AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Three
Jackson
The lights were on in the bar when I arrived this morning. And that meant either my brother Brodie was here, or he left the lights on last night when he closed.
I didn’t usually come in this early, but I wanted to take advantage of the acoustics and make sure Brodie met the morning beer delivery. I stood studying the room and heard a grunt, and then the shatter of glass resonated from the back room behind the bar.
I owned the small pub but seldom worked in it. Aside from keeping track of the finances, the most I ever did was occasionally play my guitar on the small stage toward the back with the band. Every so often, I’d fill in behind the bar on a busy Friday or Saturday night, but I left most of the bartending to Brodie and other employees.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him this morning due to the red scarf on his doorknob. The scarf was a don’t-bother-me-I-have-company warning. I wondered who the lucky chick was this time. Or should I say “unlucky?” My brother never had sex with the same woman more than twice before he moved on, leaving a path of broken hearts in his wake. Brodie has had some major commitment issues for the past couple of years.
“Shit,” his irritated curse rang out from the room. I hurried to the stage and leaned my guitar against a chair. My plans to practice with the excellent sound system, set aside. I strolled to the backroom to find Brodie crouched over a toppled-over case of beer. Foaming beer with shards of broken brown glass pooled around his black high tops.
“What happened?”
“That’s a stupid question. What the hell do you think happened?”
“Maybe you need to spend more time at the gym and less time in the boudoir, sweet brother o’ mine.”
“Fuck you.”
I chuckled and got a bucket for the broken bottles. “Looks like half the case is gone.”
“Yeah, but I think we’ve still got enough to get us through until the next delivery. I’ll push the Hefeweizen today.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, of course. I always let Brodie make most of those decisions anyway. He ran the bar. He enjoyed it. I didn’t.
I crouched down and helped him pick up the broken bottles and stack the good ones into the fridge.
“Thanks.” He paused in his cleaning efforts to stare at me. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I came in to check out a song I’ve been toying with. The sound system is better here.”
He nodded. “Do me a favor. Check Derrick’s figures from last night, will you?” We got slammed, and we sort of closed up in a hurry.”
“Because you had a—”
“A date, yeah.”
“That’s an exaggeration of the word.”
“Whatever. Hey, man, I don’t interfere with your sex life, or lack of. By the way, you need to get laid pretty soon or you’re liable to spontaneously combust from sperm buildup.” He laughed and dumped a dustpan full of broken glass into the bucket.
“I have my share. I just don’t go blabbing about it to you.”
“That’s because nobody wants to hear about how tight you grip yourself when you’re not hugging your guitar.”
I flipped him off as I strolled out toward the stage, shaking my head and laughing to myself at our warped display of brotherly love, except Brodie had a point. It had been a while since I had the pleasure of being with a woman. Brodie had enough for both of us, though. And I didn’t need or want any one-nighters.
I wanted to play my guitar for a while and headed toward it, then remembered the register. I cursed silently and turned back to the bar. Work before play, I reminded myself. Brodie and I were close, and even though we teased each other, we were brothers and looked out for one another. We were all we had, and I worried about Brodie and his promiscuity sometimes.
