I bumped his fist, sipped my beer, then peeked at my phone again. I had two text threads going. One with my uncle, who wanted me to take on a shift out of the fucking blue, and another with George. Sadly, Hank’s was the one that kept popping up.
I need you tomorrow at 8. No exxepcions.
Yep, he’d even spelled exception wrong.
“Got a date?” Kenny asked when I slipped my cell into my pocket.
“Yeah, with work.”
I’d known Kenny since junior high. He was a tall, muscular man with short black hair, olive skin, and lots of ink. Simon joked that Kenny looked more like a football player than he did when Simon played for the Rams. Kenny topped out his freshman year at Cal, but he stayed in shape. Now he worked at some investment firm downtown, drove a luxury convertible, and wore suits that cost more than my rent.
This was where I sometimes got the feeling I’d been stuck in the slow lane. My best friends were doing well in their professional careers. Okay, well, Simon was back in school and starting over in a way, but he had a real direction. I did too, but everything moved around me at a glacial pace. That hadn’t changed, but I felt…hopeful now.
I wondered if that had something to do with George. I worried less about where I wanted to be in six months and more about staying in the moment lately. It was a good feeling.
“Nah, you were smiling earlier. I know the difference between a family text and an ‘I’m gonna get some’ text.” Kenny narrowed his eyes. “Who’s your date? Spill it.”
“Nothing to tell.”
“Bullshit. Who else were you texting?”
“George,” I replied, unthinking.
Kenny froze with his beer in midair. “Si’s little bro?”
“Yeah. I’m finishing up his transmission.” I made myself stop before I gave myself away. Too much enthusiasm was an automatic red flag. Kenny knew me too well.
“Oh, yeah. How’s George?”
“Great. You know him. He’s just…George. He’s an original.”
“That’s a fact.” Kenny raised his beer in a mock toast. “You were the only one of us George liked when we were teenagers. Remember how he’d hide in the kitchen with Mrs. M to get away from the team when we descended on the Murphy house after practice? You were the only one he’d talk to. He obviously grew out of his anxiety. Si told me he works with some big-deal NASA nerds. Someday he’ll be the guy they interview about aliens on Mars.”
“He doesn’t have anything to with aliens, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any on Mars,” I scoffed.
“You talk about life on Mars?”
“Sure. And other stuff. He’s easy company.”
Kenny snorted. “George? Easy?”
“Well…you know what I mean.”
“Not really, but—” He shrugged dismissively, then narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that the girl you used to go out with? Julie or Jenny or something? She’s looking this way.”
I turned automatically and winced. “Yep. Jackie. Do not engage. Do not make eye contact.”
“Don’t worry. She looked away. And…Si’s here.”
I glanced up as Simon sidled by the old jukebox near the back of the bar and made his way toward us, slapping high fives in greeting before leaning in to place his order. I moved one stool over to make room for him.
“That’s okay. I’ve been sitting all damn day. And I can’t stay long. I took an Uber from our new place. Topher’s picking me up here.” He thanked the bartender for his beer and raised his glass. “It’s been one of those days…but guess who got an A on his term paper? Oh, yeah. That would be me.”
Kenny and I gave a round of fist bumps. “Well done, college boy.”
I squeezed his shoulder and ruffled his hair obnoxiously. “Congrats, man. I—”
“Aiden? I thought that was you.”
Oh. Great.
I froze for a beat, then swiveled to give my ex a vague smile.
Jackie was a petite redhead with big brown eyes and a penchant for tight skirts. We’d gone out for a very unmemorable three months that ended with a fizzle soon after the holiday party where George said he’d noticed us together. We were not in any way compatible. It was more than not clicking, though. We’d settled. She was a friend of Timmy’s wife. In other words, she was a ready relationship that came with a referral. Nice, safe, and easy. Sadly, we’d bored each other to tears.
Other than Timmy…which, trust me, wasn’t much—we had nothing in common. I’d expected her to be relieved, but she’d actually been pissed when I ended things. If I remembered correctly, she’d called me a loser with a god complex. So I really wasn’t sure why she’d bother with even a passing hello.
But I was polite. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Great.” She moved closer, brushing her boobs over my biceps as she leaned in to order a drink. Her long red hair fanned across my forearm. She flipped it over her shoulder and smiled brightly, flashing hot-pink lipstick and shiny white teeth. “Timmy was telling me that you’d gone back to school.”