Page 585 of Manhattan Bossholes

Cameron was a little distracted, like he was still grappling with the conversation with his brother. Sure, his default attitude was usually pretty grumpy, but even being with Tyler wasn’t helping to lighten him up.

“You okay?” I asked softly.

His mouth went tight. “Yeah. My brother just…” he shook his head. “He doesn’t get it. He’s so blinded by love, and he has no idea that it’s going to bite him in the ass.”

“Maybe it won’t?” I offered. I briefly considered doing some cheerleading for Megan but opted to keep my mouth shut. Cameron and I seemed to be on an even keel, and I didn’t want to risk pissing him off. I didn’t think anyone was photographing us at the moment, but I couldn’t be sure.

Tyler and Jerry strolled back to the table, laughing with each other. I wondered if the shot he took combined with the whiskey he threw back were hitting him, because he wobbled as he sat down with us.

“Hey!” Nina said brightly. “How was your friend?”

Tyler tilted his head back and gave her a slow smile. “Really good. Really, really good.”

Jerry burst into laughter and covered his mouth with his hand. “You’ve missed our friend Mr. Brown, huh?”

“Guess I did, bro,” Tyler laughed along with him.

I could’ve sworn I saw Cameron flinch at him calling Jerry “bro.”

“We used to have so much fun together,” Jerry said. “Oh, man, do you remember that time you, me, and Roxanne went into that liquor store and had to steal that bottle of tequila because we all forgot our money? And the dude caught us?”

Tyler was now hunched over the table, propping his head on his hand. He opened his mouth in a silent laugh. “Yeah, and the only reason he didn’t call the police was because he recognized me. One autograph and a backstage pass later and we were golden.”

“Hey,” Jerry wagged a finger at him. “You can’t take all the credit. Roxanne showed him her tits.”

“Right,” Tyler said. His smile drooped a bit. “She was always game for anything.”

“Roxanne was a solid chick,” Jerry said. “Fucking hot too, if you don’t mind me sayin’, bro.”

Nina squirmed in her seat and started glancing around the bar, like she would rather be anywhere but at the table.

Tyler swished his hand through the air and knocked an empty glass off the table. “Whoops.”

A waitress scurried over to clean it up, and Tyler grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. “Hey, can you bring me another drink? I’m the talent.” He gestured to the stage.

Tyler was definitely drunk—or worse. Nina sat hunched in her chair with her purse clenched in her lap, like she was debating taking off. I decided to be her lifeline, because what had started off as a decent night was now super awkward.

“Guys, we’re going to go. Nina told me she has an early start tomorrow.”

She gave me a grateful smile. Tyler didn’t even notice. He and Jerry were huddled close, reminiscing.

“That’s fine. Let me walk you out,” Cameron said as he stood up.

The bar was suddenly too noisy and crowded, and I was happy we were leaving. The vibes had been off all night.

“I’ll order a car,” Nina said, hurrying ahead of me with her phone already in her hand.

She burst out the door and I followed, trailed by Cameron. It felt like he was ready to take off with us. We ducked away from the crowd of smokers just outside the entrance.

“Weird night. Thanks for coming, I guess?” Cameron said.

“It was interesting,” I offered, because we both knew it wasn’t exactly fun given the brother drama and the Tyler weirdness at the end.

Cameron had his arms clenched across his chest, and his face looked tight, like the night’s ups and downs had been too much for him.

I moved a few steps closer, giving his arm a quick squeeze. “Hey, you okay?”

He let out a sigh and nodded. “Yeah, it’s just a lot right now. I feel like I’m babysitting both of them in different ways, you know? Normally, I’d take you two home, but I don’t want to leave Ty here with that asshole. I don’t trust him.”