Might as well go, I think as I fill up the bucket and carry it back to the main area of the shop. Sleep is impossible with Travis banging random chicks until the walls shake, Gage and his buddies hammered and yelling at each other, and Alex… well Alex is quiet, but hell, the other two are enough.
Might as well get shitfaced. Then at least I know I’ll pass out till morning.
***
Halo, the gang’s favorite hang-out, is packed for a Tuesday night. It’s also warm and stuffy inside, the smell of too many breaths and sweat steeped in alcohol
overpowering the reek of fried fish tacos that clings to my clothes and skin.
It’s late, and I don’t feel like swinging by the apartment to change. Just wanna say hi to the guys, get a few beers in, head back and hit the sack.
I spot Ocean’s head of blue hair at the back and head that way, pushing through the crowd. Loud music spills from the speakers. It’s rock. Celtic rock, I decide, as I skirt a table with a rowdy group, barely avoiding a guy’s fist as he swings it to give a friendly punch to his friend. At least I hope it’s friendly.
Maybe it’s a theme evening, and I missed the memo.
Like I missed the fact that today is Tuesday, and not Wednesday, and ended up working both. Dammit.
Though, have to admit, reaching the back of the bar and seeing Seth planted on a stool sipping at his beer and smiling, no trace of discomfort on his face, makes me glad I did. I hate seeing the people around me in pain, and hell, I’d take over the motherfucker’s shift any day if it means he’s going to rest his damn shoulder and come through fine in the end.
Ocean raises his beer at me, grinning like a jackal. “J, you made it.”
Obviously. I’m here, aren’t I? I nod at him and mellow down when he shoves a chilled bottle into my hand. “Hey, Shun.”
He laughs. “My brother used to call me that.”
I lift a brow. “Didn’t know you had a brother.”
Ocean’s eyes are a light color—blue or gray, I never paid much attention—but now they darken and flatten, turning into polished stone.
“Yeah, well.” He takes a long swig from his beer, his tone inscrutable. “I wish I could forget I have one, too.”
Whoa. I don’t have siblings—that I know of, at least—and the brothers I know, like Asher and Tyler, would literally die for each other. Seth and Shane, who granted, are cousins, not brothers, look out for each other. And, hell, although my adopted brothers of Damage Control are sometimes a royal pain in the ass, we get along just fine.
Doesn’t take a genius to realize Ocean’s relationship with his bro isn’t all sunshine and roses, and his stony expression tells me he isn’t too keen on talking about it, either.
I shrug to myself and take a gulp from my beer. It slides, cool and soothing, down my throat, and I make a show of watching the pool game happening a few feet away—Shane vs. Micah—while my mind whirls away to something Megan told me today, at work, when we were talking about Audrey and Asher’s upcoming wedding.
Normally I wouldn’t have paid much attention. My attention is scattered on the best of days, and today I’m running on fumes. But it was about Amber, because I mentioned she was invited, too, and I can remember what Megan said, word for word.
“Your girl. She’s something special.”
That was it. Then a flood of customers interrupted her impromptu analysis of Amber, and I’d spent the afternoon running up and down without a moment to wind down. And then I did the same for another four hours at the taco joint.
No wonder I’m dead on my feet and my brain is rattling loose.
Your girl, though. That’s what caught my attention.
Not that Amber isn’t special. I wouldn’t know, of course, I hardly know her, but she feels special. Shy or not, girl has strength. When I tease her, she looks me in the eye and answers right back. Teases back, despite admitting she got bullied in the past.
Girl hates social events and wears mismatched pajamas. She likes to pull her long hair up, but when it’s down she looks like a sex goddess, and I…
Christ, I should stop thinking about her all the damn time.
“Hey, man.” Micah claps me on the back. “So cool you made it.” He turns back to the nearby pool table where Shane is obviously kicking his ass.
“Ev not here?” I ask, stepping closer to watch Shane take aim with his cue and shoot yet another ball down.
“She may pass by later.” The grin he flashes me is so fucking big I want to laugh. “What?”