Sunshine & Whiskey

by R. L. Griffin

  Max’s eyes drink in every inch of her.

  Magic clears his throat and walks closer to me to take the wine. “So Megan, how did you get roped into this double date?”

  My eyes go wide. “Is this a double date?”

  “I’m pretty sure it is. Dinner, two couples.”

  “We’re not a couple.” I shake my head and narrow my eyes at Laura who is having a conversation with Max in the den. My hand is still outstretched toward Magic because I’m trying to digest I’m on a double date in yoga pants. “I wasn’t even told you were coming. Look at what I’m wearing.”

  His smile is immediate and even makes his eyes curl up. “If you knew I was coming, what would you have worn?”

  I look back down at the cheese I’m slicing for the platter, refusing to answer him. He got me on that one. I decide to pour myself a glass of the wine he selected and take a sip. His eyes don’t leave me.

  “Mmmmm, this is amazing.”

  “I like it too, it’s one of my favorites at The Tasting.”

  “I can see why.” Magic still has an effect on me, but I’m slowly getting used to him. His scent reminds me of a forest. There’s a definite cedar smell lingering between us, and I know it’s not me. I smell like cheese and meat...and possibly underarm.

  “Not as good as whiskey though, right?”

  “I could get used to it.”

  Dinner is fantastic, the conversation even better, and that leads to playing Cards Against Humanity. We’ve been playing for a couple of hours and I’m currently winning, but Magic is a close second. It’s obvious we’re both horrible human beings.

  “I’ll open another bottle,” Magic announces as he gets up and walks into Laura’s kitchen. There are three empty bottles on the counter already.

  “You guys are alcoholics,” I say as I pick my next question for the game.

  “I have to pee,” Laura proclaims. She walks to the bathroom and sort of shuffles to the side. Her shirt is split in the back, exposing her bra.

  “Isn’t my friend hot?”

  “You two are quite the pair,” Magic responds.

  “I’ve never met someone more perfect for me,” Max answers, looking toward the closed door.

  My eyes widen at his admission and then look down at my cards. My brain is moving slower than usual, but I want to tell him to be careful. I want to guide them to a coupledom that is amazing because the two people do seem to have the spark that leads somewhere.

  “So, I’m feeling awesome,” Laura calls loudly as she exits the bathroom.

  “Me too,” Max agrees.

  Laura falls into the chair and grabs her cards, staring at them. “Hey...who changed my cards?”

  All three of us look at her.

  “Someone gave me cards that all say the same thing.” Laura pouts and shows me her cards. “They all say Cards Against Humanity.”

  Magic is the first to laugh, then Max and I join in. “So you’re cut off,” I say.

  “What?” She looks at me, confused.

  “Turn them over, drunk ass,” I tell her.

  As she turns her cards over, a blush spreads up her neck. “So that happened.” She laughs.

  “Okay people, this double date has been very interesting.” I lay my cards down. “Obviously, I’m the winner and you guys are not driving home. I have another bedroom in my house. Walker, you’re more than welcome to stay there even though I’m concerned because this game has exposed you as a horrible, horrible person.” I grab my sweatshirt and pull it over my head, causing bad things to happen to my hair. I’m glad I’m drunk because I simply don’t care.

  “But not as horrible as you,” he comments.

  “Max is staying here?” Laura asks.

  “I mean, he can stay in the guest room too or on the couch…”

  “I’ll sleep on the couch here, if that’s okay Laura?”

  “Mmmm, okay.”

  “All right, well. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  I grab my glass and head to the door. “You coming?” I ask Magic.

  He gets up quickly and follows me outside. “Megan.” A small cloud forms outside his lips. My eyes focus on those lips and my mind goes to where I would love for those lips to be on my body.

  “Yeah?”

  He opens his mouth, then closes it again.

  We walk quickly in the cold until we get into my house. I go into the guest room and make sure there are linens and everything he needs to spend the night. When I go to exit, he is blocking the door.

  “You’re different.” His steely eyes sparkle with mischief.

  I stand there and we plainly take each other in. That crackling is back between us.

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “I haven’t quite figured that out yet.” His hand reaches out and tucks a strand of misguided hair behind my ear.

  I fight myself against leaning into his touch. “Mmm, let me know when you do.” I put my hand on his chest to move him out of the way. I swear his heart is beating as fast as mine is. As I walk into my room and take my clothes off, I think of him next door. It makes me giddy. I’m never giddy.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Interpretive Dance

  Laura and I are sitting in our little office, which is just one room that we share off the main road in Napa. It’s in a quaint little office strip and it’s perfect because our company doesn’t have people coming to us, it’s all based on online proposals and emails. Laura’s invested my money in things and my money is starting to grow. For real, in three months my millions have multiplied. I could live off the interest alone. I’m not telling you this so you’ll be jealous, I’m telling you this because I had no idea it’d be like this. I have people contacting Laura every day for “investment” opportunities. We “meet” with people via Skype and other Internet sources and determine whether we like the idea of their company. We give people who may not have the chance to start a company the ability to do so. I wrote a big fat check to Victory for Veterans the other day and can’t wait to see the good things they are able to do with it.

