned to the table, and I had yet to see them even re-enter to the bar.
“So no girls caught your eye tonight?” Naomi asked, bringing my attention bac
k to the table.
Alara’s eyes seemed to widen in warning, but Naomi purposefully kept her stare on me.
“Maybe,” I said casually as I took a drink of beer.
“And yet here you sit.” Naomi gestured up and down at me.
“College bars have never really been my thing, even when I was in college. The girls are just…” At their equally high eyebrows, I frowned. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded… I mean, you guys are obviously different…” I trailed off as they continued to sit silently with their arms crossed over their chests. Just as I began rubbing the back of my neck, they started laughing.
“Relax. We’ve already established I’m not the biggest fan of bars,” Alara said before gesturing to Naomi. “And she doesn’t really get offended by anything.”
“It’s true.” Naomi nodded as she wrapped her lips around the straw in her drink.
“But I don’t understand. Why’d you get a job at a bar that exclusively serves college students?” Alara asked.
I shrugged and waved my hand at the crowd before us. “I don’t hate it. I just know I’ll get enough of the obnoxiousness at work. I don’t want to spend my free time around it, too.” At my pause, Alara lifted her eyebrows and pinned Naomi with a look that said, See? “I usually don’t come out unless someone else suggests it and I have nothing better to do.”
“What’s so obnoxious about it?” Naomi asked.
I gave her a wry look. “You can’t deny that people who visit bars regularly are definitely in a separate group from those who don’t. And the group that goes is usually more obnoxious.”
“So it’s about the people,” Naomi concluded, and I got the distinct impression she was gearing up for a fight.
“Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged.
“She,” Naomi paused and pointed to Alara, “was forced, too. Maybe half the people in this bar were forced, and you could be missing out on meeting some really great people because you think everyone in here is the same. And I’m going to assume the traits you’re assigning aren’t very nice.”
Unveiling The Sky Page 5
