Page 83 of A Little Luck
Alex is across from us pouring drinks. “You finally got out of the fucking friend zone? How many times did I tell you not to make friends with the woman you love?”
“Yeah, that sounds like good advice.” My brother Alex is trying to act like he didn’t pine after Cass for years before finally making a move. “Should you be the bartender at your own bachelor party?”
“I don’t mind.” We’re right back where we were two months ago, and so much has changed. “I thought you went to Moloka’i for a fresh start?”
“I did.” I lift the tumbler, and the three of us clink glasses before drinking the amber liquid. It’s smoky and smooth with hints of vanilla and roasted nuts. “Then I came home, and she was in my bed.”
“You’re welcome.” Aiden clinks my tumbler with his. “Britt tried to put her everywhere but there.”
“You never slept with her before this week?” Alex’s eyebrow arches. “And you’re giving me shit for building this brand, busting my ass to make a million by the time I was thirty, before getting with Cass?”
“I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing.” I look at my tumbler, not wanting to give too much away. “We weren’t strictly platonic, but no, we never went all the way until I came back.”
“Leaving was a smart move.” Aiden slides his glass across the polished wood. “It helped her see her feelings more clearly.”
“Speaking from personal experience?”
“Yes.” He nods, watching as Alex refills his cup. “I had to lose Britt to get my head out of my ass, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
“I’m really proud of you, bro.” I can’t resist teasing him. “You’ve really evolved out of that caveman persona.”
“Alex was right, though. You messed up sliding into the friend zone.”
“Like I had a choice. Wewerefriends. We’ve been friends since middle school. She was with Rex.”
“Best friends are the worst,” Alex laughs. “Especially when they beat you to the shot.”
I don’t want to dwell on the past, so I jump us back to the present. “How’s Pinky handling Mamma Cass being out of the house tonight?”
“She’s fine now that AJ is staying with us, who we arenotcalling aunt.”
“Holy shit…” I almost shoot bourbon through my nose. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“To be honest, I didn’t either, but Cass was prepared.”
My head drops forward, and I scrub my fingers over my eyes. “How did Crystal not see that coming when she named her daughter Jemima?”
“Funny you should say that. I asked Cass the same thing.” Alex pours us another finger of bourbon. “Apparently, her sister is named after their great-grandmother, and according to Cass, it’s a biblical name that means peace or beauty or something.”
“She could stick with Aunt Taylor,” Aiden jokes.
“That was her first choice.” Alex lifts his tumbler and clinks it to ours. “Jemima says she wants to move away from that persona. It’s all very suspicious.”
Our phones all ping at the same time, and he sets his glass down to check the message. We all check it, and my throat catches when I see the photo of Britt, Cass, and Piper with penis straws in their mouths.
“Damn, those girls,” Aiden laughs, and Alex gives him a high-five.
“Put a ring on it.”
I’m not feeling as confident as they are. I have too many recent memories to accompany this image, and I’m still not inside the gates enough to be high-fiving my brothers.
“So what’s the holdup?” Aiden seems to be reading my mind.
“She’s still holding back.” I polish off my drink. “If there were anything more I could do, I’d do it.”
It’s not entirely true. I still haven’t taken Sheila’s advice and put it to her directly. I’ve been enjoying the orgasms a little too much to get confrontational, but we’re running out of time.
“Is she worried it’ll ruin your friendship?” Alex gives me a cocky grin, and I kind of liked him better before Cass, when he was all broody and miserable.