Page 6 of Come Back to Me

My relief at being rescued from Joel is short-lived as I realize, oh shit, the frat boy is throwing up again…

JACK

I’m sitting on my favorite barstool, the one that affords me a clear view of the door and is far away from the speakers that blast music so loud some nights you can’t hear yourself think. I chuckle to myself that I didn’t even realize it was Cinco de Mayo when my brother Ben and I made plans to catch up tonight. The size of the crowd sure reminded me quickly once I walked in, though.

Ben and I aren’t able to get together as often as I’d like to because of our work schedules. So, when he called today to see if I wanted to catch up at O’Riley’s tonight, I jumped at the chance. I’m sipping a cup of coffee while I wait for him, grateful that Benny O’Riley keeps a container of my favorite sweet-cream creamer in stock here just for me. I look at my watch and it’s ten p.m., so Ben should be here any minute.

“Hey, old man,” Ben says, slapping me on the back as he sits on the stool next to me. He takes a swig of the beer I ordered for him.

“Dude, you’re literally only two minutes younger than me,” I laugh.

Ben’s not just my twin, I also count him among my best friends. Maybe it’s the shared trauma of trying to scare high-school boys away from our three younger sisters, but I feel like he gets me.

“Solve any big crimes today, Sherlock?” I ask, teasing him.

“Shit, no I didn’t. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to be a detective. I feel like I haven’t solved a case in months.” He sighs, looking tired. “How about you? Save any cats fromtrees or damsels in distress from burning buildings this week?” He smiles, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“Nah, nothing that exciting.” I smile back at him. “I transfer over to Station Three on my next shift, though. I can walk there from my house and Teddy works out of that station, so I’m looking forward to that, at least.”

We make small talk for a few more minutes and I realize how easy it is for us just to pick right up where we left off, even if we don’t see each other for a week or two.

“Kind of late for coffee, isn’t it? You know it’s okay to have a beer occasionally, don’t you?” Ben sounds like he’s joking but we’ve had this conversation before.

“I do. You know I just like to be alert. You never know when someone might need me to save a cat from a tree or something.” I laugh.

“Jacky, you’re a good friend and a good brother,” he says, now sounding way more serious than I’d hoped for tonight. “You don’t always have to be ready to save everyone. It’s okay to put yourself first once in a while.”

I smile at him, then take a long sip of my coffee. “It’s not that. I just want to be fresh tomorrow morning. It’s father and son day at school and Shayna asked me to take Tommy.”

“Okay, man, I’ll give you a pass on that one. That’s legit. But just remember, you don’t have to be everyone else’s hero. Tommy’s yes. Just not everyone’s.”

ANNIE

My butt hurts from sitting here for the last three hours at the corner table our ER group commandeered near one end of the main bar. I sip on my diet soda while trying to keep a close eye on Janie, who is more than tipsy but looks to beenjoying her birthday out on the dance floor. That makes me smile to myself.

She’s looked out for me, introduced me to everyone, and has saved me more than once from Joel’s unwanted attentions. The least I can do is watch her purse and make sure no asshole oversteps while she is out on the dance floor living her best life.

Joel finally left about ten minutes ago since he had to be back in the ER tomorrow morning at seven. Thank God for small mercies. Despite me encouraging him to go mingle on the dance floor, Joel sat with me almost all night, droning on about whatever he thought might impress me. Like it matters to me he was the high school quarterback and homecoming king. Seriously, he’s thirty years old and still bragging about his achievements in high school and his boat.

Since he’s gone, I can now finally relax, and people-watch.

A deep laugh coming from near the bar catches my attention.Can a laugh be sexy? I think that sounded sexy.

I look around for the source of the laugh and see two wickedly handsome men with wavy, jet black hair sitting at the bar about twenty feet away. The one in my line of vision has a killer smile and I quickly decide that, yes, indeed, a laugh can be sexy. People-watching just got more interesting.

The one facing me, with the dimple in his right cheek when he smiles, is drinking from a coffee mug.That’s an interesting choice for eleven p.m. at a bar on a Friday night. His friend—brother maybe?—is having a beer. Hmm, maybe Dimple Guy is the designated driver as well.

I find myself unable to look away from him, enthralled by his facial expressions as he talks to his friend. Almost as if he can feel my stare, he looks over at me and makes eye contact.

“Shit!”I quickly turn my gaze back to the dance floor,embarrassed that I’ve just been caught being a bit of a creeper.

As I find Janie where she’s dancing, I feel even shittier because I’ve clearly slacked in the best friend department, too. I was so caught up in staring at the hottie at the bar that I neglected to notice the frat boy type guy making lewd dance gestures behind Janie, unbeknownst to her.

I sigh, get up, and head out to the dance floor, fully prepared to shut that right down.

CHAPTER 4

JACK

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