I couldn’t remember walking into the bar, or ordering the first drink, or the second and surely not the third. Hell, I couldn’t even remember how many I’d had. All I could see, all I could think about, was Holly. That is, at least up until the point where my heavy-lidded eyes opened and found Aaron’s ugly mug staring down at me. He didn’t look happy.
“What the fuck is going on with you, Boomer? I’ve never seen you looking like such a fucking wreck.”
“I went to Holly’s.”
Aaron sighed. “Why?”
“I wanted to see her.”
“Yeah? And how’d that go?” Aaron sank down in the chair opposite mine.
I stared aimlessly around the bar for a moment, reacquainting myself with my surroundings. We were the only two people in the whole place, other than a grumpy looking woman at the bar. I vaguely remembered her. The room spun as I swiveled my head back toward Aaron. He looked grumpy too. “What the fuck are ya doin’ here, man?”
“Tina wants to close up for the night. It’s almost two in the morning. She called me because you’ve been sitting here all night, drunk off your ass, zoned out. She says she cut you off an hour ago. Why are you still out of it? What the hell is the matter with you?”
I shrugged one shoulder and swayed slightly in my seat.
“Boomer, you know, you used to be able to hold your damn liquor. You spent two years in Germany for fuck’s sake! What the hell were you doing over there if not drinking copious amounts of beer?” Aaron shoved to his feet and wrapped an arm around me, right under my armpits as he pulled me to my feet. He grimaced. “You’re getting fat too, you know.”
I growled at him. “It’s called muscle, Player. It’s good for you. You should try working out sometime.” I pushed away from him, tottering slightly as the room settled into place. “I can damn well walk on my own!”
Aaron stepped back and crossed his arms. He scowled up at me. “Then walk—that way—out of the bar so Tina can close up.”
I stumbled slightly but made it outside without issue. Aaron joined me a moment later, wallet in hand. “You owe me fifty bucks.”
I waved a hand at him. “She shouldn’t have called you. I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
Aaron shoved his wallet into his back pocket. “Oh yeah? Then why were you sitting there, staring off into space like a fuckin’ drunk? Didn’t you notice everyone around you left? Tina said she told you it was closing time and you just ignored her. What are you, fucking catatonic?”
The cool night air brushed over my face and stirred me from my trance-like state. I was sure it had more to do with Holly than the drinks I’d chugged down over the past few hours. “I’m sorry, Player.” I said finally. “I uhm…I didn’t know where else to go.”
“Well, come on, let’s get you back to the house,” Aaron said, starting toward his old Army Jeep. “Princess is wondering where you are.”
I remembered that I’d taken her up to the house, dropped her off, and tried to get comfortable on the couch before deciding I needed a nightcap to get to sleep. Aaron usually had a stash of whiskey in the house but I hadn’t been able to find it and walked down to Harvey’s instead.
I climbed into the passenger seat and Aaron fired up the engine. “I can’t believe you still drive this thing.”
Aaron laughed. “Yeah, Gemma still gives me shit about it too. She seems to think I should give it to her since she was actually in the Army. Says she’d know how to handle it better than me.” He shook his head, still smiling like a fool. “Damn I love her.”
I rested my head back. It was going to hurt like hell in the morning. It’d been a long time since I’d had so much whiskey. And I’d chased it all down with a few beers.
God, what was I thinking?
About Holly and how damn sexy she’d looked at dinner.
I figured the alcohol would drown out all the feelings I had for her, but if anything—it only made me want her more.
“Did Holly actually let you in?” Aaron asked, taking the turn to go up to his house.
I nodded. “We had dinner.”
“Oh?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Ahh.”
“She’s over me, man. Moved on.” I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady my head. “The house, everything, was different. Like I’d never even fucking existed. The pictures of us were all taken down and new ones were up. Hunter. Her and Rachel. Even a picture of her and Carly at Carly’s engagement party! Like I wasn’t even there! Like I wasn’t even there…” I trailed off, remembering the rows of pictures. “There were a bunch of pictures of us together. But that’s the one she wanted. That’s the one she picked. Her and Carly.”