The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(57)

“Ah, I’d go with insane.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter if she’s crazy or not because I’m in love with her.” My filter-less, alcohol-addled brain prompted my mouth to speak.

“Dude,” said Brett.

“Fuck,” said Gavin.

“Christ on a bike—seriously?” said Mark.

“Yup,” was my response to them all.

Everyone was quiet, contemplating the fucked-up nature of my situation. We all took a swig of our beers.

“All right.” Gavin moved first. “Let’s fix this.” He took hold of my arm and tried to pull me from my barstool. The world tilted a little. Hmm, that was odd. “Shit, you’re wasted, aren’t you?”

“It seems that way.”

“Okay, I’m driving you home and we’ll go to Laney’s in the morning and iron all this out. You got a couch I can crash on?” He supported me and led me toward the door.

“Yup, and according to your sister, what it lacks in style it makes up for in comfort, if I’m remembering that correctly.”

“Don’t do that. It’s too pathetic. The less you speak from here on out, the better.”



I awoke to shit in my mouth.

Okay, well not literally, but I imagine that’s what shit tastes like. I looked around and realized I was lying in my bed but had absolutely no recollection of how I’d gotten there. There was also a small hammer inside my head beating away at my brain to the tune of “You Asshole. Why Did You Drink So Much?” I hadn’t heard that one in quite some time. I chanced sitting up and it only got a little worse. I could do this. A glass of water and three ibuprofen rested on the upturned packing box that acted as my bedside table. Thank God, somebody liked me.

Carrying the glass, I shuffled carefully into the living room and found Gavin sitting on my couch fiddling with his phone. Oh yeah, now I was starting to remember.

“Yo,” was all I could manage. I swallowed the pills and winced.

“Hey. You’re alive. It was touch and go for a while there last night.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I don’t usually drink that much.”

“No problem.” He shook his head. “If I could count the number of times I … well, maybe not the most appropriate story for my boss. But, considering the current situation …” He laughed.

Yeah, I felt like a moron. “Right. So, am I missing any important details from last night?”

“Oh, wow, this is awkward. You mean you don’t remember proposing to that stripper last night?”

My stomach dropped right to the floor and I thought I was going to be sick. What the fuck had happened last night?

“Joking, dude. But you should see the look on your face.” He was enjoying himself way too much. I would have to remember to punch him in the face when I was feeling better. “Seriously, though, I feel bad that I was the cause of this mess. Laney and I? We just … I don’t know. We’re kind of like oil and water sometimes and you just got caught up in it. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got a plan.”



One diner breakfast—or more accurately, lunch—of grease topped with grease and a side of grease, and I was feeling much better. I still didn’t know if I trusted Gavin to fix my Laney problems, but it couldn’t hurt to let him try.

After we ate, Gavin drove us to Laney’s house. I was extremely leery—she’d asked me to leave her alone and I really didn’t want to get slapped in the face or punched in the nuts. “I don’t know about this, Gavin.”

He put the car in park and turned off the engine. “Do you trust me?”

“Not even a little.”

“Hm. I guess I can see that. Let’s put that aside for the moment. Can you answer one question for me?”

I nodded.

“Is it possible for me to work for you part time instead of full time?”

That was not where I thought he was going with this. “Yeah, sure. We’ve got several part-time guys. It would affect your benefits, but yeah.”

“Good. Now let’s get in there and get your girl.” He paused getting out his door. “And if you tell anyone I said that I’ll kick your ass.”

“Afraid to show your soft underbelly, Gavin?” I had to rib him. I got out and we started up the front path.

“Fuck you,” he grunted.

Before we could get to the porch, the door opened and there was my girl—or at least I hoped she was still my girl. Her hair was pulled up into some kind of messy thing on top of her head and she was dressed in a loose t-shirt and cut-off shorts. Her face was free o makeup and I spotted dark circles under her eyes. She was perfect. Her eyes came straight to me.

“I’ve been trying to call you. I was worried you never wanted to see me again.” Her eyes filled with tears.

“What?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Dead. “Shit. My battery’s dead. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry—so sorry, Nate, I—”

“All right, let’s not give the neighbors a show—get your asses inside,” Gavin directed. Laney didn’t even spare him a dirty look. Huh. We proceeded indoors and Gavin shut the door behind us.

Laney faced me with her hands to her cheeks. “I was mad at Gavin and I totally took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. I said some awful things and I didn’t mean any of them. Well, some of them I did but those were more about Gavin, not you.”