Page 38 of Drunk Girl

The bar is already open, but the plan is to not tap the keg until six o’clock, when they make a big deal about it. I follow Nick upstairs and into the office, where we find both Kaiden and Katie.

“Hey, guys,” Katie greets us.

“Hey,” Nick tells her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in a half-hug before she pulls away and gives me a full hug.

“Ready for tonight?” she asks him as she returns to her seat on Kaiden’s lap.

“As ready as I’m going to get,” he says, pulling his baseball hat off his head and running his hands through his hair. The guys ordered some apparel with the bar’s logo on it recently, and that included some new hats, which Nick has been attached to since they arrived.

“Quit your worrying,” Kaiden tells him. “Everything is going to go great tonight. We’ve done our research, advertised, had great press about everything, and the crowd has already started to form downstairs, waiting for us to tap that first keg.”

“I know,” Nick says, blowing out a huge breath. “We’ve just got a lot riding on how things go tonight. I don’t want the venture to fail. We’ve both got futures to look towards, and this could set us back if it fails.”

“Nick,” Kaiden says, a sternness in his voice. “We made this decision together. Not just you, buttogether.And it’s going to work out just fine.” A shit-eating grin appears on his face. “I haven’t told you this yet, but I got a call this morning. We’ve made the finals for an award, on the sample you submitted to that contest.”

“You’re shitting me?” Nick exclaims.

“No, I’m as serious as a heart attack. I wouldn’t joke about something like that. Nick, you’ve done amazing things with this and we’re going to keep doing great things. Believe it. Good things are headed your direction. With the press an accolade like that will bring to us, as such a new brewery, we’ll definitely be going places. Even just making it to the finals is an accomplishment in itself. I’m proud of you. I’m proud to have you as my brother. I’m proud to have you as my business partner. There isn’t anyone else that I’d rather be in this adventure with than you. Well, maybe these two crazy women, who seem to think that we’re worth keeping around, for some unknown reason.”

“Thanks, brother. The feeling is mutual,” Nick tells him, accepting a handshake and hug from Kaiden.

“Shall we head downstairs?” Katie suggests. “It’s almost time.”

“After you,” Kaiden tells her, and we all file out. Downstairs, the guys take their positions behind the bar, and I join Barb, Donald, and my mom, who have a table already.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight,” Nick says to the crowd, who has quieted down to listen to him speak. “We’ve waited a long time to bring this to market, but we hope you guys enjoy it. And with that, who wants a pint of beer?”

He pulls the tap and fills the first beer. The crowd starts talking all at once, bringing the volume in here up very quickly. I sit back and watch as Nick fills glass after glass, for what feels like hours. They run out of the first keg and quickly get the second one tapped and flowing as the patrons all enjoy the two options they have available for tonight.

“I’m so proud of my boys,” Barb tells me, after sampling both beers Kaiden brought over to our table.

“Me too. They work so well together. You did good raising them. I can only hope to be the same way when the time comes,” I tell her honestly. With my bad luck with men, kids were never on my radar, but as time goes by and Nick continues to show me what a real man is, my thoughts have been slowly changing and I can see us with kids down the road. Like, a few years down the road.

“Hey, sorry we’re late,” Tiffany says, sitting down on the empty stool next to me. Colton stands behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

“You made it!” I say, wrapping her in a hug. We’ve not seen much of each other between our busy work schedules, and she and Colton enjoying their newlywed life.

“Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t feeling well today, but finally pulled myself out of bed so we could make it down here. We wanted to celebrate with you guys. How’s it been?” she asks, looking around.

“Great! They’ve already had to tap the second kegs on both beers.”

“Sounds like I’d better go get one, then, if I want to try them before they run out,” Colton says, then turns to Tiffany. “You want anything?”

“Just a ginger ale,” she says, smiling at him over her shoulder. He leans in and places a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Be right back,” he says against them before heading over to the bar.

“Sorry you’re not feeling well. Germs from school?” I ask.

“Nope.” A smile fills her lips. “We’re pregnant,” she tells me quietly.

“Oh my god! Congratulations!” I tell my best friend as I pull her into a hug. “How far along are you? When are you due?”

“I’m about eight weeks, which would put me due in late August.”

“Ahh! I’m so excited for you guys. Is Colton excited?” I ask.

“Yes, he’s been so sweet these past few weeks while I deal with morning sickness. And I’m so damn tired. I get home from school every day and collapse on the couch. He’s been doing everything so I can rest. Cooking, cleaning, bringing me things to keep my stomach happy.”

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