Emma’s cheeks turn bright red before she even speaks. “I was dating his brother, okay.”
“What?!” I did not see that being a part of this equation.
Callie sits up and turns in her chair to face Emma. “Tripp has a brother?How did I not know this? I feel like I should know a lot more about these guys than I do.”
“That’s because you and Will are practically glued together.”
Callie shrugs. “Alright, fair. Sorry, continue.”
Emma winces slightly. “It’s his estranged brother. They don’t talk—haven’t talked since the beginning of my senior year— Right before he broke up with me, it all blew up.”
“Oh, my word,” Callie squeaks. “This is so much more than I was expecting! What happened? Why don’t they talk?”
“Look, I don’t have all the details, but Tripp promised it wasn’t about me.” Emma shakes her head. “His brother hated our friendship and accused me of cheating with him constantly. Which never happened, but you’ll call me out if I didn’t acknowledge the small, teeny-tiny attraction on my end.”
I barely get mypah-haout before Emma jumps on me. “Hey, what about you, Mrs. Daines? Let’s talk about how Beck just brought you all your favorites—completely unprompted.”
I grab her Shirley Temple back before she can reach it. “Talk of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and lose your drink.”
Callie snorts a laugh. “Here we go.”
“No, I’m not starting this right now,” I say before Emma can counter. She’ll have too many good points considering we give her the same crap about liking Tripp, but at the same time it’s different with Beck. Granted, her and Tripp seem a lot more complicated than I previously thought, but still.
As hot as Beck is—as good in bed as I’m sure he is—it’s not going to happen. I push the uninterested bit the best I can, but my girls have seen through that facade enough. I like him, and they know it. Well, Lucie, mostly, but Emma and Callie seem to have caught on over these past few weeks.
I’ve used time and other priorities as my excuse to not explore whatever this is between me and Beck for the most part. It’s usually enough to get them off my back, but the reality still stands, and as awful as it is to admit—I have a fucking crush on Beck.
There are many reasons I haven’t acted on it and two of them are sitting right across from me.
Callie takes a drink of her wine and twists slightly back and forth on the stool. “Okay, new topic. You’re almost done with your apprenticeship, right? We’re on our final week?”
“Yes, thank god. Eight more hours and one signature from my ass of a supervisor and I’m out of there. For the past month, I’ve been envisioning the insults I would tattoo on Hank’s forehead, but I’m running out of words for the bastard.”
Emma snags her Shirley Temple back. “How creative have you gotten?”
“Pretty out there. I started with Spanish curse words to make my mama proud, reimagined them in English, then took a little inspiration from Lucie and tried to think of non-curse words. Some were satisfying—most were not.”
Callie snorts. “I can only imagine. But you’re almost there and then you can tattoo your favorite one on his forehead legally.”
“The options are endless.” I glance over to the guys at their table. Mia hovers over Beck while everyone places their orders. Fighting the eye twitch, I scan the table to see who all came out tonight. There’s Beck, and of course, Tripp, then Adam and Will across from them, then two empty seats meant for Callie and Emma.
I swallow down some of my pride. “You two can go hang with the guys, I’ll be here all night.”
Callie slides off the stool with a small smirk. “I’m not against feeling up my man for a bit, but I’ll be back. I only want my drinks coming from the hot tatted bartender.”
“Don’t flirt with me, Cals, or I’ll give Will a run for his money,” I joke.
Emma hops off her seat next. “Do it. Giving Will shit is my and Adam’s favorite pastime…ya know, minus baseball.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “Go have fun with the guys, just come see me when you need a refill.”
“Will do,” Callie hollers over her shoulder. “Unbutton your top a bit, and I’ll tip you better next time.”
I roll my eyes with the shake of my head, then realize half of the guys sitting at the bar are now looking at me in a completely different way. For fuck’s sake.
I push another hour before I spot Beck staring at me from across the bar. I note his empty drink and Mia nowhere in sight. There’s a small pull to walk over to him, but I fight it off. Beck is a no-go zone, no matter how much of a hopeless romantic I am at heart—my brain is smarter. And my goals are my priority right now.
It’s a play I’ve been the star of before. A girl likes a boy—girl tells boy she wants a career and not his babies…girl moves to Boston with a broken heart and no friends.
