Atticus: The game isn’t until this weekend
Atticus: And we’re gonna win
Atticus: Besides, I didn’t specify that it needed to be alcohol -_-
Kai: My stream just ended so I’m game
Sammie: I’m already here waiting…
Atticus: Damn sis, bad day?
Sammie: I’ll tell you when you get here
Ivy: :(
Sammie clicked her phone off. It wouldn’t be long before her brother wrapped up his practice.
“I’m gonna go grab a booth,” she told Zehra, who offered a nod and a soft smile. Sammie stopped by the shelves on her way across the room, grabbing a fantasy novel she’d had her eye on for a while, despite her brain’s protestations against starting yetanother book. She slid into the booth in the back corner, settling in with the tattered paperback.
Twenty minutes later, three familiar figures walked into the brewery.
“Move your ass!”
Sammie rolled her eyes as her brother smushed himself up against her side, too impatient to wait for her to scoot over in the cramped booth. She met Ivy, who was shifting over to make room on her other side for Atticus’ boyfriend, Kai, in the middle of the curved bench seat.
“There is a chairright there.” Ivy waved toward the other side of the half circle table. “We don’t all have to sit in the booth.”
Kai scrunched his nose at the chair as though it had personally offended him.
“Before we get into all the soul-sucking shit,” Ivy continued, smiling. “There’s this outside hitter that plays for the Louisville women’s team, we got into an argument at that training conference I went to last week. I’m thinking about sliding into her DMs.”
“Because she argued with you?” Sammie chuckled, glad for a bit of levity after the day she’d had.
“Well, yeah.” Ivy shrugged. “It was hot. She was kind of mean. I’ve been trying to figure out a conversation starter all day, so ponder that while we all commiserate over our problems. Now.” Ivy reached up to tighten her messy ponytail, leaning back in the booth and giving Sammie her whole attention. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything.” Sammie sighed. “One of Robert’s evil cohorts stopped by today, at the same time your favorite spiker was delivering my grain order. He thoughtKieranwas the head brewer. I was standing right there in fucking work boots, the smell of beer literally wafting off of me, and this guy still assumed the man in the room was more qualified than me.”
Kai rolled his eyes as Atticus let out a low whistle. Ivy looked ready to maybe go commit arson.
“Sister,” Atticus said, pinning Sammie with a knowing stare. “It has been two weeks since I last saw you.”
“I know,” Sammie said, tugging one of her braids. “Work’s been a lot.” Getting set up with a new distributor, signing a contract with the local university to get Everly’s beer into their stadium for all the football games, taking on a second, mostly useless assistant brewer. Dealing with Robert Everly’s weird, cagey attitude. He’d been showing up at the brewery more than usual lately.
Atticus was frowning at her, his bleached blonde hair falling over his forehead, still wet from the shower he’d probably taken after practice. “That job is killing you.”
Another eye roll. “Don’t be dramatic, Attie.”
Kai snorted from the other side of the booth. “Impossible.”
Atticus narrowed his eyes, huffing a sharp breath through his nose. Ivy glanced back and forth between the two men, her hair flicking back and forth as she grinned. “Trouble in paradise?”
Kai smirked. “He’s mad that I talked him into watchingBanana Fish.”
Ivy cocked her head to the side. “What’s a banana fish?”
The other three responded at once.
“An anime,” from Kai.
