Drew
The wooden surface of the bar was shiny and not distracting enough for me. I tapped the old barn wood and said, “Beer.”
“Jesus, snap out of it,” Sully said, no sympathy evident in his voice.
“He’s new to relationships, show some empathy man,” my brother’s tone didn’t match his words. “Now, baby bro, smile pretty.”
I didn’t even look up at him, traitor, but the vibration from my phone told me he’d likely just taken a picture and sent it to our group text.
“Do you have any loyalty?” I grumbled.
“Loyalty to what? A pity party of one because Kate said she needed to go out with the girls tonight instead of hanging out with your mopey ass.” I looked up to see Jake shake his head at me.
I scratched my nose with my middle finger.
“Here, try this.” Sully slid a beer my way. “It’s almost done, just thinking if there’s any more tweaks needed.
I looked it over and took a taste. “Pale ale?”
Sully wiped his hands on a towel. “Yep.”
I set the glass down on the counter. “It’s good. Name?”
“Not sure yet. We’d been experimenting with it and then Blake called me and I decided to get it ready. It’s the one that I’m working with Blake and Max to unveil it with one of our Beers and Birds hike.” Sully tossed the towel over his shoulder.
I nodded, Blake had mentioned something about this last week.
“Speak of the devil.” He nodded at the duo winding their way through the bar—Max and Logan.
Max clapped me on the shoulder. “I thought you were out for the night, staying at home with Kate and Daisy?”
Jake groaned. “Don’t bring it up, the man is whipped and is moping about Kate having plans tonight.”
Max chuckled, then gave Jake a glance. “I mean, if you had a choice of being here or being home with your women and Addie, what would you chose?”
“Truth,” Jake muttered.
“You’re just as whipped as our boy here.” Max knocked my shoulder with his.
Max and Logan placed their order and we talked about plans for this spring at the park when Sully’s whistle caught my attention. “Look sharp, men, this crowd just got a lot more interesting.”
I turned and looked across the brewery to the front door to see several folks filing in, Emma, Maggie, Ivy, Elle, Allyson, Tim, and Kate.
My breath caught. How was it that we’d been together for months and yet an unexpected glance always made me catch my breath. Tonight, she had her dark hair in a side braid, some black blazer covering a fitted T-shirt that dropped breathtakingly low, with jeans and heels.
My mouth watered. I wondered if I could toss her over my shoulder and leave without anyone noticing.
Just then the music switched to a new Mylie Cyrus song and Kate’s crowd parted and I fought back a groan. Lou Williams.
Lou seemed to give zero fucks that she was closer to eighty than seventy and she stood inside the door shaking her hips. Her arms were up in the air as she twisted her wrist and then gestured for the group to follow her.
As they made their way through the maze of tables and seating sections in the dining area of the Homestead, Lou kept pace to Miley’s thoughts about being her own woman, dancing as she went, squeezing an arm of a variety of men as she passed them. She’d back up, move forward, grinning the whole time like she was having the time of her life. The ladies followed, doing their own dance, Maggie swaying as she patted the butt of her and Sully’s baby in the sling that she had strapped to her belly. Pulling up the rear was Tim, a librarian with Emma, who had zero issue in calling attention to their dance train.
Lou came straight to the bar, dancing up to our group that had been watching her move through the crowd like Moses. She stopped in front of Jake as Sully was already circling the bar to kiss Maggie and Ellen. Tapping the bar to get our attention, which she already had, she pointed to the speakers. “Let Ms. Miley educate you all, a woman scored will emerge on top. Every. Dang. Time.”
Jake slid a vodka and water with ice, easy on the water, to Lou. “What would Verdell say to that statement, Lou?”
“I’d say she speaks the truth,” Verdell, Lou’s very understanding husband, spoke up from a table on the side of the bar.
Kate walked up to me at my spot and I parted my legs to get her closer to me.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” I pressed a kiss into her neck. “You look amazing.”
She beamed up at me. “Thanks. I didn’t know we were coming here.”
“You sad about that?”
“Absolutely not. Now I get the best of both worlds—time with the girls and you. And you get to stop being sad.”
I sat up straight. “What makes you think I was sad?” I’d worked hard not to appear anything but happy for her when she said she was going out. I knew how important her friends were to her.
Kate slid her phone from her back pocket, tapped the screen and turned in to me.
I looked at the text thread. My idiot brother hadn’t sent the photo to our sibling group like I thought, but the family chat that included my parents, his wife, my sister, her husband, and Kate.
And there was my picture from this bar, minutes ago, with his caption, Drew is a sad panda since his girl has abandoned him for the night.
Steph and Theo had crying and vomit emojis.
My mom offered to come down and whip up a brunch for tomorrow.
My dad asked if I needed a donut.
Jesus. My family was a lot.
I looked at Kate and shrugged. “Sorry. I just like spending time with you.”
She wound her arms around my shoulders. “No worries, sad panda, I like spending time with you too.” She brushed her lips across mine.
“Awww, Drew’s happy again.” I looked up to see Ivy and Jake standing together, looking at me like proud parents.
I shook my head.
Tim clapped his hands. I noted his T-shirt today said WOKE UP GAY AS HELL AGAIN. I shook my head, Tim was a unique individual. “Ladies, just because we’ve found the men doesn’t mean our night out is done. My girl Miley is signing and we’re not ignoring that. Let’s dance!”
“You good?” Kate asked.
“I get to watch you dance?” I asked, squeezing her to me.
She nodded. “Last time Tim had us dancing on the tables by the end of the night. Eric had to come corral him.”
I sat back and gave her a wide smile. “That sounds like an excellent way to spend the night. I’ll tell Max to keep Eric on standby.” Tim’s husband might fight Verdell in the contest for who qualified for sainthood first. Both men delighted in letting their spouses be exactly who they were, no apologies.
Kate’s phone vibrated and she looked down and laughed, raising it to show me. There was a picture of me that was clearly just taken sent to the group thread by Jake. In it my gaze was locked on my girl as I played with her braid.
The comments flooded in that I was whipped, my mom’s baby was in love, etc., etc.
I didn’t care because it was all true.
I leaned forward and whispered in Kate’s ear. “I love you so damn much. I’m sorry I was a sad panda, I don’t mean to be clingy, but I’m glad you’re out with the girls and having fun.”
Kate laughed and pulled back in my arms to look me over. “I’m fine with you being a sad panda, I know you’re fine with me going out.” She leaned forward, nuzzling her head into my neck as she whispered, “I love you too.”
I kissed the top of her head as we stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, as I counted my blessings. Miley sang on, the conversations of friends rose around us, Tim and Lou danced by, and I knew I was the luckiest man in the world.