AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She giggles. "Perfect, let's get one of their big ass platters and get both to share. Want to? Colby and I did before she returned to Charleston, and it was delicious. I've been dreaming about it ever since."
Fuck. I was just fully cemented into the friend zone. I'm basically her new Colby. Plus the type of meat she dreams about is the kind she chews. Brocker told me that she was recently divorced, maybe a little over a year ago. This isn’t the right time for us, and I need to keep reminding myself of that.
I pop the plastic menu back into its holder and flag over a waiter. We might as well get this ego-shattering, dick-crunching night of fun over with.
“Hi there, what will it be?” The young waiter with a mop of red hair whips out his order pad.
Brooke orders one big ass platter of brisket and ribs with sides of potato salad, mac and cheese, and house-made pickles. I follow up by ordering the largest draft I can. Brooke surprises me when she says, "Make that two, thanks."
I grin, and she pulls self consciously at her sweater. "What are you smiling about?"
I shrug and take a moment to stare into her bright eyes and sink into memory. "I remember when you refused to drink beer. If it wasn’t white wine, you’d turn your little pixy nose up in the air and refuse. I’ll never forget the night you came home after you quit at the university’s book store.”
Brooke presses her fingertips to her forehead and groans. “Ugh, I haven’t thought about that in years. That was the night of the big snow storm.”
I can’t keep the smile from my face or stop myself from hurtling down memory lane. “It snowed fourteen inches and was topped with ice. Oh, you were all fired up and needed a drink come snow drifts or freezing rain.”
She shakes her head and chimes in. “And we only had beer."
I nod. “That’s right. It was the end of the world.”
Brooke tilts her head back and laughs. “You don’t understand who I was dealing with. My boss was an absolute nightmare! She played favorites, would lie, constantly belittled people, and micro-managed to a sadistic level. So every time I manage a property and have employees working for me, I think of her and do the exact opposite.”
I cross my arms over my chest and smile to myself as Brooke’s eyes travel the length of my forearms. “What was her name again?”
Brooke’s full lips pinch together in her funny frowny face. “Fucking Nancy.”
“Fucking Nancy, that’s right.” I laugh, and it feels good to think back on a time in life that was fun and innocent rather than steeped in warfare, danger, or grief. I shake my head. “What did she do that finally tipped you over the edge? I don’t think I even asked, I just pulled on my winter boats, grabbed my wallet and a shovel, knowing not to return without a bottle of white wine.”
Brooke reaches across the table and lays one small hand across my forearm. “You are a good man, Drake Mackenzie, and were an amazing boyfriend.”
Her hands are so soft, and I quickly imagine them on other parts of my body. I fidget in my seat, and she pulls her hand back, much to my displeasure. “I tried. So do you remember what she did?”
She breaks eye contact and shakes her head. “It was a long time ago.”
I smirk. “What?”
Brooke rolls her eyes and tucks a few loose hair strands behind her ear. “She accused you of stealing.”
I frown. “What? I didn’t even work there. I was on the landscaping crew.”
“I know! I think she just had it out for me. She was out of her mind and said that I looked the other way a few times when pocketed a few small, high-priced items when you would surprise me with lunch.”
This is news to me. “Fucking Nancy is a fucking liar.”
She chuckles but nods. “Heck yeah, she was. I told you she was the worst. Had I been older and more experienced, I would’ve reported her to HR.”
Something wasn’t adding up, though. “So you just quit?”
She sits back and sighs while randomly flicking a packet of sugar she found on the table next to her silverware. “Nancy gave me an ultimatum. Either I quit the bookstore or she would formerly accuse you of theft and inform your landscape crew captain.”
I stare at her, letting it sink in that she quit her job to protect me. I reach across the table and take her hands in mine. “Jesus. I’m so sorry, honeybee. I never had a clue. I wish you would’ve told me.”
She freezes at my touch and the use of her old nickname. I hold up my hands in surrender. “Sorry. It was my natural reaction. Sorry, Brooke.”
She flashes me a playful, admonishing look and leans forward, close enough that we could rest our foreheads together if I leaned forward.
Or kiss.
