Like, he doubles over, careful not to drop the bowl he’s holding, and laughs. Hard. “Never thought I’d see the day,” he says, standing back up and trying to compose himself.
“The day for what?” I ask, depositing the mushrooms and making sure they’re not sticking together.
“The day you fell for a woman. I knew it was coming with our boy Collin over there, but you? Thought you’d be single and mingle for the rest of your life.”
I make a face. “Who said anything about falling for a woman?” The question leaves a nasty taste on my tongue and a churn in my gut, but I ignore it.
“Well, first off, there’s the fact you warned me away from looking at her. Usually you call dibs, but you’ve never told me not to look. Not to mention the fact you’ve glanced over there no less than six times since you noticed her arrival.”
Realizing I’m doing exactly what he just accused me of, I peel my eyes away from Oaklee and glare at my friend. “She’s hot. Excuse me for looking,” I reply casually.
“Oh, she’s hot, all right,” he agrees, his appreciation of the view evident.
“Knock it off,” I mutter, my tone turning harder than even I expected.
“See?” he states, taking a swig of his beer and pointing at me. “You like her. Admit it.”
I scoff but refuse to give him what he wants. I keep my eyes where they should be, and that’s on preparing some of the food.
“First round of fish is up!” Wyatt hollers, taking a pan of deep-fried goodness over to the picnic area under the tree. Alex follows behind, carrying the container of onion rings with him, and the crowd starts to move in that direction. The thing about my friends is they’ll eat all day. Sure, we’ll make a plate, but one of the best parts about a fish fry is the grab and go. We’ll snack on this stuff far into the night.
“Hey.”
I look up and smile. “Hi. Glad you found the place all right.”
“How could I not? Once I got out in this direction, I just had to follow the line of trucks,” she states with a chuckle.
“Yeah, when Wyatt has a party, they come out of the woodwork. Did you get a drink? I have a cooler over by the porch. I grabbed some of those fruity can things I saw in your fridge, but there’s also some bottled water and Dr. Pepper.”
She tries to hide a smile but fails. “Dr. Pepper?”
“Best damn soda there is,” I insist. Plus, I might have seen that in her fridge as well.
“I have to agree with you on that one.” She looks around and then down at my fryer. “What are you making?”
“I’ve got breaded mushrooms coming up.”
“Mmm, I love those,” she says.
“Good. You can try one of the first ones up,” I tell her, poking the strainer into the oil and making sure the mushrooms are separated.
Oaklee rocks back on her heels and looks around. “Do you mind if I grab a bottle of water from your cooler?”
“Of course not. That’s why I told you it was there. What’s mine is yours, beautiful,” I practically sing, then smile as I watch the grin spread across her lips.
“Do you want something?”
“Yeah, go ahead and bring me a bottle of water too.”
“No beer?” she asks.
“Not while I’m cooking, but when I finally dive into the fish, you can bet your sweet ass I’ll have a beer. It enhances the flavor.”
Her cheeks blush and she averts her gaze for a brief moment. “Of fish?”
“Yep. And of the beer in the batter. Plus, it’s a law. When you eat fish and have a bonfire, you’re required to have a beer.”
She giggles and shakes her head. “Funny, I’ve never heard of that particular law before.”
