Page 63 of All for Love

KODY

Marissa and Mercedes talked for way too long for my liking. All up in my head about it, I was drinking too fast while making my rounds, already a few whiskeys in when I went back to the bar to order another from the hired bartender.

“How many have you had?” Kaden asked as he came up next to me, eyeing the glass.

I shrugged. “Three. I think this is number four. Maybe five. I’m not counting it.”

He took the drink out of my hand and took a sip on my behalf as he gave me a disapproving look. “The night has barely started, Kody. This is important to Dad. He and Margaux have a lot of things planned for this evening. You can’t get hammered before anything even starts.”

“I’m not getting hammered,” I protested. “Just taking the edge off.”

He rolled his eyes and took another sip of my drink. “Your edges are too spiky and too rough. Taking them off will involve you drinking half the alcohol in this bar and we can’t have that. Don’t screw this up.”

“I’ve had enough of being the family screw-up,” I muttered and swiped my drink back. I poured it down the hatch and swallowed before turning to him. “Fuck off, Kaden. I know my limits. Just leave me alone.”

“You’re being an idiot,” he grumbled.

I thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. “At least I’m behaving on brand, right? Everyone expects me to screw up anyway. It’s not going to surprise them when I do.”

“What about Marissa?” he asked coolly.

My father chose that moment to join us, clasping my shoulder warmly. He accepted a drink of his own from the bartender. “Marissa, what a lovely girl,” he said. “Thanks for coming and for bringing a date like her. It’s damn good to see her again.”

“Isn’t it?” I mumbled.

Kaden rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s great. Good thinking on inviting her.”

Dad nodded his agreement with a wide grin on his face. “She’s grown into a very impressive woman, don’t you think? I’ve been keeping tabs on her. Just making sure she’s okay and all, but I’m only hearing good things.”

“She’s gorgeous to boot,” Kaden said.

If she’s so fucking impressive, then why aren’t one of you with her?I thought snidely as Dad kept raving.

“She’s absolutely stunning.” Dad turned that grin on me. “I always knew you two were friends, but I didn’t realize there was any prospect of more. She’s a wonderful choice, Kody. Honestly, I didn’t think you had it in you. Well done.”

My eyebrows shot up when I realized he not only wanted us to be together. He thought I’d brought her because I was already courting her.

Kaden eyes filled with warning to shut up when he looked at me. “She is an excellent choice. An excellent friend, too.”

“Well, I’ve never been her friend, but she truly is impressive. Much better than the floozies he usually spends his time with.”

I blinked hard. “I’m standing right here, Dad.”

He grinned at me. “Yes, and I’m complimenting you. It seems you’re finally starting to grow up, choosing quality over quantity and all. I wasn’t sure I’d live to see the day.”

Annoyance and frustration flared up in my gut, but Kaden sensed I was about to go off and steered Dad toward a group of employees standing nearby. I fumed quietly at the bar. After ordering yet another drink, I excused myself from some man who’d struck up a conversation with me and decided to keep doing my rounds instead.

Only, around every turn, someone was there to tell me that my date was X, Y, and Z. All compliments and praise I should’ve been happy about, but I just wasn’t. Is this really what they think of me?

“It’s so good to finally see you with such an incredible girl, Kody,” my godmother said. She was the wife of my father’s closest friend and she’d known me since the day I’d been born. I knew she meant well, but fuck. “We were all so worried about you. Nobody wanted you to end up alone, but that seemed to be the path you were on.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being single,” I said.

She smiled at me as she inclined her head while seemingly thinking it over. “That’s true, but at some point, it needs to be a choice you’ve made for the right reasons and for yourself. It’s a tale as old as time for people to do it for the wrong reasons, don’t you think? Too many don’t seem to realize that their youth will fade and their looks will go with it.”

“True.”

She kept smiling at me as she nodded. “Exactly, and when that happens, you can’t keep plowing your way through women or men. It becomes pathetic. You’re suddenly the oldie in the bar that used to be your hunting grounds. People you used to hit on start comparing you to their dad, wanting to offer you a walker and a calming cup of chamomile instead of a roll in the hay.”