  It feels good to help people.

  Honestly.

  I’m still a little restless though. I’m thinking I may sign up to take the California bar. I just think I should, I can’t imagine wasting all the years I spent in law school.

  Even though Laura didn’t agree to it, we’re both still on vagina time outs. Yeah, Laura’s still on a break too, can you believe it? I think she’s stupid for refusing Max, but her and Max have turned into great friends. He’s always around when he’s not traveling, and I’ve come to think of him as a friend too. I haven’t seen Magic since I left him in my guest room after our awkward double date. I shake the thoughts of his pull on me.

  I’m looking at a proposal from a stay at home mom who creates jewelry in her free time. She lives in Portland and her pieces are amazing. They ooze rage and pain. I type an email out that we would love to see more of her work and copy Laura on it.

  “What’s up for tonight?” I ask as I click on the next proposal.

  She looks at me and attempts to hide the guilt written all over her face. “What?”

  “What are we doing tonight?”

  “Oh.” She pauses. “Max and I are going to dinner.”

  “Like a date?” I jump up and start my version of twerking.

  Her laugh quickly escalates to a snort, but I keep dancing.

  “This is my told you so dance,” I yell over the music I’m not keeping beat with.

  “You look like a total jackass.”

  “But I’m telling you so…” I move my dancing over to where she is sitting and twerk my ass on her arm.

  “Stop it.” Snort. “I’m serious.” Snort.

  Her snorts make me forget about dancing and I just laugh with her.

  “It’s just as friends,” she counters.

  “Friends with benefits?” I ask.

  “Maybe,” she concedes.

  “VAGINA TIME OUT OVER!” I hol
d my hands over my head like Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky. Then I stop jumping around, and my hands fall by my side. “Friends with benefits is just a way of saying let’s try this out, and it never works because one person goes into it with more feelings. Why not just say ‘let’s try it’?”

  “Because this is safer,” she answers.

  “Safe is for pussies.”

  She looks back at her computer, trying to end the conversation.

  “How are you going to feel when he goes out with someone else but is fucking you? But just as friends.”

  Laura opens her mouth to speak and then closes it.

  “Right?” I’m still standing there looking at her.

  “When you like someone the way you two do, there is no friends with benefits bullshit, pull your head out of your asshole.”

  She doesn’t answer me, but closes her laptop and stalks past me, opens the door and leaves the office without a word.

  “Hey, you didn’t work your hours today!” I yell at her back as she walks to the car the company bought for her. It’s a Volkswagen.

  She flips me off and slams the door of her car.

  I work, going through proposals and sending out invitations for more information, until about 4:30. Then I close up the office and walk over to the Tasting Room. I find a seat and smile at Heath behind the bar. The entire room smells wonderful, it’s an oaky smell of the old barrels scattered around the room as tables.

  “Megan, good to see you,” he says as he walks over. “What can I get you?”

  “Do you have a Clark Claudon Cab open?”

  Heath’s eyebrows raise at my question.

  “What?”

  We look at each other.

  “Max told me to ask,” I admit.

  He smiles knowingly. “You got it.” Heath hits the bar in front me before he turns and pulls a bottle of wine from the back of the bar.

  As he opens the bottle and begins to pour my glass, I hear the chime to signal the door is opening. When I turn, I see Mr. Magic himself at the end of the bar. I wave politely. He barely acknowledges me, it’s just as well. Whatever, dick.

  I take a sip of wine and it feels like velvet slipping down my throat. I’m still a whiskey girl, but my appreciation for wine is growing exponentially. I’ve started having a glass or two every night, I would drink a bottle of this every day. My phone buzzes and I smile when I see Meat’s face. Yes, we’re still in touch.

  Hey Sunshine, thinking of you.

  I respond quickly.

  Hey, what’s going on? Eat any ice cream lately?

  His response is just as quick.

  Nope, it’s not the same without you. I’m thinking a trip to Napa is in my future.

  I am about to respond when the screech of the bar stool next to me pulls my eyes from my phone screen.

  “Someone calls you Sunshine?” Magic asks, clearly amused.

  “Yes,” I answer, my voice defensive. “I can be someone’s sunshine.”

  “Your boyfriend?” He signals Heath to pour him what I’m drinking.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend.” It’s been almost seven months since I broke it off with Chad. Single me is awesome, but sexually frustrated. Who am I kidding, I sort of hate single me...

  “You don’t?” He looks truly puzzled.

  I shake my head and then take another sip of this earthy liquid. “Have you had this? It’s amazing.”

  “What are you drinking?” He takes my glass and takes a small sip. “Clark Claudon, how did you get Heath to open it?”

  “I asked and he did. You just guessed the wine by taking a sip?”

  “Yeah. This wine is my favorite right now.”

  “I think it’s probably the best wine I’ve had since I’ve been out here. I can taste the earth in it, there’s no bitter taste at the back end.”

  “Look at you, Whiskey...you’re talking like a wino.”

  I take my glass back for another sip.

  “What’re you doing here?”

  “I was talking to Heath about getting my wine poured here when it’s ready.”

  “Oh really, is it ready?”

  His eyes grow sharper if that’s possible. “Not yet.”

