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“Dollar bills weren’t the only thing they gifted me with. Somehow, grandma slipped out of her silky granny panties and stuffed them down there.” He smiles while pointing to his crotch. “Nice lady, though. She still sends me a Christmas card every year.”
Unable to contain my laughter, this time I choke on my sip of beer. “I bet if we search hard enough, we can still find that video on YouTube. The internet never forgets.”
“You have a dark and twisted sense of humor, you know that?”
“Yeah,” I say proudly. “It’s a gift.”
Jackson takes a sip of his beer and looks around. “This is a cool place. Do you guys come here a lot?”
“No. It’s not Brad’s scene.”
The truth is, this place is too normal for Brad. There’s no lure of exclusivity. It’s packed with regular people who are looking to unwind after a busy work week. Jackson and I are outside, and from where I am, I can see the band setting up. Live music, good food and drinks, who could ask for more? I found this place a while back on Yelp and have been waiting to take Jackson here. I knew he would like it.
“Oh, before I forget and she slaps me upside my head again, mom wants to know if you’ll go shopping with her. She needs a dress for your wedding and their anniversary party. I told her she has plenty of time, but you know how she is.”
“Yeah, of course I will. I’ll call her tomorrow and set something up.”
The band begins their set just as a server drops off an entire plate of tacos. Simultaneously, Jackson and I each pick one up and then clink them together.
“Cheers,” we say in unison.
This has been a good day. Despite the bomb I dropped at the bakery, everything else has been perfect. Once I’m living in Austin, I need to make a conscious effort to ensure things between Jackson and me don’t change. It’ll be hard enough going from seeing him almost every day to only a few times a month. But I have to remind myself that it’s better than nothing. I can’t begin to imagine a life without Jackson. When the band stops playing, I open my mouth to tell him just that, but instead, I watch him tense up.
“Brad’s here.” Jackson shifts in his seat and sits up a little straighter.
“What?”
Surprised, I look around and, sure enough, walking toward us is Brad. He sticks out like a sore thumb in his white button-down dress shirt and black suit pants. His dark hair is perfectly styled, as always, and he has the slightest hint of a five o’clock shadow. He looks like he just stepped out of Forbes magazine, making the rest of us look like models in the Sunday Walmart advertisement. When he sees I’ve spotted him, he gives me a smile, then grabs an empty chair from a neighboring table.
“I’ve been calling you for hours.” Brad places the chair next to me before leaning down and giving me a quick peck on the lips.
“How did you know where I was?” I ask, unable to hide the irritation in my voice.
He sits and stares at me blankly. “Hello, my fiancé. How sweet of you to surprise me,” Brad says sarcastically before he looks at Jackson and rolls his eyes. “Women are supposed to love impromptu romantic gestures, right?”
“Brad?” I pull his attention back to me.
“My meeting with the Cowboys ended early. I was calling to let you know I was on my way to your place, but you never answered. Then I remembered we have that app that allows me to find your phone.” He reaches across the table, grabs my beer, and takes a sip. “So here I am.”
Brad and I hold each other’s stare as I struggle to find my words. I’m pissed. Not only did he stalk me, but he interrupted my time with Jackson. Although, I probably shouldn’t bring that up. So I’ll stick with the stalking argument.
“I’m going to go grab us some more beers,” Jackson says while standing up from the table.
His eyes linger on me, and I nod.
“I’ll take a bourbon sour, made with whatever they consider top shelf.” Brad looks around before landing his stare back at me. “A place like this probably waters down all their liquor, anyway.”
“Watered down bourbon sour. Coming right up,” Jackson repeats while walking away.
“Rory, why do you have your mad face on?” Brad tries to joke with me.
“You stalked me using that stupid app we installed for emergencies.”
“I tried for hours to get a hold of you. Check your phone. You’ll see a ridiculous amount of missed calls and texts.” He reaches out and twirls one of my curls around his finger. “I think checking the app to make sure you were ok was justified.”
“Checking the app is one thing. Showing up where I am and acting like a caveman is another.”
“Caveman, huh? Is that what you want?” His eyes go dark as they land on my lips. “I can go savage, if that’s what you’re craving.” He leans in for a kiss, only to have me slap my hand over his mouth.
