The weights smacked the floor with a banging echo.
I took a deep breath and turned around.
“Your set,” I said to Cole.
I stepped over the bar and went to get a set of weights to keep lifting.
“How’s work?” Cole asked.
“Boring,” I said. “But I get paid a lot.”
“You ever thinking about switching gears?” Cole asked.
He crouched and picked up the bar.
He looked in the mirror at me, shrugging the weight, waiting for me to answer.
“You want me to come work for you?” I asked.
“With me,” he said in a breathless voice.
He grunted and shrugged again.
“With you,” I said. “You’re just getting things set up.”
“I’m busy,” he said in a growling voice. He let the bar go and it smashed to the floor again. “Really busy. I could use you. Bring your legal background and you can jump right into the business side of things.”
“You’re the business master,” I said. “I don’t know shit about consulting.”
“So what?” Cole asked. “You can consult for all the legal issues. There’s plenty of them.”
“You can’t afford me.”
“I bet I can,” Cole said. “And even if I can’t, I’ll get you on the backend. Bonuses. Perks. That kind of shit.”
“I don’t know, Cole,” I said. “I’m cushy where I am. And with the wedding coming up…”
“You two set a date?” Cole asked.
“Not a final date,” I said. “But you know, it’s expensive.”
He nodded. “Let me ask you something then. If you weren’t getting married, would you do it? Jump ship?”
“That’s not reality.”
“Pretend it was,” he said. “The Liam I once knew would do it.”
“Great. Now you sound like Jackson.”
“Not even close,” Cole said. “I’m not telling you who to marry or not. Just having a conversation. I left a six-figure job to go out on my own.”
“You had some rough times too.”
“It was all worth it,” Cole said.
“Hey, are you two ladies done chatting so I can lift something?” Lincoln asked as he approached us.
I put my fist out and he punched it.
“I’m trying to get Liam to quit his job and come work for me,” Cole said.
“I thought it was with you and not for you?” I asked.
“Yeah, that too,” Cole said.
“I don’t know,” Lincoln said. “Liam’s a badass… he might do it.”
“He used to be a badass,” Cole said.
“A good woman can tame any man,” Lincoln said.
“Show me a good woman then,” Jackson said as he entered the conversation.
He was soaked with sweat.
He had been off on his own for an hour.
“Callie’s not a good woman?” I asked.
“She’s the best,” Jackson said. “She doesn’t tame me though. She makes me crazier.”
“You take it out here though,” Lincoln said. “You don’t go out and go crazy.”
“True,” Jackson said.
“We’ll see what happens tonight,” I said.
“Hey, maybe we can get you laid,” Jackson offered.
“Fuck you,” I said.
“What?” Jackson asked. “They all know, right? That Miranda has turned the love valve off.”
“Is she making you wait until the wedding?” Cole asked. “I heard about people doing that.”
“Fuck,” Jackson said. “If this guy has to wait until he actually gets married to get laid, his balls will be the size of beachballs.”
“Thanks for that visual,” Lincoln said. “But he’ll be married soon, right?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“No,” Jackson said.
“Lincoln,” I said. “Your brother is getting married. What’s it like?”
“I’m in the mix of it,” Lincoln said. “They’re just doing their thing. They’re getting married soon though. Everyone is different.”
“They got engaged after you, Liam,” Jackson said.
“Who cares?” I asked.
“Wait a second,” Cole said. “I’m trying to get Liam to quit his job and come to my company. Can we drop the wedding talk?”
“He’ll never do that,” Jackson said. “Liam is settling.”
Jackson put his arm around me.
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said. “I guess I’m settling too. It happens to the best of us. At the very least, man, you have to get laid. You can’t forget about your dick. It’ll turn on you.”
“My dick is just fine,” I said. “And can you not have your arm around me while we’re talking about my dick?”
“Why not?” Jackson asked.
He kissed my head and I elbowed him away.
“Okay, let’s wrap this up,” Cole said. “I want to get Liam drunk and make him call his boss and quit his job.”
“I want him to get drunk and break it off with Miranda,” Jackson said.
I shook my head.
I could have taken a swing at either Cole or Jackson.
But let’s face it…
It was Friday.
It had been a long week.
And I wanted to get drunk.
“And then he did this crazy flip move over the railing,” Cole said. “It was unbelievable. Campus security stopped dead in their tracks. Then he jumps off the skateboard, turns and salutes them. Like a madman. A complete and total madman.”
I smiled. “That was a long time ago.”
“But it was awesome,” Cole said.
“One more round,” Jackson said.
“No way,” I said. “I’m already feeling it.”
“Good,” Jackson said. “Keep feeling it. We’ll get you home safe to Miranda.”
“I’ll just hit the couch if I’m drunk,” I said. “She doesn’t like when I’m drunk.”
“You know,” Lincoln said, “throwing all these old stories down on the bar… it’s been a wild ride for us. I hate to feel old here…”
“Then don’t,” Jackson said.
“Maybe we are,” I said.
“Okay, that’s it,” Jackson said. “Just give me a second here.”
He ordered four more shots of whiskey and we all downed them in a second.
We flipped the glasses over and Jackson pointed to the front of the bar.
“Come for a walk,” he said.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cole asked.
“You’ll see.”
Jackson approached a large high-top table with four guys and four women.
“Your girl wants to fuck my friend here,” Jackson said.
He pointed to me.
Ah… shit…
“Are you serious right now?” Lincoln asked.
“What did you say?” the guy asked as he stood up.
“It’s true,” he said. “Right, babe?”