Page 17 of Covington Acres

“No worries. I’ll give you a few minutes.” He disappeared.

Colby looked up, watching Vince as he scanned the menu. Had Vince been giving him shit, or did he really find him attractive? If their situations were different, would Vince reallywant to be in a relationship with him? Colby shook his head, trying to knock those thoughts free. It didn’t matter anyway, since that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t say why he was even thinking about it so much.

Vince looked at him over the menu. “What?”

“Nothing.” Colby’s gaze darted down, and he smiled again…for no reason he could discern.

“Okay…I think I’ll get the whiskey burger. It has pepper jack and caramelized onions.”

Colby closed his menu. “That sounds good. I’ll get the same.” When their waiter returned, they placed their order. “Taste the beer,” Colby told Vince.

He picked up the mug and took a sip, Colby watching him the whole time. He hoped Vince liked it. That he hadn’t chosen wrong. Maybe he should have gone with a dry Irish stout, since those were the most popular.

“Oh, that’s good. It’s a little sweeter than I expected.”

Colby sat up straighter. “It has lactose in it. I’ve looked it up. The lactose doesn’t ferment, which gives it that sweeter taste. And it should be smoother, almost creamy. I think it’s a good dichotomy—the sweet with the bitter flavor.”

Vince leaned forward, elbows on the table, dark eyes full of mischief.

“What?” It was his turn to ask, like Vince had asked him only minutes before.

“You should brew beer.”

The hairs on his arms stood up, and he shook his head. “I couldn’t brew beer.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know anything about it?”

“You’ll learn.”

“What if it’s terrible?”

“You’ll get better. And if you don’t and you hate it, then you stop. You don’t lose anything by trying. You love beer. You want to figure something out of your own. Try new things. This is new.”

He couldn’t…could he? It wasn’t something Colby had ever considered, but the longer he sat there, the more he noticed the fluttering feeling in his stomach. He could try it. Maybe it would be fun, maybe it wouldn’t be, but Vince was right. He didn’t lose anything by trying. And then maybe he could just brew his own beer. It would be a new hobby for him.

“Yeah?” he asked, waiting for Vince’s response, as if he needed it. As if there was no way he could do this without Vince telling him it was a good idea.

“Fuck yes. We can do some research to see what we need. Start out small, of course. Who knows what will happen.”

“You’ll do it with me?”

“I can’t believe you even have to ask. I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do with you, Colby Covington.”

His stomach somersaulted. He couldn’t figure out how he got so lucky to have Vince as a friend.

“Yeah.” Colby nodded. “Let’s do this. Let’s brew some beer. Can we keep it between us for now?” He didn’t want others to think it was silly. Or even worse, to expect it to actually go somewhere. His family was the type who could do anything, and whatever they chose turned out incredible. Colby wasn’t sure he had that gene.

“Of course. Our secret.” Vince winked.

Colby’s stomach did gymnastics again.

“Here you go.” The waiter stepped up to the table, setting a plate in front of Vince, then Colby. “Can I get you anything else?”

Colby shook his head. In that moment, he had everything he needed.

CHAPTER SIX