Page 47 of In a Pinch

“If you breathe a word of it, I will punch you straight in the throat. I think something is happening between us.”

“Care to elaborate, or are you just going to be super vague and leave me hanging?”

“The night douche fuck Caden was being weird, I may or may not have laid his ass out for laying hands on Addie.” I watch a million emotions fly across Theo’s face. He has a no bullshit tolerance in his bar. You freak a girl out? You’re banned.

“Fuck, man, you should have told me.”

There was no need to tell him. Between my punch to the face and Addie’s kick to the balls, I think he got the message.

“Well, we ended up leaving together, and I kind of forgot to tell you.” I take another draw from my beer and continue with the story. “I took Addie back to my place.”

“The girl gets stalked, and you think that’s the time to make your move?” He shakes his head at me.

Waving my hand to bat off his interpretation, I say, “It wasn’t like that. She wanted food. McDonalds fucked up, so I made her some. And then, we kissed. And then, we watched a movie. And then, she slept over. And then, I took her apartment hunting. Now, we're here.” The words all come out in a rush. It feels good to talk about this. It makes it a little more real.

“And where is ‘here?’” Theo asks, tilting his head to the side. It’s been a week or so since everything went down and I have yet to put it all together myself.

I nod my beer at him because I’ve asked myself the same thing. “Good fucking question. Oh, speaking of apartments. Can you help her move next week? She’s moving out of Cal and Isla’s.”

Theo nods. “Yeah, I should be around to help.”

“Please don’t make it weird or act like I told you anything.”

“Dude, I am completely lost with what you’ve told me thus far. Cal and Isla going to be there?”

“No, I probably wouldn’t have volunteered if that was the case.” While Isla has warmed to me and Addie has sung Cal’s praises, there is still lingering resentment I can’t let go of. Part of me wants to, but the other part of me knows better than to trust my dad’s successor.

We were never as close as Liv and me, as we were literally polar opposites. He is warm and charming, and I have been compared to Scrooge more than once. I was the quiet kid, and he was outgoing. It’s normal that everyone gravitated to him, but I can’t help but still feel a little bitter after all this time.

“Well, if you get with his future wife’s best friend, you might want to learn how to play nice.”

The fact this hasn’t occurred to me yet shows exactly how wrapped up I’ve been in the Addie bubble. I’ve been so thrown off by our, whatever this is, that I hadn’t thought it all the way out. I rub my hands through my hair. Fuck. Can’t I just have her and leave the rest? However, with the way Addie reacted to my dad, it might be amusing to have them in the sparring ring every dinner. That’s a show I wouldn’t mind weekly tickets to.

“Shit, tell that to Addie. The one time she came to family dinner, she shut my dad down. She likes Cal well enough, but, I don't know.”

“Maybe you should trust her judgment.” He grabs the freshly washed glasses sitting on the counter and starts to dry them.

“I’ve considered that. She’s got a kind soul; she sees the best in everyone. So, maybe she just hasn’t seen his bad side yet.”

“Bud, you haven’t been around your family in years now. Cal never did you dirty. You should give him some credit.” My favorite thing about Theo is that he keeps it real. Regardless of if it’s what I want to hear or if it’ll piss me off.

Even the thought of trying to reconcile makes my shoulders bunch up with tension. Shaking my head, I reply, “He also didn’t stand up for me when my dad used me as his emotional punching bag.” He’s supposed to be the big brother and the leader, but the only place he led me was a one-way trip to disappointment lane.

“Fair enough.” He puts his hands up, feigning surrender. “I’m just saying, if you want this to work with you and Addie, it might take some effort on your part.”

This is bullshit. I’m finally interested in someone and it’s the one person who is going to make me do the thing I’ve been avoiding for, well, too long probably.

“I’m going to need at least twenty more beers before I come to terms with that. Thank you for ruining my good mood.” Taking another swig of beer, I try to wash down the stress that flooded me. Note to self, don’t come to Theo unless you want him to piss on your parade.

“What kind of bartender would I be if I didn’t ask the questions your therapist would ask?”

“One I would actually pay.” With that, we both chuckle. “Thanks, man. I haven’t mentioned anything to anyone, so keep it between us.”

“Always. What kind of therapist would I be if I shared all of our privileged information? That would be a direct violation of HIPAA.”

I smile. “Anything new in your world? Any girl problems I can help you solve?”

His cold look tells me I would be the last person he would go to for advice. Fair enough.

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