But not tonight.
Tonight we laughed and talked. We ate and drank, and we caught up on everything. I’d missed them. I’d missed this level of mateship and familiarity that I had not had the last few years overseas. I’d known these guys for years. We’d gone to college together. Sure, I was better friends with Terrence, but I’d call the others good friends too. And I’d needed reminding of that.
I filled them in on all the ground I’d covered so far in my new business venture. I’d sourced possible suppliers and was happy with the quality and price. My finance meeting was next. Then I could source an appropriate location and begin the fit-out. I’d priced all that too.
“Give me a ten-second sales pitch,” Massa said. He was a business marketing major, so this was his thing.
“Uh . . . ten seconds?”
“Now you’ve got eight.”
“Fuck.”
“Seven.”
“A Singaporean-style coffee house. Think Starbucks, but better. And Singaporean. Kopi and bubble tea, Asian desserts, merchandise, mugs and tumblers, coffee beans and syrups.”
They all stopped walking. Terrence grinned and Massa, Luke, and Noah were all kinda stunned. “Bryce,” Massa said. “That sounds . . . that’s actually a really good idea.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I loved the kopi places in Singapore. Loved the whole aesthetic. I think the market is looking for the next coffee experience.”
“Well, listen to you,” Luke said. “Being all smooth with the marketing buzzwords.”
“Sounds awesome,” Noah added. Then he looked at Terrence and Massa, then back at me, and he made a face. “Are we mentioning your dad’s take on this?”
I snorted. “I’d rather not. Nah, he’s okay with it. Well, he’s pissed and disappointed, and I’m pretty sure he hates the fact that he liked my business proposal. Oh, and apparently I have a lot to learn, and I am one hundred percent certain he thinks I’ll fail. But . . .” I put my hand up. “He liked the idea.”
Terrence put his arm around my shoulders and we began walking again. “I told you. It’s a good plan. Your projections are strong; it’s sustainable and forward-thinking.”
“You just like the idea because you know I’ll be selling pandan cakes.”
He laughed. “That shit is like crack.”
We basically laughed all the way to the Brewery. It was a bar that served their own brewed beers and spirits. It was always busy on a Friday night but it had a relaxed feel. There was usually some kind of sport on the TVs, the music was good. It was just chill. And the perfect place for the five of us to find a table, have a few more drinks, and laugh until they kicked us out at closing time.
And I was probably four beers into that plan when there was some cheering at the other end of the bar. I turned to see what the fuss was about when I saw a very familiar tuft of blond hair in the crowd.
He was in the centre of the cheering, dressed in a suit, jacket, no tie. His tailored shirt was pale blue, his suit pants were navy and extremely well-fitting. He was laughing at something, holding up his glass, and a round of ‘cheers’ went up and they drank.
It was a mix of men and women, all dressed in suits and expensive office-wear. It looked like a work thing, and I hoped to God it was, because if it was a social thing and a guy put his arm around him in front of me—or kissed him—I wasn’t sure how I’d feel.
Devastated came to mind.
Fuck.
“What’s fuck?” Noah asked.
“Huh?”
“You said fuck,” Massa answered. “Looking over to them . . .” They all looked over.
“Oh, fuck,” Terrence said. “It’s Nameless Blondie.”
“Who?” Luke asked. He was pretty smashed.
“Nameless Blondie,” Terrence repeated. “The guy Bryce ditched us for the night he got back. The same guy he’s been seeing every weekend since then, aaaaaand the same guy he doesn’t know if he has a name. Well, we can assume he has a name, but Bryce here doesn’t know it. Their little arrangement doesn’t include much talking, apparently.”
I shot him a look. “Are you done?”
Terrence laughed. “Nope.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Noah said to Massa, holding his hand out. “You owe me fifty bucks. You said he’d crash and burn.”
Terrence put his hand out too. “Bryce here did not crash and burn. Cough up.”
Massa shoved my shoulder. “You cost me a fortune, fucker.”
Ugh. “I will pay each of you a thousand dollars to never talk about it again.”
They, of course, all cheered and high-fived, yet I couldn’t stop staring at where Bossy, or Nameless Blondie, was now laughing with a woman. My stomach was tied in knots, my heart felt sick, and my hands were clammy.
“Bryce, you okay?” Terrence asked. When I looked back at him and the others, I could see they weren’t laughing now. They were looking at me, concerned.
My mouth was dry. “Uh, yeah. I’m, um, I’m just gonna go say hi.” I stood up. “I’m not ditching you. I’ll just be a few minutes. I’ll grab us another round.”
So I went to the bar, closer to . . . him.
I wondered if I should text him. Would that be weird? That would probably be weird. And what if he read my message and cringed, and I saw it? God, this was a bad idea. I should leave. Maybe we could go to a different bar. The guys wouldn’t mind if I wanted to change bars.
“What can I get for you?” the barman asked, startling me.
“Oh. Um.” I tried to swallow. Should we leave? Or should I just pretend I didn’t see him at all? Yeah, that sounds like a better plan. Maybe he’ll see me and he can be the one who decides to say hi. I smiled at the barman. “Yeah, five pale ales, thanks.”
I put my card on the bar, and of course my eyes betrayed me and looked in his direction again.
Only to find him looking at me.
His smile was instantaneous; bright and honest. He wouldn’t look at me if his boyfriend was with him, would he? Or maybe his boyfriend didn’t care?
Fucking hell.
He weaved through his friends and came over to me at the bar. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said, lamely.
“We didn’t expect to be here,” he replied. He glanced back to his group. “We had a win at work today. It was late, and it’s Friday so we thought drinks were in order.”
I was so freaking relieved he was here for a work thing. “Good. Good. Yeah, I, um, I’m just here with my mates.”
I nodded to the table, and sure enough, Terrence, Massa, Luke, and Noah were all watching. Which wasn’t embarrassing at all . . .
I cleared my throat. “We were supposed to catch up a few weekends ago but I ended up leaving early with this cute blond guy. Sexy as hell, but a bit bossy.”
His eyes lit up when he smiled. “He sounds great. You know, some people think being bossy is a bad thing, but knowing what you want and asking for it can’t be wrong. I would take it as a compliment.”
I laughed. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he does. But I’ve been told I’m not allowed to ditch my friends tonight though. So I had to change some plans for tomorrow night instead.”