Collide (Collide, #1)(69)

Colton nudged Gavin’s arm. “Go give her a hand.”

“She’s already on the phone. I’m sure she has someone coming to help her.”

No sooner did Gavin finish his sentence, she approached them with tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry to bother you, but do either of you gentlemen have a cell I could use? Mine just went dead.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Gavin replied, digging in his pocket. He handed her his phone.

“Thank you,” she sniffled as she accepted it. She hastily dialed some numbers and sauntered a few feet away from them.

Gavin looked to his brother. “Go get her a tissue or something. I’ll wait here with her.”

Colton sent him a smirk that had him rolling his eyes. As Colton strolled toward the lounge and opened the door, the sounds of a live jazz band playing inside spilled out into the busy city streets.

The woman eventually made her way back to Gavin. “Thank you, I appreciate it. My brother owns a tow company, and he’ll be on his way soon.”

“Not a problem,” he said, tucking his cell in his pocket. “Looks like your head gasket’s blown.”

Once again, she sniffled. She glanced at her car and then back to him. “You can tell without checking it?”

“There’s white smoke coming from the tailpipe. That’s usually a pretty good sign.”

“Oh, are you a mechanic?”

Gavin smiled. “No, I just have a thing for cars.” She sheepishly smiled back. “I sent my brother to get you a tissue.”

“Thank you. I feel so foolish crying like this. It’s just been a tough few weeks.”

While he felt bad for her, he really didn’t have any idea what to say. So Gavin found himself slightly relieved when Colton re-emerged.

Handing her the tissue, Colton asked, “Were you able to get a hold of someone?”

She nodded and let Colton know she was waiting on her ride.

“While you’re waiting, why don’t you come inside with me and my kid brother?” Colton asked with a smirk aimed in Gavin’s direction. “Our treat, of course.”

Gavin quelled the sudden urge to knock him clear across the street.

With mild trepidation crossing her features, the woman smiled. “That actually sounds good. I could definitely use a drink, that’s for sure.”

Turning to open the door, Colton sent Gavin another wicked smile. “I know quite a few people that need a drink today.”

Gavin shook his head and followed them into the lounge. The melodious notes of a saxophone player belting out Louis Armstrong’s “La Vie en Rose” hummed through the air. Jazz was something that Gavin couldn’t help but come to love over the years. It was a constant entity throughout his childhood, being his father was a huge fan. The barest of smiles crept over Gavin’s mouth when the memory of his parents swaying on their back porch to the exact same song flooded his mind. With the words fitting what he felt for Emily, this particular song was one he’d imagined dancing with her—pressed close against his body and nestled tightly in his arms. The illusion he had created of them possibly being together couldn’t have been further from reality now if he tried. Like a slow fire burning, the ache for her—and now the need for more than a few shots of bourbon—curled through his thoughts.

After finding a table next to the dance floor, the woman that had introduced herself as Stephanie retreated to the restroom to fix her appearance. Promptly ordering three shots of bourbon and a beer to top it off, Gavin descended into what he hoped would turn into the numbness he so desperately sought. Within seconds of the waiter delivering the liquid comas, he downed two of those shots with grace.

Gavin glared at his brother. “Don’t even go there tonight.”

Smiling, Colton casually leaned back in his seat. “I didn’t say a word.”

“Right, you don’t have to,” he replied, his voice holding a heavy warning. “Your face is reeking of it, and I’m seriously in no f*cking mood right now.”

With a proper arch of his brow, Colton chuckled. “So, let me see, you’re choosing the road that will inevitably leave you wallowing in your own self-pity?”

“You really have no f*cking clue, do you?”

“No, brother, I do. Like I told you earlier, either fight for her or just let her go.”

Shaking his head, Gavin downed the third shot. “I don’t need you schooling me on what to do, Colton.”

“I know you don’t, little man. However, you can try and drink Emily away all you want,” he noted, giving a leisurely shrug, “or you can take advantage of the beautiful damsel in distress who’s wiping mascara from her pretty eyes right about now inside the restroom.”

“So now you want me to take advantage of women, huh?” he huffed as he cracked open his beer. “Not only are you annoying the f*ck out of me, but you’re a walking contradiction.”

Colton laughed. “You know what I meant. Take a chance on something that’s more solid than what you’re running after right now.”

The nonchalant remark hit its target dead on, but Stephanie approaching the table saved Colton from being told off by his brother.

She took a seat across from Gavin and smiled. “I apologize for taking so long.”

“No need,” Gavin replied. “What can I get you to drink?”