I blew a kiss to the guy’s girl.
“Actually, all these women are begging for it,” Cole said. “I guess you guys don’t have the right size dick.”
“Shit,” Lincoln said.
“You’re fucking dead,” the first guy said.
He lunged for me.
I wasn’t sure who landed the first punch because the second we tangled up, the table was flipped over and it was a four on four bar brawl.
Over nothing.
Just to prove that we could be crazy and pretend we were still young.
It was a short-lived fight though.
The bartender and security were there in seconds, breaking the thing up.
We were ushered out of the bar and I stumbled down the sidewalk, rubbing the left side of my face.
“Man, he got you good,” Jackson said.
“You’re an asshole for that,” I said.
“You’re smiling.”
I looked at Cole and Lincoln.
Their shirts were roughed up but that was it.
“I was just getting into it,” Cole said.
“Let’s go back in,” Lincoln said.
“Yeah,” Jackson said.
“No,” I said. “We’re good.”
“You sure?” Cole asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “You guys are crazy. I love you.”
“There he is,” Jackson said. He put his arm around me again. “Drunk Liam. Fighting and saying he loves us. There’s my best friend again.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said.
“I’m calling it a night,” Cole said. “I have an early morning tomorrow. I’m still working on getting the rest of my team together. I need an assistant.”
“Don’t pick someone good looking,” I said. “You can’t help yourself.”
“That’s not funny,” Cole said.
“Yes, it is,” Jackson said. “I could definitely see you banging your secretary.”
We all laughed, then got rides home.
I rubbed the left side of my face the entire ride home.
That prick got a good punch in on me.
That really pissed me off.
I didn’t bother finding my key.
I just knocked on the door.
I was going to catch hell for it, but I was already drunk.
Miranda was going to be pissed no matter what I did.
Which meant…
The door opened and I shut my eyes.
I reached out and walked into the apartment.
“I’m drunk, and I’m horny,” I said. “Let’s fuck, babe.”
“Liam, stop.”
My eyes opened.
It wasn’t Miranda.
It was Emily.
“Are you drunk?” Emily asked.
“Em,” I said. “What the…”
I looked to my left and saw Miranda standing in the kitchen.
“Wow,” she said. “You’re really feeling it, huh?”
“Shit. Sorry about that. I didn’t know you had company.”
“I was getting ready to leave,” Emily said.
“We had a glass of wine,” Miranda said. “Just one. We don’t need to get plastered like you and your friends do.” Miranda hurried toward me. “What happened to your face?”
“Got into a fight,” I said.
“What?”
“Jackson picked a bar fight.”
“Of course he did,” Miranda said. “I hate that guy.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m fine. We’re all fine. Right?”
I looked at Emily and smiled.
She inched her way away from Miranda and I.
“I can’t believe you, Liam,” Miranda said.
“Who cares? You used to love when I would get into bar fights, remember?”
“Here we go with this again,” she said. Her phone started to ring. “I have to take this call.” She looked at Emily. “Will you help him to the couch? And feel free to talk about the past with him. It’s all he keeps bugging me about.”
“Uh, sure,” Emily said.
Miranda ran across the apartment to the bedroom.
“There she goes,” I said. “On another call.”
“Liam, come here,” Emily said.
She touched my arm.
“I’m not as think as you drunk I am,” I said with a laugh.
“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes,” Emily said.
I stared at her as I walked.
The entire room was spinning but she wasn’t.
Damn, she’s as pretty as when we were teenagers, huh?
I looked down at my feet.
That thought needed to go away and stay gone forever.
Emily pulled me down to the couch and sat next to me.
I grabbed her hand.
“How are you, Em?” I asked.
“Em? You haven’t called me that in years.”
“I’m a little drunk.”
“I can see that.”
“So how are you?”
“I’m good.”
“Good? That’s not good. You never say good unless it’s bad.”
Emily pulled her hand from mine. “You should put your head down and get some sleep.”
“Hey. Want to talk about the past?”
“Not really, Liam.”
“Come on. It’s fun. We’re good, right?”
“Of course we’re good,” she said.
“So, who cares? I want to talk about… everything. Everything, Em. Hey, do you still sing?”
I leaned toward her.
She put her hands to my chest and eased me away.
“No, Liam. I don’t.”
“Why not?” I called out.
“The same reason you don’t skateboard,” she said. “Okay?”
“Fine,” I said. “I’m just… what’s wrong with talking about the past, right? It’s fun. It’s fun to do. We should do it. Let’s do it, Em. You and me.”
Emily laughed. “Wow. You are feeling it right now. Let me get you a blanket.”
She stood up.
I tried to stand and she snapped her finger at me.
I stayed on the couch and put my head back.
I shut my eyes.
Emily brought me a blanket and covered me.
“Thanks, babe,” I said.
“No problem, Liam,” she said. “It was good to kind of see you.”
“We should hang out. Just you and me. Okay?”
“Okay, Liam,” she said.
I kept my eyes shut and took deep breaths.
A few minutes later I heard the sound of Miranda’s voice.
Then Emily’s voice.
Miranda’s voice was like someone scratching a fork to a plate.
Emily’s was like the sound of a gentle rain.
Rain…
Thinking that sound made me feel like I had to piss.
I told myself not to piss my pants.
Not on the couch.
Not in front of Emily.
Miranda would be livid.
It was almost worth it.
But not in front of Emily.
Emily.
Em.
I drifted off to sleep with one more thought.
I kind of missed Emily.
Chapter Six