“Jazz—”
I sigh. “Star, you knew I was never seriously considering moving out there,” I say as gently as I can—which, admittedly, isn’t very gentle because I’m not exactly known for being a warm and fluffy guy, as we’ve already seen. “I really appreciate everything, but that whole LA lifestyle isn’t something I want. My life’s here.”
“But all your friends are in LA,” she pushes.
Unfortunately for Star, that particular fact is no longer the carrot it was a few weeks ago.
I manage a wry chuckle. “Believe it or not, I do actually have friends outside of you, Jace, and Cody. Besides, my family’s here.”
She lets out a resigned sigh. “Fine. And I’m sorry for pushing so hard. I just really miss hanging out with you all the time.”
I know it’s not the partying like we did last night that she’s referring to; she can do that perfectly fine without me. It’s the down time; the off-screen moments when she can just be Star and not “Star Bryant.”
“I miss that too, but LA’s just not for me, and I think it’ll be a while before you can get me back there. You’ve always got a room here whenever you want to visit, though,” I remind her.
“I guess that’ll just have to do,” she says with an exaggerated sigh, before adopting a more chipper tone as she says, “at least it’s only a few weeks ’til Thanksgiving.”
The words cause me to pause in my step just as I’m rounding the corner to my bar. Thanksgiving. Tahoe.Fuck.
“Do you know which days you’ll be staying?” Star chatters on, completely oblivious to the dread now coursing through me. “I need to be there for a photo shoot the Wednesday after theholiday, so I was hoping we could make it a week-long thing. Unfortunately, Jace has a fight on the Monday night, so I guess the boys will be leaving Sunday.”
“Uh, I’m not sure,” I mutter. “I’ll let you know. I’d better go. I just got to the bar and Piper’s waiting.” It’s not a complete lie; I can see a Birken bag sitting on a chair next to the bar’s front window and I’m making the reasonably safe assumption that my sister is its owner.
“Okay, well, let me know when you figure out your plans,” Star says. “And tell Piper I say hi.”
“Will do.”
I end the call and take a moment to master my frustration. I’ve never bailed on Thanksgiving at Lake Tahoe before; even after the rest of my family stopped going I held up the tradition. So, despite deciding to leave LA earlier than expected, flying back to California for the holiday should be a no-brainer. Except for one problem…“Fucking hell, Cody,”I grumble under my breath, raking a frustrated hand through my hair. Unless something happens in the next few weeks to dramatically alter the current situation I won’t be going to Tahoe this year. I’m not capable of tiptoeing around other people’s feelings at the best of times; I’m certainly not going to be able to do it for an entire holiday weekend while we’re under the same roof. It’ll only be a matter of time before I lash out and make this whole situation even worse. Definitely best to stay away.
I let out a steadying breath and shove my frustration aside, closing the remaining distance to the front door of my bar. I smile at the familiar sight of the neon sign reading “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” before shoving the door open and walking inside. I’ve technically owned this place since I was twelve and it was left to me by my mom, who’d inherited it from her father, but I actually started running it once I turned eighteen. I wasn’t legally allowed to drink, but I could run a bar. Go figure.
It’s not a huge place, although it can get pretty crowded on the weekends. But for the most part I’d probably use the words “relaxed” and “low key.” It’s the kind of place people can come to relax, chat with their friends, or even just sit on their own if they want to and enjoy a good quality drink. And, of course, listen to the nineties songs expertly performed by the incredibly handsome and talented resident musician (AKA yours truly). As the name suggests, we specialize in whiskey, but everything we serve here is top notch.
I give the bar a quick once over, checking that everything seems to be running smoothly, before wandering over to a corner near the window where I spy my sister nursing a glass of pinot gris.
“So, what’s the big emergency?” I ask as I set my bag down and remove my jacket and scarf before taking the seat opposite her.
Before she can answer, we’re interrupted by a familiar voice calling my name. “Jazz, you’re back!”
I glance up to find Gia, the senior bartender and assistant manager rushing over to us, a bright smile stretched across her face.
I grin back at her. “Hey, Gia. Everything go okay while I was gone?”
“Like clockwork. The regulars are all missing you, though—they’ll be glad to have you back.”
“Well, that’s to be expected,” I say with a shrug. “I am very missable.”
Gia and Piper both roll their eyes, as though they’ve synchronized their reactions.
“You want me to put that in your office out of the way?” Gia asks, gesturing to the small suitcase currently sitting next to the table.
“Yeah, that’d be great thanks.”
“No worries. And I’ll be back with your usual.”
I grin at her as she grabs the handle of my bag and starts maneuvering it away. “Thanks, Gi. You’re an angel.”
She rolls her eyes again, shaking her head wryly as she walks away.
