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Chapter 19
I give into beer pressure
“Ta-da!”
At the sound, I shriek and drop the bottle I’m labeling. It crashes to the floor and breaks, spilling beer every-freaking-where. But there’s no need to use a shard of glass to attack the intruder because I recognize her annoying voice. How dare she break into my brew shack!
My teeth clench as I ask Hailey, “How the hell did you get in here?”
She frowns. “Don’t insult me.”
“It’s harder than it looks,” Phoebe comments from behind Hailey. “Hailey tried to show me how to pick the lock, but I couldn’t figure it out.”
Hailey pats her arm. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it with some practice.”
“I should have used the deadbolt.”
Hailey raises her fist. “A challenge! I like it.”
Of course, she thinks circumventing a deadbolt lock is a challenge. And everyone is convinced I’m the crazy one. “What are you two doing here anyway?”
Hailey rolls her eyes. “Duh. We’re here to cheer you up.”
Phoebe removes a bottle from her bag and lifts it up over her head. “I brought vodka!”
I indicate the bottles and bottles of beer on the wall.
“Those are for you to sell and become a famous female brewer. This,” she taps the bottle, “is for drinking.” She sets her bag on my labeling station. “I also brought shot glasses and snacks.”
“You brought snacks?”
“Of course. This is how you cheer your best girlfriend up, remember? If I recall correctly, we start by plying you with questions about your past until you cry. Then, we sit around and watch movies while drinking and eating too much.”
Hailey rubs her hands together in glee. “But instead of asking a ton of questions about your past, we get to pry into your relationship with Grayson.”
Oh no, they don’t. I snarl, but before I can tell them where they can shove it, Hailey raises her palm and practically shoves it in my face. “Stop. You are not keeping this to yourself. I’d say you’ve kept enough to yourself as it is.”
Phoebe pauses with unloading her bag of snacks on the table. “And the uncles and Pops wouldn’t tell us a thing. Who was the woman and why did her arrival make Grayson throw your friendship in your face?”
Ugh. I should have known I wouldn’t get away with hiding in my brew shack from the two nosy women. “Pick up your stuff. If we’re doing this shit, we’re not doing it in my brew shack.”
“But I’ve never been in here before,” Hailey pouts. “I want a tour.”
I sweep my arm in a circle around the garage. “This is my brew shack. I brew beer here. End of tour.”
“I’m not tipping for your tour. It sucked,” Hailey whines.
“Shush. Don’t be rude.” Phoebe is seriously worried about being rude? Did she forget she literally broke into my brew shake five minutes ago?
They follow me into my house where we settle in the living room. Phoebe unloads her bag on the coffee table. Don’t tell her I said so, but she did good. Cool Ranch Doritos, Pringles, Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Mmm…
“Vodka?” Hailey wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Where’s the tequila?”
“Tequila is for the lower class,” Phoebe says, and then her eyes widen, and she slaps her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where those words came from.”
I raise my hand. “I do. Your mother.”
Phoebe’s mom put the B in bitch. She hasn’t bothered to attempt contact with Phoebe once since all the scary shit with Phoebe got started. I think Phoebe’s better off without the woman, to be honest.
