Page 14 of Our Long Days
Florence: Thanks for the ride last night.
Delete.
Florence: Is it weird we’ve seen each other’s private parts now?
Florence: On a scale of 1-10, how awkward is this going to be?
Florence: Knock-knock. Who’s there? A yam. A yam who? A yam so sorry I ran out of your cabin half-naked and stole your shirt.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
Eventually, I settled on one.
Florence: Didn’t want to wake you this morning. Thanks for the pizza and somewhere to crash :)
When I woke hours later, my stomach plummeted through the floor when there was a text from him. It took me ten minutes to work myself up to opening it.
Dex: It’s all good. See you around.
And see him around, I would; there are few places to hide in town, and Dex is practically family.Oh god, no. Not like that.But he’s at most family functions and hangs around with my brothers.
What I hadn’t planned on was seeing him so soon. Booth deserves a punch to his solar plexus for dragging everyone to Shirley’s. The bar, as expected two days into the new year, is aghost town. My dumb brother is so grossly obsessed with Alessandra, he begged us all to hang out, claiming it’s a tradition at the restaurant.
It’s not.
Maybe Dex won’t show. He has lots of projects coming up. Or maybe he’s gone to see his parents.
The door hinges creak as it swings shut behind me, trapping the cold air out. Shirley’s has been around for as long as Our Place, and the worn leather seats and weathered bar could do with a facelift. My boots stick to the floor, and a grumpy pair of eyes, brows slashing downward, whip my way. Lenny, the owner, is a major grouch and hates most people, but he especially hates tourists. Glancing around the room, my brothers and friends are nowhere to be seen, so I head over to the surly owner standing behind the bar.
“Evenin’, Governor.” I tip an invisible hat.
Lenny’s scowl deepens. “For such a little thing, ya sure are loud. Also, y’aint old enough to be here.”
I slap a hand to my chest and grin. “Lenny, I’ve been drinking here sincebeforeI was twenty-one, but thanks for the ego-boost. Can I get a vodka cranberry, please?”
He squints then turns toward the row of liquor bottles.
What people don’t know is, despite his appalling hospitality, Lenny has a soft spot for me. He just won’t admit it.
“Am I the first to arrive?” I ask over the sound of ice hitting glass.
“Nah, the big fella’s here.”
I pale. There’s no need to ask whohe’s referring to.
“Little Sadler,” a gruff voice says, the same one that narrated my sordid dreams and left me aching in my bedsheets last night.
A slow breath blows past my lips as I center myself before slowly turning.
“Oh, hi, Dex,” I chirp.
He blinks at me as if in a daze. “Are you alone?”
“Yep.” I rock on the heels of my boots. “Looks like it’s me and you.”
He winces, which shouldn’t hurt. At least I’m not the only one in this weird fog floating around us, but I don’t do well with awkwardness. How are we supposed to navigate this? We’ve known each other forever, and Dex’s friendship with Patrick means the world to him.
Well, if you hadn’t run out of his bed…
