I shot him a text.
Clem is leaving. Do you want to come over tonight?
He didn’t usually reply right away, but this time he did.
I’m free now. I don’t have to be in the hospital until tomorrow morning.
So he knew we both had a day off and didn’t ask me to meet him. I swallowed the bitterness coming from that fact and replied.
Great. Come pick me up in two hours.
I sent him the address of Tyler’s bar. I couldn’t help Clem deal with her insecurities around being a mother, but I could help with something else. And I intended to do it the minute she boarded the damn plane.
An hour and a half later, I entered the bar. It was still early, and the place was empty if you don’t count a few weird-looking middle-aged guys that were probably regulars.
My eyes immediately flew to the counter. Tyler was there. Lucky me.
He was looking at his phone. I sat right in front of him. I was the only customer sitting there which was good. We could talk in private.
Tyler lifted his head and couldn’t hide the surprise of seeing me there fast enough for me not to notice it. He leaned forward on the counter on his elbows, his eyes pinned on mine.
My mouth fell open. He had a black eye and a cracked lip. I didn’t know how to react, but I knew for sure that I couldn’t waste the few minutes he was going to give me with anything other than what I came here for. Besides, the guy worked at a bar. He probably had to kick out a problematic customer. So I decided to pretend his look didn’t bother me. I closed my mouth, then opened it again, this time to say something. He cut me off before I had a chance to start.
“I’m pretty sure I asked you to text me, not deliver me an oral report.”
I wouldn’t necessarily define that sentence as a sexual innuendo if it wasn’t for the few seconds his eyes lingered on my mouth. I felt my cheeks blush.
“You can’t intimidate me with your sex jokes, Tyler.”
His gaze shot up to mine again.
“Who says I want to intimidate you?” He scanned my heated cheeks. “Red looks good on your pale skin, sunshine.”
The last word came out like mockery. Was he just mocking Nick and me? Or did he remember how he used it for me once? I wasn’t going to humiliate myself and ask. So, I changed the subject.
“You have to go to that camping trip.”
Tyler pushed himself of the counter.
“I don’t have to do anything.” His phone buzzed and he made a show of typing something while also ignoring me.
“You might enjoy it,” I said.
“Believe me, little Spencer. I’m very well entertained. I don’t need to find new ways to enjoy life.”
“I meant you might enjoy doing something for your sister, not the stupid camping trip.”
He shot me a surprised look and smiled at me.
“So you think it’s stupid too.”
“Well,” I smiled back at him because how could I not. His face lit up like we were sharing some intimate joke between us. “Camping is not my thing either.”
“What is your thing?” He sounded genuinely intrigued. The question caught me unprepared. Did I have a thing? I didn’t think so.
“I…” I started but nothing came to mind.
“You…” he dragged looking straight at me. The grin on his face told me he knew I had no clue how to answer him. So, I finally shrugged and told the truth.
“I read.”
His laughter filled the space around us and this time around I felt like my entire body blushed. I didn’t like the fact he was using me as an entertainment considering I came here to talk about something important that had nothing to do with how different we were.
“You read? That’s the best you got?”
“What’s wrong with reading?”
“Nothing, if you have fun every once in a while.”
“Reading is fun,” I argued.
“Going out dancing is fun. Getting drunk in the middle of the day is fun. Bungee jumping, kayaking, even cursing total strangers on the street while they pass you by is fun.”
“Why would I curse strangers?” I frowned, not sure why I was engaging in that conversation.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because doing something wild and out of your comfort zone is liberating like nothing else is.”
“Or you get all beaten up,” I pointed at his face. “Is that how you got these? You cursed the wrong guy.”
The smile that formed on his lips was so charming, so boyish, that the words that came out of his mouth sounded completely inappropriate.
“I am the wrong guy, little Spencer. I thought you knew that already.”
My nickname always sounded like a tease on his lips. Like an older brother would tease his little sister, or her annoying best friend in my case.
This time though it came out loaded with something else.
But he was right. He was the wrong guy. I should just finish up what I came here for and leave. So, I steered the conversation back to his sister.
“Is that why you didn’t take Clem out for coffee like you promised? Because you got into a fight and wanted to hide it?”
“First of all, it was a suggestion, not a promise. Second of all, no one likes a know-it-all.”
So he did try to hide his current state.
“Fine. Let’s talk about the camping trip then.”
“We already agreed it’s stupid. I have nothing more to say.”
“It’s not that big of a deal. All you have to do is fly to California and spend three days walking around in the mountains.” He tried to cut me off but I lifted my palm up to signal him I wasn’t finished. “You can drink all you want up there. I can guarantee that Chase won’t go without booze. Remember him?”
Chase was Lucas’s best friend from high school and also the twin brother of the biggest bitch I had ever met. That wasn’t his only flaw. He was a troublemaker of the worst kind. The type that didn’t acknowledge authority in any form.
Tyler looked at me for a moment like I was an idiot, then he slowly turned around pointing at his surroundings.
“I’m not an alcoholic, but even if I were, I work in a bar. I’m not sure why you decided that bringing booze would win me over.”
“What would win you over then?”
“Is anything on the table?” he asked with a suggestive smile. I rolled my eyes.
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, I remember Dr. Boring. You are the perfect couple. Your idea of having fun is staying home reading, so no wonder you decided to tie yourself up with a doctor. I see lots of lonely nights in your future. It’s a good thing you have low expectations.”
“Nick is not boring,” I defended him, but I felt like I was defending myself and my choice.
“He’s boring and you’re predictable. And the path from predictable to boring is pretty short, so you better be careful now.”
“I didn’t come here to talk with you about my personal life.”
“No. You came here to talk about my personal life. About my relationship with my sister.”
“She is my best friend. I want to help her. And because of some reason that is unknown to me, right now she needs you. You have to step up and act like a decent older brother would.”