Rascal (Rascals Book 1)(45)

“I’m just happy I didn’t get fired,” I finally said, lifting my mug in a mock salute.

“Me too,” Emerson agreed, clinking glasses with me. “Me too.”





18





Emerson





For the first time in a long while, I felt like everything was going smoothly. The bar was doing amazing business, I was spending every night with Alex, and for the first time in a long time, I was feeling content and happy. Everything had turned out better than I ever could have expected.

But all of that happiness came with a price. I was exhausted, and I knew the other guys were, too. We had been working our asses off for months to get Rascals off the ground, and now that it was running like clockwork, we decided to take Monday night and have a good, old-fashioned poker night.

Just the five of us, like old times.

Dante provided the cards, Sawyer brought the spiciest chicken wings in Chicago, Chase brought the beer, and Liam brought expense reports to go over in between games.

It was nice. The five of us hadn’t been together since the night the bar opened, and even then, it had been us and a crowd of people. We hadn’t had the chance to just be ourselves. To get shit-faced and talk trash and try to take each other’s hard-earned money the way we had when we were younger.

“I want another dealer,” Chase fumed, throwing his cards down after his fifth bad hand.

“Not my fault you’ve got bad luck.” Dante swept up his chips, smiling.

“It is if you’re fucking with my cards,” Chase grumbled, crossing his arms.

“I don’t have to fuck with your cards,” Dante laughed. “You’re a shitty player.”

I shared a grin with Sawyer and Liam. This happened at every single game we ever played. Dante and Chase would go at it, one of them would storm out dramatically, and then return after fifteen minutes with a fresh six-pack and more money to gamble away. Dante had taken more cash from Chase in the past eight years than any of us cared to count. Not that it seemed to phase Chase. Because nothing did.

The only person who had ever dampened his spirit was the one girl he had ever decided to commit to. An actress named Monique who he dated for three years. When the two of them were together, he was a different person. They had fought all the time—which he always chalked up to her tempestuous, artistic nature. The rest of us? Well, we always said it was just because she was a bitch. Then something happened and Monique was suddenly out of the picture. Chase never spoke about her again, and we never asked. It was like that with us: if anyone asked for help, then sure, we’d be there for him in a heartbeat, but we don’t go poking our noses into each other’s business. It didn’t matter to me that Chase was working his way through the entire female population of Chicago, as long as everyone was having a good time.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Chase swore at his cards, threw them down, and stormed out of the bar.

“Right on schedule,” Sawyer noted, looking at his watch.

“There’s a drug store around the corner,” I told them. “He won’t be gone long.”

He was gone less than five minutes, and when he returned, he didn’t have a six-pack. He had something—someone—much, much better.

“Alex!” I got up to greet her, ignoring the hoots and hollers of my friends as I kissed her hello. “I thought you were working late tonight.”

“I was.” She looked at her watch. “It’s past ten. But I thought the bar would be open.”

I hadn’t realized how late it was.

“We closed it for the night,” Sawyer told her. “Guys’ poker night.”

“Like how you met in college?” Alex asked, a knowing smile on her face.

The guys exchanged looks. I ignored those as well, because I knew exactly what they were thinking. I was the serial monogamist of the group, after all. And I already knew that what I had with Alex was serious. We just hadn’t made anything official, since I didn’t have any desire to scare her off. I knew that work was her first priority, and I wanted to make sure she knew that I supported that.

“I was just looking for something to eat,” she told me. “I thought the kitchen might still be open, but I can order something at home.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I told her, looping my arm around her waist and pulling her over to the table. “We’ve got plenty of food to share.”

“Can you play poker?” Dante wanted to know as I gave her my seat.

“I’ve played once or twice before,” Alex said, giving him a small smile. “But I don’t think I’m very good. I might need some help with the rules.”

I pulled up another chair next to me. “I’ll walk you through it,” I told her.

“As long as you don’t throw any hissy fits, like Ms. Sensitive over there,” Dante smirked.

Chase gave him the finger. Dante just laughed and dealt the cards.

We played a round, though I sat out to offer assistance to Alex. She lost terribly, and Chase got his first good hand of the evening.

“You’re good luck,” he told Alex, gathering up his chips. “You can stay.”

She frowned at the empty space in front of her. “Good luck for who?”