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Drew reaches over and slaps me on the back in a loving gesture. “Thanks, Parks, I sure as shit hope you’re right.”
Jasper chimes in, “There’s no doubt, Drew, I see something in you and Rosie. The same something I’ve seen in Mom and Dad my entire life and that I hope I’ll find one day. One day, a long, long time from now.”
“Jasper, some girl is going to lead you around like a little puppy one day,” Ty tells him as he signals the bartender for another round. “Kind of like that little brunette does every time we see her.” Jasper punches Ty in the arm. “Shut the hell up, dude. Cora and I have been friends since we were kids. I don’t get why you always call herthat little brunettewhen you know her as well as I do. You’re such a loser.”
We all laugh, but I kind of feel guilty for teasing Jasper. He sounds pretty defensive, and it seems like there’s more to it than Ty continually giving him crap about Cora. I can tell by the look on his face he’s pissed. “Ty, leave it alone. Cora is like a little sister to all of us, so lay off,” I say in defense of both Jasper and our neighbor girl, who isn’t here to defend herself. “Not to mention, we have things to discuss, like this guy here,” I put my arm around Drew’s shoulder to change the subject, “and his bachelor party.”
“We have six weeks to plan this thing, so what we need to know now is, what do you want to do?” I inquire, tossing a peanut into the air and catching it in my mouth.
“Strippers?” Ty suggests in typical Ty fashion while grinning from ear to ear. I don’t know why he always acts like such an ass. Tyler is always good for a joke.
Drew quickly shuts him down, “No strippers.” Shaking his head, he takes a drink. “Who even does that anymore?”
“No one that I know of, other than douchebags,” Jasper answers, eyeing Ty.
Ty puts his hand up in the air defensively, “Hey…hey…it was just a joke. I think I know our brother well enough to know a stripper isn’t his thing. And don’t call me a douchebag, or I will kick your ass.”
Jasper laughs, “I never named names, but if the shoe fits.”
I ignore them. Something I have mastered over the years when they start this back and forth.
“Seriously, what are you thinking, bro?” I turn my attention solely to Drew.
“Well, Rosie and I talked about it. Neither of us cares about having a ‘true’ bachelor and bachelorette party, so we thought maybe each of us could hang out with our closest friends for a night out. I think maybe we just come here, the five of us.”
“The five of us?” Jasper finally turns his attention back to this conversation instead of arguing with Ty.
“Yeah, the five of us. You know, our sister?Kelsea.” Drew’s voice is dripping in sarcasm.
“Oh, huh, I guess I was thinking this would just be a guy thing. I didn’t think about Kels,” Jasper admits. “She would probably kill us if she we didn’t include her.”
I laugh, “She would definitely kill us.”
I think about our sister as a kid, always trying to tag along with the four of us. As she got older, she made sure we didn’t exclude her. She confidently butted herself into everything we did, and when I think about it, Kelsea is probably more stringent than the four of us put together.
“Good, that settles it. We’re having a night out with the boys and Kels,” Ty states in a strange authoritative voice. “Now, can we go get something to eat because I’m starving.”
“Shocker, Tyler is hungry,” I announce in mock surprise. “Although, I wouldn’t mind grabbing some grub myself. My treat, so let’s get out of here.”
“Even better!” Ty raises his beer as if toasting me.
“Why can’t we just order some food from here,” Jasper asks, looking at his nearly full beer. “Because I don’t want bar food,” Tyler spits out. Jasper rolls his eyes and takes another long swig of his beer.
“I guess that settles it. What Ty wants, Ty gets,” Drew laughs sarcastically.
Ty gets a big, goofy grin on his face, “Finally, someone gets it!”
We all down the last of our beers. Time with my brothers always makes me feel good. I love them all, even if they annoy the crap out of me.
Twelve
ABBEY
“Mom, it’s nearly ten at night, and we’ve been over all these things a hundred million times. Maybe I don’t want to find someone. I’m fine doing my own thing,” I stress through the phone. She sighs loudly, and her voice is a little high-pitched as she lectures me more. Now it’s my turn to sigh. “I’m not Rosie. True love isn’t for everyone, you know, and I have resigned myself to the fact it’s most likely not for me. You should accept it, too.” My tone is harsher than I intend, but I’m tired of this same conversation.
Just as she is about to give me her rebuttal, there’s a loud knock at my door.
“Sorry to interrupt you, but someone’s at my door,” I tell her as I stand up and make my way over as another knock sounds through the apartment. “Mom, hold on.” I raise up on my tiptoes to look through the peephole and gasp, stumbling back a bit from the door. My mom voices concern as another knock raps against the door. “Mom, I’m fine. I gotta go. We’ll talk later. Love you. Bye,” I cut her off and set my phone down on the small glass-top table next to the front door.
