Whiskey and Country

Those words nailed me to the floor. The way she said she was taken, as if it was the most natural thing to announce, sent my heart into overdrive. Dahlia staked her claim on me in front of my best friend. This meant a lot. At least, to me, it did. My body sizzled at her words. The thought of sending Tuck afar and kissing my woman until her lips caught fire popped into my head. But I pushed it away. For now. Later, I promised myself. Instead, I pulled Dahlia against my chest and kissed the top of her head.

“Welcome to Green Mountain, Nick’s friend,” she said to Tucker.

“Thanks. Staying for the weekend. Hope you guys have room. Thought I should make sure Nick here was thriving far from the city. He keeps ignoring my calls. And it didn’t sit well with me.”

“Drink?” I asked.

“Beer, please.” He brought his attention back to Dahlia. “Woman, tell me all about you,” he said, a hand on her lower back, leading her to the table and taking a seat next to her.

Thirty minutes later, we were alone on the deck, enjoying a drink under the warm, late spring sunshine.

“Man, no wonder you didn’t tell me anything about your relationship,” my friend said. “Fuck, you’ve got yourself a rock star. Is this a prank? Am I hallucinating?”

I huffed a laugh through my nose. “She’s the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. We clicked. From the moment we met. Hard to explain. It’s more than attraction. It’s everything.” I let the words simmer between us.

“You’re aware she has a kid, right?”

“Thanks for the warning.” I shook my head. “Didn’t notice.”

“Are you ready for this? Being a dad and everything. Because that boy will look up to you. Like Derek did.”

I took a sip, searching for the right thing to say.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with me being ready or not, man. All this,” I said, waving my free hand around me, “fits. It’s where I’m supposed to be. Where I belong. It came naturally with Derek. And it does with Jack too.”

“Whoa. You, the city boy, turned into a country man. Damn, you have it hard for that woman. I never saw this one coming. I thought you’d be ready to go back before the six months mark happened. Are you pussy-whipped like Jace?”

“You met her, man. Dahlia is nothing like Pam. She’s her own woman. If you haven’t noticed, she does pretty good for herself. And I do too. But together, we’re great. We’re thriving. This thing between us, I can’t describe it. It’s rare. Addictive. Something I lack the words to explain. Something bigger than us.”

“Okay, why do I feel I’ll hear the L-O-V-E word soon coming out from your mouth?”

I took a sip. “You’re just jealous.”

Tucker tilted his head back as he laughed. “Keep trying to convince yourself, man. Hey, speaking of her, where did your woman go?”

“On a walk to get Jack to sleep. Should be back soon. Do you want to go out for dinner or stay in? We can order too.”

“In. I want to get to know the woman who’s about to own your heart—and your balls—and that boy you can’t stop gushing about.”

“Fine by me. Let’s hit the grocery store then.” I jumped to my feet. “Come on, follow me.”

Tucker halted before we made it down the deck. “Did you tell her about Derek?”

I scratched the side of my face.

“I did. Even showed her the list.” I inhaled through my mouth to calm the jitters inside me. “I didn’t give her all the details, though. I will. When the time is right. It’s still hard to talk about him. Baby steps. Right now, I’m happy. We’re happy. And it’s all that matters. I’ve decided to focus on that.”

Tucker downed the rest of his beer and got in step with me as we sauntered to my truck.

* * *

While I attacked the dishes, Dahlia put the leftovers away, and Tucker hung out in the living room with Jack. My friend had never been a baby person, but Jack won him over. Pretty quickly.

Perhaps it helped that Tuck was about five in his head most of the time.

“Got an idea. I should be awarded the best-friend-of-the-year title. Hope you’ll vote for me when the time comes,” he called out from where he sat, his tone serious. “You two should go out for a few hours. Enjoy each other.” I stopped breathing. Pretty sure I did. I should get my ears checked. Perhaps I heard him wrong. “Me and my friend, Jack, we’ll play with his car toys or watch some TV shows meant for us guys. Aka cartoons meant for kids under five because they’re my favorites too,” he added with a wink.

“Good one, man. Even I believed you for a second. Don’t repeat it or I’ll take your words for granted.”

Tucker sighed in the most dramatic way. Yeah, he should get a degree in theater, he was that good.

“You want to spend some time with Uncle Tuck?” he asked the boy. Jack, now perched on his lap, nodded. “See? Even he can’t resist me. Go out, make out, do whatever you want. We’ll be fine. There are no bottles or diapers involved, so I’m capable of babysitting this little guy.” As if to prove his point, Jack leaned back, resting against Tuck’s chest. “Say bye Mama, bye Nick,” Tucker said.

Jack echoed his words, waving his tiny hand at us, watching my best friend as if he’d painted the moon. And the stars.

“Are you sick? You’re not trying to bribe me to go out with ya like you usually do? Something is wrong.”

“Bah, me and Jack-Man are bonding. I’ll go out some other time. I’ll still be here tomorrow night. And the nightlife in this town looks a bit boring. No offense. I don’t feel like hanging out with Uncle Mike in his semi-retired community.” He brought his beer to his lips and offered me the smuggest smirk.

I leaned in and brought my mouth close to Dahlia’s ear. “Babe, if we wanna go out, now is the time. I understand you don’t know Tuck, but I vouch for him. And Jack will be asleep by the time we leave. It’s your call.”

“But won’t he feel left out?” Her heart, big and selfless, made another appearance. More pride brimmed in my chest.

“Nah, I’m sure he already has a woman on speed dial, whom he can’t wait to call later.”

Dahlia rolled her lip and chewed on it. “Okay, let’s do this. But tomorrow you’ll spend time with him. He’s your best friend. He came all the way here to check up on you.”

“Woman, you’ve got yourself a deal. Now let’s go before he changes his mind.”

“Where are we going?” Dahlia asked once we tucked a sleepy Jack in and kissed him goodnight.

With our fingers knitted together, I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

“I was thinking we could head to your place. And have dirty sex. Because my mind has been entertaining this idea all day.”

Her face flushed with excitement as if powered by a thousand volts. “Oh, I like how you think, Nick Peterson. Drive us home then.”

Home.I liked the sound of it.

Derek’s Bucket List – 23. Nick: Feeling like the cracks in my world are healing