Chaser (Dive Bar #3)(47)

“Anytime.”

“Say…” She cocked her head. “Got plans for the next while?”

“Not really. What are you thinking?”

“That some adult time would be wonderful,” she said. “Don’t feel like watching TV with me, do you?”

I grinned, baby vomit and all. “I’d love to.”





CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Ada hated it. Too many explosions.”

As part of Jean’s getting the hell out of the apartment and practicing taking the baby on expeditions program, we’d attempted going to a movie. It hadn’t exactly gone as planned. But then, I was fast learning that things involving infants rarely did.

Joe shook his shaggy head. “No such thing as too many explosions in a movie. Did you even try to explain it to her?”

“They’re loud and she’s little.”

“Amazed you took her in the first place.”

“They have special showings where they leave the lights on for people with babies.”

“Huh,” he said, mixing up a couple of old-fashioneds. “So you left?”

“Nuh,” I said. “I just walked back and forth beside the candy shop with Ada so Jean could catch the rest of the movie. She doesn’t get out much and it would have been a pity for her to miss the ending. I can see it anytime.”

“Good of you.”

“Can’t believe Ada’s two months old already. Seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital and she was being delivered.”

“Lot’s changed for you with her and Jean around.”

I shrugged. “Yeah. But it’s all good.”

“Well, I for one am very surprised and disappointed in young Ada for not getting into the film.” He popped the tops on a couple of beers and added them to Rosie’s tray.

“Why is that?”

“I really thought she’d be into Thor. Guys with long blond hair are just cooler,” he said, tossing his own blond locks around. The dickhead. “Ask anyone.”

“Be prepared to wallow in disappointment, bro.” I wiped my hands off on a towel. “Ada’s an intelligent and discerning young lady who thinks highly of men with long dark hair. She told me so.”

Rosie watched us, unimpressed. “You’re both such idiots.”

“Harsh but true,” said Joe.

I smiled. “It runs in the family.”

“Pretty sure it comes from Dad’s side.”

“Probably.” I laughed. “Mom would agree with that.”

It’d been a great night. Busy, but not crazy stressful. Everyone had been in a good mood. It was close to eleven-thirty and things were winding down now, though the music kept pumping. Nights like this made me glad to own a bar. Or one third of a share in a restaurant and bar. Whatever.

Lydia, Nell, and I had decided to stick with the no decision as a decision regarding the offer on the place. If the resort owners, the people wanting to buy the Dive Bar, had tried pushing us for a definite answer, we probably would’ve just said no. None of us were busting to be free of the place. But since they were content to leave the offer on the table, so be it. It could sit there until something changed.

If something changed, I mean.

Boyd and Curt the kitchen kid had been taking over more of the cooking duties as Nell’s belly expanded. Funnily enough, being heavily pregnant seemed to improve her mood. It was like once the period where she’d lost the last baby passed, she could relax a little. She even stopped riding me so hard about Jean. Especially since I’d kept my word and not made a single move on the woman. I’d mostly made peace with the fact that Nell would never see me as a decent upstanding member of the community. Given how badly I’d let her down, I probably deserved it. Some things weren’t so easy to forgive.

“You good here?” I asked, finishing cleaning up my area.

“Yeah. You on for the gym tomorrow?”

“Text me what time.”

“Will do,” Joe said and nodded. “’Night.”

During the winter, my brother’s building jobs tended to slow as working outside became next to impossible. He took on more shifts at the bar to maintain the cash flow. It freed up Vaughan to book more gigs out of state and also meant I was available to pick up the slack in other areas, if necessary. No more doing inventory into the early hours of the morning on my own. Thank God.

Tonight, however, I was free.

A couple of ladies I’d chatted with over the course of the night gave me inviting smiles. I nodded back but kept walking. Honestly, the thought of a random hookup just didn’t do anything for me. My dick was still officially out of order, though I had more than a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t broken. More like Jean had unknowingly taken my libido hostage. Until I worked her out of my system, I didn’t see anything changing.

I started hitting the gym with my brother more often to use up extra energy. My own hand took care of the rest. Given I’d been sexually active since losing my virginity at fifteen, it was weird to take a break. The smell of it, the feel of skin on skin, I missed it all. But there was an upside. Being friendly, as opposed to flirty, made interactions with women interesting. I’d had some decent conversations about various shit. Like I had a bit more room in my head without the need for pussy.