I looked at him in confusion. Why would a free dinner make me feel better?
"And then I told them that neither of them was allowed back in here ever again."
Again, I appreciated that he was looking out for me. Now that we were grown up, he didn't have to beat Kevin up. He just had to make sure Kevin was never allowed into the most prestigious restaurant in San Diego.
"I'm sorry I bailed from the back room like that."
Hunter shook his head. "It was my fault for leaving you in the private room alone to go check on the kitchen. If I were in your situation and I saw the woman I love having dinner with another man, I would've stumbled out and embarrassed myself as well."
I grinned. "I did embarrass myself tonight."
"In spectacular fashion. I'm very proud of you. I'm usually the one that ends up embarrassed in public."
I felt guilty at that. "I didn’t embarrass you, did I? Or hurt the business?"
Hunter laughed and patted me on the back. "No, you didn't, little brother. Come on, let's get outta here. We’ll go to your place. It's really big. Maybe we could play hide and seek. It’ll be hilarious when you're drunk."
"Maybe I'll really fall down the stairs and hurt my knee then."
Hunter shook his head. “Let's go.”
Fortunately, the drive from Cesare’s to my place wasn't too far. Before long I was in my own parlor, drinking my own booze, while my brother sat on the opposing couch and did what big brothers do: get drunk and commiserate.
"You know that the time that Natalie and I were on the outs, she came into Cesare’s with Kellie and Andy, and was dancing in a barely there dress with that asshole Jason Tollison." Hunter took a long gulp of his drink as if the memory was taunting him. "I wanted to fucking rip his head off."
I nodded. I could say that I wanted to rip Kevin's head off, but I might've been happy if Hunter did it.
"Do you think if things with you and Natalie hadn’t worked out that eventually there was somebody else out there that you could be with?"
Hunter's jovial manner dissipated and he looked down. "I don't know, man. Actually, I believe Natalie is the one. It was her or nobody. But I don't want to say that to you. I have to believe that despite how painful this is, Jess isn't the one for you. There was a time before Natalie that I thought I'd met someone and it hurt when that didn't turn out, and then I met Natalie, so in that scenario, yes, there is another person."
"So, Jess isn't my Natalie or Kellie?"
"Yes, that's right."
I downed my drink. "It's too bad Natalie and Kelly don't have another sister."
Hunter laughed. "One of the things I've always loved about you, Carter, is your ability to have humor when you feel like shit."
I tried to smile, but I was pretty sure it came out as a grimace. "Isn’t there a saying about something is so bad you can't help but laugh?" I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, but it did seem like something I'd heard before.
"What you need is another drink." Hunter stood, going to the bar for the bottle of vodka and bringing back. He poured us both another shot, then set the bottle on the coffee table, I guess, so we wouldn't have to go so far to have more.
"Won’t Natalie miss you tonight?" I asked. I felt guilty about taking him away from his lovely wife. I knew he'd called her to tell her what was going on, but it still seemed like a lot to ask of my brother to spend time with me when he had a new wife.
"I hope she does." He grinned. “And then when I get home, we’ll have quite a reunion."
I knew Natalie well enough to know that she understood how important family was to us. She was family now, so of course she would support Hunter and the rest of us.
I wondered, who Jess had for support? She never really talked about family. I suppose she had her roommate Reggie, who, as it turned out, was a woman. I did feel a little stupid for being jealous about that, but it didn't change the fact that Jess wasn't interested in me, and in fact was going out with another man.
"I'm thinking of going to the Amazon."
"Of course, you are," Hunter said under his breath, so I don't think he meant for me to hear it. "Let's get drunk and then sober first, and then you can see about going to the Amazon."
"I like that idea of the Tibetan trek too."
"One thing at a time, little brother. One thing at a time."