Page 20 of Here's to Tomorrow

“Of course I’m in, goofball.” I pull her out the front door of the apartment building.

I push all my nerves aside as we climb into the car.

The ride is quick, leaving me no time to regret my decision. We pull into a relatively new open mic joint appropriately named Mic’s. It surprises me that Tanner would pick something like this—not that I really know the guy. This just doesn’t seem like a place he’d hang out.

“Tanner picked this? This doesn’t seem like a Tanner place,” I ask as we approach the front doors.

“I know, but honestly, he only acts like a player around his friends and brother. He’s been really sweet in all the texts and phone calls we’ve had this week.” Maura beams as we walk into the club.

I want to question her, ask why he feels like he needs to hide his sweet side around everyone else. Is it a macho man thing? A manipulative thing? I don’t know, but I’m not crazy about it—but, this isn’t about me and Maura seems happy, so I brush it off and walk in behind her.

“They’re here!” Maura squeals and hurriedly makes her way to our table, launching herself into Tanner’s arms, leaving me struggling to catch up.

As I approach, I’m surprised to find the table empty. Apparently Tucker isn’t here yet.

Tanner catches me looking at the empty chair, so he supplies the answer to my unasked question. “He’s in the bathroom. He’ll be right back.”

I nod and grab a stray napkin to give myself something to do while I wait for my date to come back.

“This is a cool place. I’ve been wanting to come here since it opened but never had a reason to before,” I say, trying to drum up some sort of conversation.

“The drinks are good and that’s about it. Not a placeIwould have picked, but I did agree to it. This was your date’s idea,” Tanner confesses.

I knew he wouldn’t have picked a place like this!

“I like it. Gives off a good moody, sexy vibe,” Maura says as she eyes Tanner. He waggles his eyebrows at her, causing her to break out in giggles.

Giggles—like a schoolgirl, not a twenty-two-year-old. I realize now that Maura may like Tanner a little more than she’s been letting on. Truthfully, I can kind of see why. He’s smooth, charming even, and I’d fall for it too if he didn’t give off adon’t-trust-me-as-far-as-you-can-throw-me-and-I’m-big-so-that’s-not-really-farkind of vibe. This concerns me for Maura.

As they cozy up next to one another, I sit back and enjoy the soft music coming from the stage. It’s good, very fitting for a place like this. I’m lost in the music, so I barely hear Tanner when he speaks up.

“Ah, he’s back.” Tanner nods his head at me to indicate I should look behind me. Maura gasps.

I don’t look, because I can tell it wasn’t a good gasp that just came out of her. Is it not Tucker? I assumed it would be him.Shit.What if it’s one of his soldier buddies? I’m not big into the whole soldier thing. I mean, it’s amazing that these people do what they do for their country, but that’s one of the things that scare me off: the uncertainty of everything involved.

I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to know who it is, because it’s clearly not who we were expecting, which leaves me to believe it’s a stranger, someone I don’t know. I’m going to have to make idle chitchat with some random person, and I’m not one for idle anything.

The urge to be immature and bang my hands on the table washes over me. I just want to go home because I hate dates. I hateblinddates.

“Sorry about that.” The voice slides over me, and I freeze as my date sits down next to me. “I went to the bathroom and got a phone call I couldn’t miss.”

I know that voice. It’s a voice that’s been haunting me for the last three weeks. A voice I can’t seem to get enough of. A voice I’ve been dying to hear again. A voice that makes me want toloveblind dates.

I suddenly don’t want to go anywhere. In fact, I kind of want to stay here forever.

I turn and say, “Hudson, good to see you again.”

* * *

Hudson

I look like a fucking fish. My mouth is hanging open, and I can’t seem to get it to shut.

This is not what I was expecting. Rae is notwhoI was expecting, and judging by the look in her eyes, I’m not who she was expecting either.

I didn’t even know she and Maura were the double date type of friends. Hell, I didn’t know they were friends in general. I assumed they were coworkers when I saw them talking at Clyde’s.

So, Rae? Yeah, kind of the last person I was expecting.

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