AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“
Yeah,” she said. “There’s no way I could lug all these around.”
“I didn’t do so well, either. That was actually what I almost knocked you down the stairs with,” he said sheepishly.
Jamie must have keyed in on part of what he said because he looked up from his conversation with Cora and said, “You almost knocked her down the stairs?”
Before he could respond, Taryn said, “Yeah. He threw a box of books at me. What a jerk, right?”
“I still maintain that they fell down the stairs,” he argued, enjoying the smile that stretched across her face.
As she opened her mouth to respond, there was a knock at the door.
“Thank god. I’m starved,” Cora said.
Ten minutes later they were seated around the pub table in his dining room. There was a slight lull in conversation while they were eating until Jamie asked, “Earlier when Evan said something about beer, you both looked a little green. What’s the story there?”
He watched as his brother lightly nudged Cora in the arm. She gave a long, exhausted sigh and told the story, though she was clearly embarrassed.
Jamie laughed and said, “If your clothes didn’t come off in public, then you weren’t that drunk.”
He proceeded to tell the story of the night he graduated from college. He went out and got wasted, then woke up in Tijuana. At the end of the story, he looked at Evan and said, “Whatever you do, don’t tell Mom. She’d kick my ass. I told her that I ended up crashing at a friend’s house.”
Laughing, he said, “Your secret’s safe with me, kid. You couldn’t exactly tell her that you slept naked in a barn next to a donkey, could you?”
“Not my finest hour,” he said, laughing.
Over the next two hours, they sat in his living room and continued to swap stories until Cora finally started to yawn.
She said, “Oh Jesus. It’s after ten. I have an early class tomorrow. I need to head home.”
Jamie stood up and said, “I’ve gotta work early, too. I’ll walk you out.”
When Taryn stood up, she immediately started collecting cans and bottles. Evan immediately stopped her and said, “No, Princess. I’ve got it.”
She hesitated and asked, “You’re sure?”
He nodded and said, “I’ve got it.”
Together, the four of them walked downstairs. Evan gave his brother a hug and said, “Thanks for coming out to help. I appreciate it.”
“Always game for free beer and food, Ev. Glad to have you back,” Jamie said.
When his brother released him, he gave Cora a quick hug and said, “You’re fun when you’re not sloshed. Come hang out again.”
He and Taryn stood at the door watching as they walked down the street. When his brother reached down to take Cora’s hand, Evan nudged Taryn.
Softly, he heard her say, “I see them.”
“It’s late,” he said.
“Yeah,” Taryn agreed. “I have an early staff meeting tomorrow.”
Silently, they turned and walked back up the stairs. When they stood in the hallway between their doors, he looked down at her. She was staring up at him with those huge blue eyes. They were so expressive. He could tell exactly what she was thinking. It was the exact same thing that he was thinking.
As much as he was dreading this moment, he finally spoke, saying “This is a bad idea.”
“A terrible idea,” she agreed, not even pretending to misunderstand his meaning.
