"That's it. Don't let that go, Finn. The world will pull it away from you. Fix it and hold tight to that girl. She's the one." He winked and moved back, his words leaving me breathless.
"I don't know if I believe that, but I wish I did." Brian turned to me. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. You're like a brother to me. When she said she was dating someone, I told you. No way was I keeping that from you. You'd have done the same."
I finished the beer and shook my head. "I know, buddy. I'm sorry I blew up."
"It's all good. What can I do to help?"
"I'm not sure yet, but if I think of something, I'll call."
"You heading out?"
"Yeah. I need to see if she'll see me. I doubt it, but I'm going to try."
"Just be careful. Her old man is a financial mogul. He's a dick, too. I had a run in with him a few years back. It took me a day to put two and two together after her friend said her last name the other night."
"Her father owns a clothing line, right?" I glanced over at him, praying I wasn't about to uncover another lie.
"Yeah, he does, but he owns a chuck of this city and has massive stock investments, too. When we say wealthy, that's a big understatement."
"She just doesn't come off as someone with loads of money."
"I agree." Brian shrugged and finished his beer. "Come on. I'll walk you out."
I lifted my hand in the air and waved. "Night, Pauly. Thanks for the advice."
"Don't leave it here. Take it with ya and do something with it." He winked and went back to wiping down the bar.
"I will." I walked out into the freezing cold and turned, feeling better about everything. It was going to be a bitch to get Chloe to listen to me, but the resolve to not give up felt good – like I had purpose.
"What are you going to do if she won't see you?" Brian asked, moving to his car and pausing.
"Keep trying, I guess." I shrugged and stopped by the back of my truck.
"Isn't she going home back to California soon?"
"That's what she said." I brushed my fingers by my chin and tried to work through how I could get her to talk to me. She most likely went home and no one was supposed to be there. I could just go out there and knock on the door. It seemed logical.
"So, I guess you're on a short time span then, dude. You better get after it." He smiled and shook his head. "If anyone can do it, you can."
"Thanks, buddy. I'll call you later." I walked around my truck. I wasn't on a timetable, at all. If she didn't come around while she was here, I would simply go there. Only when she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested in anything ever happening between us, I'd be done.
I got in the car and hooked my phone up as a call from my dad rang through.
"Hey, Pops. What's up?" I closed the door and buckled up.
"You. That's what's up." He was angry.
Great. More shit to deal with.
"What did I do now? It's been a fucked up night, so I'm sure I had this coming."
"You did what I told you not to do, which has been the story of your life. Do you think I give you advice because I enjoy listening to the sound of my own voice? No. I give it to you because otherwise, you're going to suffer the consequences for your fucked up actions."
"Dad. Really. I'm not in the mood for this shit. Tell me what I did, and I'll fix it. I don't need you berating me. I'm a piece of shit. I get it," I barked into the console of the truck and turned out of the lot, headed out to Chloe's place.
"I didn't say you were a piece of shit. I said you didn't listen."
"I'm hanging up." I let out an exasperated sigh. I would call him tomorrow. I was too broken for whatever he was up to.