“Jack, I can tell you right now, I’ve only been to Red’s Tavern once and I already know The Big Rock Cock is good luck,” I said. “I rubbed it last time I was here, and my wish certainly came true.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What did you wish for?”
“Well, I wished that I’d meet a hot guy that night, and technically I did,” I said, gesturing at Roman. “He was too polite to take me to bed because I was a drunken idiot, but the wish did come true.”
Roman shook his head a little as he took a sip of his soda, but I could see a smile playing at his lips.
The Big Rock Cock was the large marble statue sitting at the center of Red’s Tavern. Before I’d come to Amberfield, I’d done my fair share of Googling about the town, and when I saw a few reviews of Red’s Tavern with mentions of the Big Rock Cock, I’d been morbidly curious. In person, it was even more impressive, and while it wasn’t technically intended to be in the shape of a penis, it seemed like all of the Red’s Tavern regulars had decided it was. It was a tradition to rub it for good luck, and Sam had told me all about it the first night I’d come in.
“And I’ve rubbed the Big Rock Cock about a thousand times during my years of working here, and my wishes come true,” Sam said. “Usually.”
“Did you rub it when I came back to town?” Fox said, giving Sam a flirty look. “You rubbed it and thought please, please let my gorgeous stepbrother fuck me in the back of his RV, didn’t you?”
“Hell no,” Sam said. “At the time, I probably rubbed it and thought please, Big Rock Cock, make my cocky stepbrother leave town again immediately. It took a few weeks before I desperately wanted you to fuck me.”
Red snorted, and Jack’s eyebrows went way up.
“Shit, it sounds like there’s quite a story there,” Jack said.
“Yes, Fox is technically both my boyfriend and my stepbrother,” Sam said. “So, are you going to go rub it for your own good luck, or not?”
Jack smiled, taking a sip of his beer. “Why not?” he said.
“I’ll come with,” I offered, and the two of us got up and walked over to the sculpture, placing our hands on opposite sides. I closed my eyes and wished, this time for something a little more serious.
Please, let me be safe here in Amberfield, I thought.
It felt a little ridiculous to be wishing for my personal safety on a large, phallic sculpture, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.
As I walked back over to the bar, I saw the front doors swing open, and Madeline walked in.
“You made it,” I said as she walked over, and I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. “Should we grab a booth?”
“That sounds great,” she said. “My flight back to LA is in four hours, so I’ve got at least two more to kill.”
“Jack, we can talk more on Monday about the wood for the kitchen cabinets, right?” I said. “I still think we should go with the American White Holly, but I’m not one hundred percent sure.”
He nodded. “You bet. I’ll have all of the samples.”
“You’re a godsend,” I told him.
Madeline, Roman and I went over to a corner booth and got comfortable. A pendant light hung over the center of the table, and something about the lighting made me feel even safer, like we were tucked away in our own little dimly lit oasis. The bar wasn’t very crowded yet at all, but my instincts these days always made me want to be anything but the center of attention.
“Are you sure you don’t want to spend more time here in Amberfield?” I asked Madeline. “Days? Weeks? Months?”
She smiled at me. “Nice try,” she said. “I know you want to hide out here, but I’ve got jobs and clients and stuff to do back in LA. And apparently, there’s going to be a thunderstorm tomorrow. I’ve seen the Wizard of Oz enough times to know I don’t want to be in Kansas during a storm.”
“I heard about that,” Roman said. “We can get some killer storms here, but luckily this one doesn’t seem like it’ll be the tornado-producing kind.”
“I love the rain,” I said. “I grew up in LA, and it never rains there. I can’t wait for some storms in the morning.”
“I’ve always loved the rain too,” Roman said. “It’s comforting, somehow. As long as I can be inside during a storm, I’m happy.”
“A man after my own heart,” I said. “Madeline, Amberfield really isn’t that bad.”
Madeline arched an eyebrow. “I got stopped in my rental car today because a cow was in the middle of the street,” she said.