“Let’s grab some lunch,” Carter says, clasping me on the shoulder before rounding the tailgate.
“Sounds good, brother. Rock’s good with you?”
He nods, checking his cell. I drive the few blocks over and park, then we make our way to the hostess who seats us on the patio. The sun is hot, but there’s an overcast shielding its brightness.
Carter peeks at the menu then closes it, placing it behind the condiments. “Mad, I know I don’t tell you enough, but I thank God your ass is gettin’ fit. I’m proud of you for it.”
Hmm, the fuck? I cock my brow and peek at him over the menu that I’m studying. It’s difficult to eat out when you’re making a lifestyle change like this, but Rock’s has the best seafood on the island, so I can eat relatively healthy and guilt-free… If this fucker don’t get weird on me.
“Yeah…” I trail off.
“Saturday night… Fuck. Man, Laney and the girls were tore down. I couldn’t have got them home safely without you.”
“Lesson learned. Next time, I say we let them sink.” I close the menu and link my hands, leaning into the table.
Carter shakes his head. “Laney … damn, she’s a ball-buster.”
Yeah, she is—always—but she was in rare form the other night. We’ve sat around the firepit and had drinks before, she’s even been drunk, but I’ve never seen Laney Kincaid in the state she was in Saturday night.
“Bet her ass regretted it when she woke up yesterday, huh?”
Carter laughs and leans back, scrubbing his hand over his neck. “Yeah, me and her both.” He shakes his head. “Two pm she was still asleep. So I turned the shower on ice cold and dumped her ass in.”
I tilt my head and look at him in disbelief. Before I can even ask if he’s fuckin’ stupid, he answers that question for me.
“What? I wanted a sandwich,” he reasons with a shrug.
“So giving her a rude as fuck wake-up call was the effective way to ask her to fix your lunch?”
“In hindsight”—he rubs his jaw, looking thoughtful—“no. But it was meant in good fun. Laney ain’t been herself lately.”
“No shit,” I retort. “Laney’s been drunk many of times before, but I’ve never seen her the level she was the other night.” That much is true. Laney is always a happy-go-lucky life of the party kinda gal—even more so drunk. Saturday night, though… I don’t know what the hell to think about that.
“Well, whatever’s eatin’ at her, she’ll talk about it when she’s ready.” Carter shuts the topic down, and I can respect him, Lan, and their marriage by agreeing with that. It’s between them. If he needs a sounding board, then the bastard better grow a vagina or beat the fuck out of something because that sure as fuck ain’t how we deal with that shit.
“Hey, y’all, I’m Emily. Welcome to Rock’s. What can I get ya to drink?” the waitress greets.
Carter’s grin stretches from ear to ear as he turns up the charm. “Well hello, sweetheart. You can get me a Budweiser draft, and I guess this taint will have a water with lemon.”
She side-eyes me for approval, but I shake my head. “No, actually, we’ll both have a water with lemon please.”
She glances to Carter who rolls his eyes. “Sure. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
“Such a fuckin’ killjoy, man.” Carter shakes his head.
“I can’t in good conscience let you drink on your lunch hour.” I chuckle.
“Like I said—killjoy.”
After returning with our drinks, the waitress—Emily, takes our or
ders, completely ignoring Carter’s ignorant banter, and oddly enough paying extra attention to me. I brush it off until she rounds the table again, refilling my water glass and overlooking Carter’s request for ketchup.
“You gonna pick up the hint, or you gonna let the woman continue embarrassing herself?”
I look up from my plate, my brow cocked in question. Of course I’m playin’ dumb, but I’ve only recently decided I want to start dating, and it’s proving to be a huge undertakin’.
“Am I missin’ somethin’?”