Page 11 of His Christmas Gift

“She was giving me attitude, so I went to set her straight. We ended up getting close, and I think I would’ve gotten even closer if her phone hadn’t rung,” I admitted. I felt all right admitting this to Ethan. He wasn’t going to tell anyone or hold it against me. It was better than telling my brothers, who would nag me to try to date Autumn. I was not interested in dating. I had too much on my plate.

“Damn,” Ethan murmured before sipping on his beer. “Things just got complicated with your new business.”

I scoffed and shook my head, not wanting him to think that I was going to mess up the progress of reconstructing my newest gym location. I worked too hard to secure this gym. I was not going to drop the ball just because I almost kissed a pretty girl that I knew in high school.

“No, I’m not going to complicate things. Things just got confusing for a minute. It probably won’t happen again,” I replied. I didn’t know how sure I was of my words, but I was going to do everything in my power to stick by them.

“Probably?” Ethan questioned me as he lifted his eyebrow at me. He didn’t seem to believe me, and I couldn’t exactly blame him. I hardly believed myself. I nearly lost all control just being near Autumn. Who knew what would happen if I landed in that position again?

“It won’t,” I defended myself. “It’s not a big deal anyway.”

“And that’s why you’re at a bar with your best buddy talking about it,” Ethan chuckled. “Sounds like a big deal to me. She’s not just some pretty face to you.”

“We just have history. I’ve known her for a while,” I told him. It wasn’t like we had some deep emotional connection.

“Whatever you want to tell yourself, man,” Ethan smirked, not seeming to believe my excuses at all. He had been around me long enough to know when I was scrambling for excuses and lies.

I didn’t even know if I was lying or not, though. I had no answers to his questions or my own. What I did know was that things would be simpler if I didn’t engage Autumn further and just let all of this confusion die down. Then, I wouldn’t have to answer any of these questions because it wouldn’t even matter.

“I’m not trying to get with her. I have better things to do,” I said in a firm voice before flagging down the bartender for another drink.

Ethan didn’t say anything else on that topic. He just continued drinking his beer until he brought up the Saints game happening this weekend in New Orleans.

I was glad to move on to another topic. Autumn made a haze fill my mind, clouding my thoughts. Talking about football with my best friend was simple and clear. We had a good time, and I found myself knocking back another drink to try to get myself to relax even more.

“I probably should head home soon. Got a busy day tomorrow,” Ethan said after another thirty minutes of chatting at the bar.

“Oh, come on, man. It’s still early,” I told him, not wanting to go home just yet. I would just get sucked back into my thoughts. He was a good distraction for me right now.

Ethan opened his mouth to tell me no, but he glanced over his shoulder and froze with a shocked look on his face.

I followed his gaze, and my heart nearly leaped into my throat at the sight of Autumn walking into the bar.

“No way,” I muttered under my breath. Out of all the bars around here, she came to this one at the same time I was here. She didn’t see me yet, or maybe she was ignoring me. It was hard to read her at times, especially now since I was a bit buzzed. “You’re definitely not leaving now.”

“If that isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is,” Ethan smirked at me.

I didn’t say anything. What was there to say? What if Ethan was right? I didn’t know what this sign was telling me, though.

All I knew was that tonight just got a lot more interesting.

---