AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think I need more than a little these days.” I chuckle, turning my gaze to the right when our waitress appears with our order.
“Chicken wings for the gentleman.” She sets my food in front of me. “Salad for the lady.” She smiles, her eyes lingering on me for longer than I like.
“So typical,” Claire whines. “Men always get to eat the good food.”
“Technically, you could have gotten wings,” I remind her.
“Yeah, right. I’ll gain five pounds just looking at yours.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you right now?” the young waitress interrupts.
“I think we’re good,” I tell her, my eyes not leaving Claire. “You want a wing?”
“Are you trying to torture me right now?” She laughs, shaking her head.
“Come on, live a little.”
“By live a little you mean get fat.”
“One, you are nowhere near fat. Two, one wing isn’t going to change that. Now shut the fuck up and take a wing.” I pick one up off my plate and shove it in her face.
“God.” She sighs loudly before taking the wing from my hand. “Way to peer pressure me.” She tries to fight the smile on her lips but fails miserably.
Seconds pass before she tears off a bite and pops it into her mouth, moaning dramatically as she does.
“I forgot how good wings are.” She takes another bite.
“See, sometimes itisworth it.”
“Tell me that in sixty seconds when I’m mad at myself for being so weak.”
“I’ll just shove another wing at you to keep you quiet.” I laugh.
“Remind me again what my sister saw in you.”
“Well, my obvious charm and good looks, of course.” The smile on my face feels more natural than it has in a very long time.
“Good to see California hasn’t weakened your sense of humor.”
“I wasn’t being funny,” I deadpan, able to hold a straight face for all of five seconds before we both start laughing.
——
“Remind me again whyI agreed to this,” I grumble, following my brother Aaron through the thick wood doors of Ripley’s Tavern.
“Well, for one, he’s your brother. And for two, you’re in the wedding party, and as such it is customary to attend the bachelor party.”
“Don’t they usually do these things right before the wedding? Why the hell are they doing it two weeks prior?”
“People do them whenever the hell they want. Besides, this was the only weekend before the wedding that they were free.” He crosses the crowded room toward the back where a private party room is located.
“I should have stayed in California a week longer. Adam had the right idea not flying in until the weekend of the wedding.”
“Are you going to moan and groan all night or are you going to shut the fuck up and try to have a little fun? I know it’s a foreign concept to you, bro, but how about you put on a happy face for Andrew’s sake.”
I’m seconds away from smarting off an asshole comment but somehow, I manage to refrain. Aaron’s right, tonight isn’t about me. It’s about Andrew. And while I’d like to strangle him more times than not, he’s still my brother and I owe it to him to not ruin his good time.
“There you fuckers are!” Our mutual friend, Nick spots us the moment we enter the room. “’Bout time you showed up.” He closes the distance between us, shaking Aaron’s hand first before reaching for mine. “Abel.” He pulls me into a half hug. “Long time no see, brother.”
