Page 36 of So Much More
“I gotta get out of here,” I tell him. “Pay the tab, and double the usual amount of tip. No, quadruple it.”
I don’t say goodbye to Bobby as I lurch toward the door. Ash calls after me to wait for him, but I can’t. I stumble out onto the sidewalk and suck in gulps of the humid night air. I need to get away from this place, but I can’t make my legs take me toward home, so I lean my back against the outside wall of the pub and slide down it until I’m sitting on the filthy ground with my head in my hands.
“Randy,” my brother’s voice says from above me, “what’s going on? Are you really this drunk?”
“No.” I’m trying my best not to cry, especially not here in public. “Well, I’m drunk, but … but …”
He squats down next to me, and when I look at him, I spot Bobby hovering behind him. I don’t want him to know what I’ve done, but I don’t see any way around it.
“But what?” Ash prompts.
“She kissed me.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “And I kissed her back.” I drop my head into my hands again.
“You kissed who? Wendy?”
“No.” I suck in a few breaths. “Tammy.”
A curse falls from his lips, and then he says, “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m going to lose her.” I feel like I’m going to be sick again. “I’m going to lose the best woman I’ve ever known, but I don’t deserve her anyway. Not if I can do something like this.”
“You’re not wrong,” Ash says. “Now get up off the ground so we can go home and figure out if there’s any possible way to salvage this situation.”
He grasps my hand to pull me up, and when I make no move to get up, Bobby grabs my other hand, and they haul me to my feet.
Then my loving brother adds, “But don’t get your hopes up.”
fourteen
“Is there someplace around here we can do karaoke?” Beckett asks when we’re finally leaving dinner after too much food and an abundance of laughter. “I’ve been dying to try it, but of course none of the bars in Cherry Hill have a karaoke machine.”
“Carrie who?” Aunt Star asks.
“Karaoke,” Leslie says. “It’s where you sing popular songs along with the instrumental music, while the rest of the bar listens.”
“That sounds interesting,” Aunt Star says, “but I think I’ll just watch you girls.”
“Nope,” Leslie declares. “We’re all doing it. No excuses.”
Aunt Star replies, “I doubt I’d remember any of the words if I had a lot of people looking at me.”
“The lyrics are on a little screen,” I explain. “Come on, it’ll be fun! There’s a place a few blocks away.”
As I lead the way down the sidewalk, Leslie loops her arm around mine and says, “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”
I smile. “Of course I am. And you, obviously, are thinking about his brother. What do you think they’re doing right now?”
She looks at her watch. “It’s after ten, so they’re probably home from dinner with Bobby and watchingSportsCenterin their underwear.”
My eyebrows jolt up. “They sit around watching TV in their underwear?” I shouldn’t picture that in my mind, but there’s no way not to, and I honestly don’t want to stop.
“I’ve never seen it,” she says, “because it would be weird if Randall walked around in his skivvies in front of me, and Ash is still pretty shy about his body. But I know my brother does it, so I’m guessing those guys do, too, when there’s no ladies around. Or at least Randall probably does. He’s not shy about anything.”
“Hmm.” I shake my head to clear it of thoughts of my boyfriend in very little clothing. “We should talk about something else, or I’m going to turn around and head to their place to verify your prediction.”
Leslie giggles, and I can’t help but join in.
When we enter the bar, two women are singing “Walk Like an Egyptian” and doing the hand motions. They’ve obviously been drinking most of the night, because they’re laughing and stumbling around.
