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“Can I have a Corona?” he asks.
“Sure.”
He starts to say something to Will as I walk away from the table.
“Can I have a Corona, a gin martini, dirty, and a Maker’s Mark, neat, please?” I ask the guy behind the counter.
“Is the martini for the guy who was just up here?” the bartender asks.
“Uh. Yeah.”
“He was drinking vodka before. Is he switching?”
“Oh no. Thanks. I meant vodka.” God, am I drunk after one whiskey? I guess it was a double.
I put the drinks down and Rex slides over to make room for me in the booth, resting a hand on my thigh when I sit down.
“Thanks,” he says. He’s downed the rest of his first beer. I smile at him. God, he really is so nice.
“Cheers,” Will says.
Will and Rex start talking about someone who lives in town, filling me in on the backstory, and I sip my drink a little slower. But it’s official. I’m basically drunk. Damn, I’ve turned into a lightweight since I moved here. Not that that’s a bad thing. Honestly, tending bar makes it pretty easy to be drunk whenever you want to. And I don’t want to end up like my dad, working all day and then drunk on the couch watching sports all night.
I wonder how he is. And my idiot brothers. I haven’t heard from them since I called the last time, no surprise. At least Colin hasn’t sent me any more nasty texts. My mind drifts to my dad’s house, the smell of Rex’s beer making it easy. When I was in middle school, before Sam moved out, I’d do my homework at the kitchen table while my dad and my brothers watched sports in the living room. I wanted to be able to see them so it felt like I was part of the family, but if I sat too close someone would eventually step on my schoolbooks or spill a beer on my homework. I ended up not turning in a lot of worksheets because they reeked of beer.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been spacing out, but Rex is handing me my phone, which is ringing. It’s Leo. Rex is looking at me with curiosity and a little concern.
“Hey,” I say, and Leo’s rapid-fire speech jolts me to awareness. He wants to take me up on my offer to teach him to fight on Friday, if I don’t have plans. He says that part like since it’s Friday night I must be going out or something, but where the hell does he think I’d go around here? We can’t do it in my apartment because there’s no room, and we certainly can’t do it where anyone would see. “Hold on,” I tell Leo.
“Hey, Rex,” I say, looking up at him. “Um, would it be okay if I have Leo come to your house on Friday night and we use your yard?”
“Who is Leo?” Rex asks, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“I didn’t tell you about Leo?” I push the phone against my chest to muffle it. Rex shakes his head, his expression studiedly neutral. “He’s this kid I stopped from getting beat up the other week. He works at Mr. Zoo’s.”
“You’ve been to Mr. Zoo’s?” Will says, like it’s strange.
“What do you need the yard for?” Rex asks, puzzled.
“Um, I told him I’d teach him to fight.”
Will buries his face in his martini glass to hide the fact that he’s laughing.
“Why does he need—Yeah, of course,” Rex says politely, though I can tell he’s nonplussed. “Feel free.”
“Thanks,” I tell Rex, smiling.
“Hey, come to Rex’s,” I tell Leo, and give him the address. “Can you get there or do you need a ride?”
Will is laughing outright as I hang up the phone.
“You’re teaching some kid to fight?” he says. “Who are you, Mr. Miyagi?”
“Would everyone stop it with the damn Karate Kid references!” I say. Rex and Will exchange a look.
“So, who is Leo?” Rex asks again.
I tell them about coming across Leo in the park and about the kids who were picking on him.
“But he’s a kid,” Rex says. “Like, a child?”
“He’s eighteen, I think,” I say.
“Oh my god,” Will laughs, looking at Rex. Will points a finger at him. “You’re jealous! Rexroth Vale, you are totally jealous of a teenager.” Then he stops laughing and pouts. “Hey! You were never jealous over me.”
Rex rolls his eyes and turns to me.
“It’s fine,” he says. “I never get any trick-or-treaters out that far anyway.”
“Trick-or… oh, that’s what Leo was talking about. Are you sure it’s okay? If you have plans or—”
“No, no. It’s fine. I don’t.”
“Thanks,” I say, and rest my shoulder against Rex’s. “So, do people go all out for Halloween here?”
“Not really,” Will says. “Well, maybe some of your students will; I don’t know. They do an early trick-or-treat thing for the kids so everyone’s home before dark. No fun if you ask me. But, then, I prefer tricks to treats anyway.” He winks at me.
