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Nana Bee had never been one to cast away any soul, but she’d been very quiet when someone had come around she thought might have bad intentions. Both Rafe and Bass should’ve known Sharron was a viper from the moment she’d met Nana Bee. Of course Nana had smiled and been curious, but she hadn’t invited Sharron in, hadn’t shared a bond with her. That should’ve been a hard clue that Rafe should’ve booted her out the door. Lust was a strong enough emotion to kneecap more than one man though . . . and Sharron had been quite the seductress. She was ugly to Bass now. He couldn’t understand how she’d ever been desirable.
To his great pleasure though, Sharron had stopped texting him, stopped trying to get ahold of him. It appeared her humiliation at the restaurant had made the woman back off . . . for now at least. He was very pleased with that. Like a black widow spider, she could turn up under the next rock if he wasn’t careful. He felt free, but he wasn’t going to be foolish because of it.
He was on his way to the bar to meet with Rafe and Shane. They hadn’t had a night out in a long time. This time it had nothing to do with work. It was simply the boys having a guy’s night out. He felt like a girl, the way his stomach was churning with nerves. If he didn’t pull himself together soon, he’d have to punch himself.
He entered the downtown bar, crowded as normal on a Friday night. He, Shane, and Rafe had been to this same place many times through the years before their friendship had fallen apart. Maybe coming back was a good omen. Only good times had been had here.
His stomach growled at the smell of greasy fries. There was nothing like bar food to heal the soul. He needed it more often. He pushed his way through the crowd and found Rafe and Shane already in the back at what had always been their table, another good sign.
Shane had a huge basket of fries in front of him and a double cheeseburger that looked half gone. Just as he’d done in the past, Bass didn’t hesitate to reach out and snag a handful of the greasy fries and immediately pop a couple into his mouth. They were still hot. Delicious.
“Help yourself,” Shane said with a laugh. They hadn’t spent any real time together in years, yet Bass had fallen back into old habits in the blink of an eye. He looked at his old friend a bit sheepishly.
“Sorry. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since dinner last night. I’ve been running all day,” Bass said.
“Do you need more food?” the waitress asked. He hadn’t noticed her come up to them.
“I’d like this exact same basket plus a big basket of onion rings,” Bass said without hesitation. “And a pint of light beer on tap.”
Shane raised an eyebrow. “On a diet?”
“I haven’t been working out nearly enough since being back and I might’ve lost a row of my six pack,” Bass said with a shrug.
Both Rafe and Shane laughed at that. Rafe patted his own flat stomach. “I might’ve lost a couple of the six packs as well,” Rafe said. “I don’t care. Married life and children more than make up for a slightly softer body.”
Bass laughed. “This is one conversation I never thought the three of us would have. We promised when we were young that we’d stay fit, never settle down, and still be hot bachelors when we were sixty.”
Shane and Rafe both shrugged. Rafe answered. “What can I say? I fell in love. It doesn’t mean I’m going to let myself go, it just means my priorities have changed a lot. I still care about my body. I can’t get out of shape or my sex life will go to hell, and I don’t want that to happen when I’m more in love with my wife now than when I first met her. But I realize I can either take my kid out on a bike ride or I can do another hundred pushups. I’d rather take my kid out.”
“So, you have no regrets?” Bass asked.
Rafe turned his head as he studied Bass for long enough that it made him uncomfortable. Shane interrupted before he could say anything more.
“I think if we’re getting this deep this fast, we need shots,” Shane said as he held up his hand. The waitress practically flew to their table. “We’ll take six Patron shots, extra limes and salt,” he told her with a wink. The woman’s cheeks turned red.
“Aren’t you married?” Bass asked.
“Hell yes, I’m married, to Lia who rocks my world. The day I stop flirting is the day she’ll worry though. She knows it’s harmless and knows I’d cut off my own dick before I’d ever cheat on her. Why in the world would I need another woman when I have her in my life? She rocks my world.”
Rafe groaned as he glared at his best friend. “Okay, enough of that.”
Bass laughed. “It’s got to be fun, knowing your best friend defiles your sister on a nightly basis,” Bass said, rubbing salt into the open wound.
“Are you trying to get your ass kicked tonight?” Rafe asked.
Bass laughed. “This is just like old times. Damn, I’ve missed you guys.”
Their drinks and the food arrived at the same time. Shane stole a few fries back and took some onion rings on top of it. They downed their tequila shots back to back. It was starting out as a pretty great night. They went right back to their conversation.
“It was super weird for me at first when Lia and Shane hooked up. I wanted to kick Shane’s ass for a while, but I see how good they are together, and I know there’s nothing Shane won’t do for her, so if I ignore the sex part of it, I’m happy for both of them,” Rafe said as he chewed his Rueben sandwich. Some things didn’t change, and Rafe had always wanted to be a little different than the rest of the crowd.
“What’s happening between you and Ella?” Rafe asked.
Bass shifted on his seat. “It’s odd because she was too young to look at twice when we were kids, but I did think about her through the years and wondered what had happened to her. I never checked on her though.”
“And now?” Shane pushed.
“I like her,” Bass said with a shrug. He wasn’t sure he wanted to add more to his words.
