On the Rocks (Mixology #2)(41)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I hugged her over the bar. “Thanks for all the help, Maddy. Max said we could head out.”

“Have fun.”

I stepped back. “I think I’m going right to bed.”

“Uh huh,” Maddy arched an eyebrow and pointed to Macon. “Are you so sure about that?”

I laughed. “My brother’s here.”

“Yes I am.” Colin crossed his arms.

“And we’re leaving. Night, guys.” Macon waved before leading me back through the bar and out to the car.

We were already back at the condo when I remembered Macon had a gift for me.

“Do I get to find out what my present is yet?” I kissed him on the cheek.

“Absolutely.” He took my hand and led me down the hall to my room. That was a change as we always slept in his room. I was about to say something when I saw the envelope on my dresser. I quickly opened it. “Dan Croll tickets! How? This show sold out months ago.”

“I have my ways.”

“Thank you!” I hugged him around the neck.

“You can thank me by taking me with the second ticket.”

“Was that even a question?”

“Hey… you never know.”

“Are we sleeping in here tonight?” I gestured to my bed.

“Do you mind that we don’t?” He glanced at the tiny mattress.

“No. I prefer your giant bed to this one anyway.”

“Same here, plus this still feels like Maddy’s room to me.”

“I get that.” I held the tickets and walked out into the hall.

“How happy are you with me right now?” His voice came from right behind me.

“Very.”

“Happy enough that you’d join me in the shower?”

“What’s with you and asking questions you already know the answer to?” I reached back and grabbed him through his pants.

“Hey, it’s dangerous to assume. It’s always worth asking.”

“Can I ask a question then, too?”

“Of course.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“Nothing.” He picked me up and threw me over his shoulders. “I finally get to say I took the bartender home.”

I laughed. “I took the bartender home too.”

“That you did.” He set me down in the bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the water.

While he was distracted I completely undressed. He turned back and grinned. “And look, my present came unwrapped.”

“Mine didn’t.” I set to work undressing him completely.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Macon

Brody was the only guy who’d have ever been able to convince me to drink Pabst beer. The first time we’d gone out fishing he’d insisted on it. Evidently it had been a tradition when he went fishing with his brothers, and I decided to be a good sport and go along with it. Two years later, I couldn’t imagine a day of fishing without it. Fishing was really the only “guy” thing we did together. We’d done it on a whim one day when he first moved in, and it had become a semi-regular thing for us.

The sun way already high in the sky by the time we pulled the canoe out. Usually we left early in the morning, but I’d had trouble leaving my bed again. When you have a girl like Carly begging you to stay a few more minutes, it can take an army, or in my case an annoyed roommate, to pull you out of the sheets. I left the condo with a promise that Carly would be around that night. She’d been spending more time with Maddy lately. Combined with the extra shifts she was working now that she was bartending, and the fact that I worked days rather than nights, finding time together could be tough.

“Think we’re going to catch anything today?” Brody stretched out as much as he could in the canoe.

“Maybe. Either way, I’m glad you dragged me out here.”

“I know she’s prettier than me, but man it’s hard to pry the two of you apart.”

“She’s a hell of a lot prettier than you.” I took a long sip of my beer.

“Yeah, I’m not going to argue there.”

“So what’s going on with you? I feel like all you’ve been doing is working.”

“I’m trying to save up a little until I figure out what to do next.”

“Do next? Were you planning on doing something different?”

“Aren’t you? I know you own the place, but are you going to stay out here when Caleb takes over the shop?” Brody wasn’t the type to beat around the bush.

“I have no clue.” I had no idea how I could rationalize staying around if I didn’t have a job at the shop.

“I guess the better question is whether Carly’s sticking around.”

“Who knows? It’s not like we’ve been together long.” It sure didn’t feel that way though.

“Yet she’s slept in your bed almost every night for weeks now.”

“I can’t get enough of her. She makes everything seem better, like I’m not a complete fuck up.”

“You’re not a fuck up. Did you decide what to do with Wharton? Aren’t you out of deferrals now?”

“I’m not going.”

“You do understand that getting an MBA would help you with more than just your family business.”

“I just don’t want it anymore.”

“Then what do you want? Other than Carly and spending your life diving?”

“I have no clue. I’ll figure something out.” I tried not to think about it anymore than I had to.

“Same here. My parents are bugging me to go home. My brother Gavin thinks I should move to Wilmington where he is.”

“He’s the one getting married, right?”

“Yeah. He’s coaching a minor league baseball team and someone’s wife owns a restaurant he thinks I should work at while I go to culinary school.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good opportunity?”

“In theory, but I don’t know, I just want to do something on my own I guess. My family’s great and all, but they can get overbearing.”

“And he probably just wants you around so you can babysit when they inevitably get pregnant in the next few years.” I let some cynicism slip in.

“Speaking of pregnant—Maddy’s really having a baby, huh?”

“Looks that way. She seems surprisingly excited about it.”

“It’s not that surprising. She loves Colin.”

“Yeah, but she’s the one who usually overthinks everything.”