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“I’m sure. I won’t freeze in that short amount of time. And I probably won’t get kidnapped, but there’s always a possibility. Right?” Both men eyed me with hard scowls, taking over their faces. “Jeez, I’m kidding guys.”
“You know your safety is nothing to joke about. You remember I made Teddy pledge to me that we’d always protect you.” Cruz slapped Teddy on the arm. “And it looks like he took the vow seriously. Look at him on this campus, watching over you for me while I’m gone.” My brother laughed, but I could see red appearing on Teddy’s cheeks.
I reached up and pinched him. “And he’s done a stellar job looking after me, too. All right now, go on you two. I’ll meet you at the bar later.”
After they left, on my drive home I thought about last night’s texting with Teddy on the phone and his playful mood just now, all making me wonder if he was feeling the chemistry between us, too. But I must keep it professional, no matter how good things seemed with him.
I ran into my place, my mind already raced through my closet. What should one wear when they want to look sexy for her brother’s best friend? But not too sexy, just enough to torment his soul. Oh God, why did I agree to this, because I’d be the one tormented being there with Teddy, and with my brother watching us.
I selected black slacks and a sexy red off the shoulder sweater. Yeah, this would work. I donned my coat and boots and hoofed it to meet up with them.
The Mi Casa bar was a little gem that anyone would overlook, if they just walked by the front door and the small, dark tinted window. The only sign it was a bar was the bright pink neon open sign lit up above the door.
He did an amazing job with the place. When he bought it, he had to do a lot of repairs, almost gutting it, but was careful to keep it as original as he could. The long mirrored bar was on one side and mounted stools flanked the other side for patrons to sit and quench their thirst. There were a few tables littered throughout the rest of it. He did all right for himself, helping his regulars wash their worries away after a long day.
For the weekends or special events, past the bar was an open space of a dance floor with a small platform for a stage on the back wall. He often brought in a DJ or entertainment, giving the customers something to return for, and even offered karaoke once a week.
It took my eyes a little while to adjust to the dim light of the bar as I walked through the threshold. Once I could make out the shadowy figures at the end of the bar, I saw Diego standing behind it talking to Cruz and Teddy, who made themselves comfy on their stools. Nothing warmed my heart more than seeing the three of them together, the best buddies.
As I shucked off my coat and hung it up on the rack in the corner, Diego busied himself with preparing our drinks. That’s one great thing about having a brother as a bar owner. You hardly ever had to actually order, and you never had to wait long to be served. Or, if he was busy, I sometimes helped myself behind the bar.
“Here you go. Two beers for the two knuckle heads and a skinny margarita with no salt on the rim for the pain in the ass,” Diego winked at me as I occupied the stool next to Cruz.
“Hey, watch it, hermanito,” I warned my little brother.
“Here’s to being together once again, and friendship lost by life to be reconciled,” Cruz toasted, lifting his glass high.
“Here, here!” everyone shouted.
“Great speech, Cruz. Talking about reconciling relationships, you really should go see Mama and Papa.” I saw my chance to get in a dig at him. “You know, they’re not getting any younger and we’ll have to take care of them before they leave this earth.”
“Aw hell, Mia, why do you say it like they’re sick and on their deathbed?” Diego sounded pissed off, but I didn’t look at him. I was watching Cruz. His expression spoke volumes about how he missed our parents, probably as much as they missed him, if not more.
“No, of course they aren’t, and we hope that doesn’t happen for a very long time, but you never know. Come on, Cruz, you haven’t been home in a while, or called during a Sunday dinner. How long has it been since you actually sat and had a conversation with them?” I countered.
“Fine, Mia. I’ll go talk with them after I finish this beer, but only if you don’t say another word about it. Diego, how have you been? The bar looks nice. You’ve changed some things around, like the lighting along the ceiling.”
“Thanks, it was a shit-ton of work, and I thank Mother Mary it’s all done and over with, for now,” Diego replied, and wiped down the already spotless counter with his cleaning cloth.
“Look at him clean. Hey Diego, can you come to my place and tidy my room for me? You were always the cleanest one out of the three of us,” Teddy laughed. He knew us so well.
“Right,” Cruz chipped in. “Remember how Mama and Papa would threaten if Mia and I didn’t clean our rooms, then they were going to send Diego in to clean it for us. And they wouldn’t hold him back from organizing whatever shit he wanted to.”
“Shut up. I was not that bad,” Diego countered.
“Really?” I cocked an eyebrow at him while all the guys laughed.
“Really,” he defended, and threw the cleaning towel at me. I dodged it as it landed on the floor. Then, of course, he quickly came around the bar to retrieve it and tossed it in the dirty rag bin behind the counter.
It was all fun and games until Diego received a rush of customers flooding through the doors. We finished our drinks, and Cruz finally hopped off the barstool to go see our parents. I prayed for all to go well, hoping at our next Sunday dinner everyone would be there, and we could enjoy some quality family time together for once.
Cruz hugged me, then slapped Teddy on the back. “You promise to see our girl home safely?”
Teddy nodded until Cruz moved out of earshot. Then he lowered his voice and winked at me. “Now there’s a promise I intend to keep. I’ll have you home safely later or die trying. But now, let’s have another round.”
The push and pull of staying or going had my stomach in knots at first. As if an angel lived on one of my shoulders, I knew I should leave immediately. But the devil sitting on my other shoulder had other plans, especially with the way Teddy’s eyes grazed across my bare shoulder. Yes, this was the perfect sweater to wear, enough to torment the both of us.
We drank and talked about everything from silly stuff like why taking ice baths was actually a health benefit, to deeper conversations about his parents’ breaking up when he was younger, and his dad’s passing. The tenderness in his eyes about it tore me up, or else it was the alcohol amplifying every emotion I held.
