I give her a smart-ass grin and hold the clipboard to my chest. I can feel my hands grip each side of it out of stress that needs to be released.
“Addie, I’m a grown-ass man. Are you really going to tattle like you did when we were young?”
“Being adults won’t stop me from letting MomandAunt Rosey know that you are being a controlling asshat who won’t let me handle things.”
My smile falls. I should stop underestimating her.
She wants to go to our mom. Fine, I don’t care. But when she wants to involve our aunt, the one woman who terrifies me, that’s when my attitude changes.
Mom and Aunt Rosey like to play good-cop-bad-cop. My mom is the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet—A trueMary Poppinscaretaker. My Aunt Rosey, on the other hand—she’s Ellen Ripley fromAlien. A total badass who would take down an entire alien species.
My arms fall to my sides. “That’s just cruel.”
Addie folds her arms and returns that smart-ass grin I was just giving her a minute ago. “We live in a cruel world, my friend.” She holds her hand out, waiting for the clipboard.
I narrow my gaze, and she narrows hers back. I hesitate, but I hand it to her while she still carries that smile. She knows she won and can’t help but gloat.
“Just make sure that you write every little thing that’s wrong with the merch,” I direct. “The t-shirts, the glassware, the tote bags,everything.”
Addie rolls her eyes at me, shaking her head as she turns on her heels and starts to jot down notes.
“Un-freakin-bearable,” she mutters under her breath.
“I heard that,” I call over my shoulder.
I walk to the long, glossy wooden bar and pick up a hand towel, slinging it over my shoulder. Bending down, I start to count all the glasses that are tucked under the bar, the neatly stacked napkins that are on the opposite side, and the coasters we currently have with the logo fading away.
“Please tell me you’re not here because of the merchandise mishap?” A deep voice calls from behind.
I don’t bother to turn around to look at James—one of my best friends. We met in elementary school on picture day, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I had on a pink and white striped polo, and he told me to take it off because I looked douchey.
I didn’t even know what a douche was. I had to ask my mom, who then told me never to say that word again, or I’d get soap in my mouth. I didn’t say it until I turned fifteen years old. And that was to James.
“Are you really that shocked?” I smirk to myself.
I hear him climb up the ladder behind me. “I’m an optimist, Rowan, and I believe that one day you will change your ways.”
“You have so much faith in me. I admire you for that.”
I stand up and turn around, leaning back onto the slick, cool bar counter, crossing my arms. I hear the chalk tapping on the big, wide chalkboard that hangs above the bar. I look up to see James writing down our specials for today.
“Someone has to,” James mutters.
“You shouldn’t want to change your best friend. You should like them for who they are.”
“Not when they self-sabotage themselves.”
“Dude, you have no room to talk, you’re just as bad.”
James gives me the finger over his shoulder before coming back down from the ladder. He may come off as an asshole, but once you get to know him, you learn he has a heart of gold. He’s quiet, reserved, and keeps to himself. Yet women flock to him, and he doesn’t know how to hold a conversation to save his life.
After I became friends with James, I met his younger brother, Beau. It’s like night and day with those two. James is quiet, while Beau likes to be the center of attention.
“Good morning, everyone,” a chipper voice filters from the entrance.
I turn to see Riley, Ellie’s best friend, walking in with a smile on her face. Her shiny blond hair is wrapped in an identical bun to Addie’s, and she’s wearing her usual yoga attire. The sound of her sneakers tapping on the wooden floor causes a slight echo in the empty brewery.
“Why are you in such a good mood?” James asks, pushing a strand of his dark walnut-colored hair out of his face.