  “Problems?” I ask.

  “You could say that.” He clasps his hands in front of him on the bar. “I don’t want to talk about it. Max says you guys are doing well.”

  I nod.

  “He really appreciates what you’re doing for the Victory for Veterans. By the way, thanks for letting me stay in your guest room the other day.”

  “You’re welcome. Why didn’t you wake me when you left?”

  “You looked so...” he mutters, but interrupts himself. “I heard Max outside and just snuck out really early. He doesn’t sleep a lot.”

  “With all that wine we drank, he didn’t sleep?”

  He shakes his head in response and then takes another sip of wine.

  “So what’s your story?”

  “No story.”

  “Everyone has a story,” I comment.

  “What’s your story? I hear it’s an interesting one?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, anyone who just shows up in Napa for no real reason and helps a charity after meeting a guy at a wine tasting must have a good story.”

  “Hmmm.” I stall because I’m trying to figure out what I want to say. “I went to law school in New York. Then moved back to Atlanta. Lo got laid off, we did an epic road trip and settled here.”

  His eyes are examining me. It’s like he’s pulling all the truth from in between what I told him.

  “You left your job because Laura got laid off?”

  My face turns crimson. “Well, there was one other thing that prompted my departure from Atlanta.”

  He runs his hand through his dark waves. “And…”

  I stare into the burgundy pool of awesome. “So...I broke up with my boyfriend and decided it was a good time to leave.”

  “Ah, ex-boyfriend,” he says, pointing to the phone.

  “Not even close to an ex-boyfriend, I like him much more than Chad.” I say all this without even thinking. It’s like I have diarrhea of the mouth.

  “Ex-boyfriend is Chad. Who calls you Sunshine?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I need to know who doesn’t know you are the total opposite of sunshine, you’re more like the sarcastic side of the moon.”

  “The moon has a sarcastic side?”

  “You may look like sunshine, but you have a sharp tongue and the wit to carve someone to shreds. I’m not surprised you went to law school. What law do you practice?”

  “I was in commercial litigation before I left a few months ago.”

  “You going to practice out here?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m thinking I’ll sign up for the bar,” I acknowledge this. My phone buzzes again. I look down.

  We need to talk.

  It’s from Justin. He can wait. Magic is talking to me about real things.

  “So,” I say, trying to change the subject. “What are we going to do about our friends?”

  “They are sort of being weird, aren’t they?”

  “Well, I’ll just say that when people really feel something sometimes it’s scary and makes them want to run, far away.”

  “You think she really likes him.”

  Uh oh, did I give away too much.

  “I don’t know,” I backtrack. “I think he’s amazing though. Victory for Vets was smart to make him the face of their program.”

  “Yeah, they were. He’s come a long way. I hope your friend doesn’t hurt him.”

  “I hope they don’t hurt each other.”

  “Laura is more likely to hurt him.” Magic finishes his wine and sits back on the stool. The rims of his grey eyes are a shimmering navy thread and it’s sort of mesmerizing. I shake this off because he’s talking about Laura. Okay, you know how you can say things about your friends, but you get mad if other people d
o? Well, shit is about to start flying.

  I guess Magic senses me tense because he puts his hand on my forearm, and I envision us fucking. It takes me by surprise, and I let out a small moan. It was barely audible, but I can tell he heard it. He lets one of his fingers drag down to my wrist and then takes his hand back.

  I’m sort of mortified, but want him to touch me again, anywhere. Take a risk, right? This guy is like the one night stand king of Napa. I lean into him. “How about you go home with me and we hurt each other in the best possible way?” My lips graze the shell of his ear and his left hand drops to my thigh, then my inner thigh just inside the hem of my sweater dress. I turn back to the bar and wave Heath down to get my check.

  Magic drops a hundred dollar bill down on the bar and pulls me out of my chair. I barely have time to grab my bag as we make our way out the door.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Nostalgia’s a Dirty Liar

  He pulls the truck up the gravel road that leads to Laura and my houses. As he cuts the lights I lean into him and whisper, “I’m really looking forward to writing a review of your performance.”

  Magic’s mouth gapes open and I laugh. This is going to be fun.

  “Come on now, let’s get it going,” I tease and slide out of his big black pickup truck to the gravel. My heels wobble a bit and I walk carefully, watching my feet round the front of the truck. His lights remain on even though he’s locked the truck, and I stop suddenly as I see a shadow at my front door. Peter steps out and blocks the lights from his face with his hand just as Magic slaps my ass and gives it a nice grab. “Oh fuck, Peter. What are you doing here?” I ask, shocked. The buzz that had filled my body leaves as soon as Magic’s hand leaves my ass.

  “Peter,” Magic whispers.

  “I wanted to see you and you wouldn’t take my calls,” he explains, walking toward us. He doesn’t look heartbroken, he looks fine.

  “So you just show up?” I ask incredulously and look over at Walker. Yes, I know that’s his name. I just like to think he really is magic because I want him to touch me and make me forget many different things, one is staring at me right now. Magic’s face is a blank mask.

  “Laura told me where you were, even picked me up from the airport,” he says as he steps closer to us.