The Rebel - Raleigh Ruebins Page 0,21

a bar like this.

There were also some t-shirts, tank tops, and jock straps hanging on the wall for sale. They said Tavern Wench and I’m Red’s Hot and plenty of other little slogans.

And the most obvious feature of the whole bar was the big, pink marble statue situated in the middle of the room. It was, for lack of a better word, a gigantic, penis-shaped... thing. I walked over toward it, inspecting the pattern in the marble.

“Enjoying the Big Rock Cock?”

Red appeared at the end of the hallway from the back offices, smiling over at me.

“So it is a big penis,” I said.

“That’s what our customers have lovingly decided,” Red said, crossing over toward me, his cowboy boots clicking gently on the hardwood floor. “They think it’s good luck if you touch or rub the Big Rock Cock. People swear it gets them laid.”

“Good to know,” I said.

Red watched me for a moment before turning and heading back toward the bar. I watched his ass in his jeans as he walked away. I used to smack his ass in jeans just like that all the time. He’d always pretend he hated it but then turn around, wrap his arms around me, and draw me into a kiss.

We were always, always touching each other. Even the times when we were just sitting on the couch, each of us on our laptops. Nothing felt right if my thigh or shoulder or something wasn’t touching his.

Even though years had passed, I had to remind myself that I couldn’t just snap back to that with Red.

“Projector’s all set up,” Red said. “The green couch is the most comfortable. I recommend that one for maximum comfort while you bawl your eyes out.”

He grabbed two glasses and started concocting some drinks.

“You really think I’m going to cry, don’t you?” I asked.

“I don’t think you are, I know you are,” he said. He finished the drinks and handed me one. “Here. I’ve been working on our virgin cocktail list lately, and this is one of the best ones.”

“Shit, thank you, Red,” I said. “You didn’t have to do this. I’m fine with a root beer.”

“Yeah, but this is better,” he said.

I took a sip of the fresh, bubbly strawberry-mint concoction. “Fuck, that’s delicious,” I said.

“Told you,” he said. “There are a couple secret ingredients, but it’s 100% non-alcoholic.”

“Maybe being sober is fun after all,” I said.

“Maybe you’re better at it than you ever thought you could be,” Red said. “I always believed in you.”

My heart squeezed in my chest, some strange mixture of guilt and pride. “I know you did.”

“Okay. Green couch. Sit. And I’m turning on the best animated movie you’ll ever see.”

Red was right about the couch. There were a few seats at the back corner of the room across from the pool tables, and once I was sitting down, I felt like I was in a low-lit, cozy home more than in a tavern during off-hours.

I expected Red to sit on one of the other chairs nearby, but I was surprised when he parked himself right next to me on the couch. He had a clipboard with him, ostensibly so that he could get some light work done while we watched the movie. But as soon as the movie began, he set the clipboard down on the couch and proceeded to completely ignore the paperwork.

As the movie played, Red became totally enthralled. It was always something I liked so much about him—whatever he was doing, he gave it 100% of his focus. Especially in LA, so many people had always pretended to pay attention, while looking at their phones more than they looked at you. I swore some of my LA hookups had been thinking about what they were going to have for dinner that night even while they were dick-deep inside of me.

Red had never been like that.

Red was fucking intense. He’d always been right there with me, treating every moment as important, whether it was movie-watching or making love or discussing the fabrics of his favorite cowboy hats.

I shifted on the couch, making sure to keep a healthy distance from him.

At first, I thought it was going to be an extremely easy win. Frozen seemed… cute, but certainly not like something that would ever affect me emotionally.

But then there was a part about the sisters’ parents that nearly got me. I bit the inside of my cheek, fully aware that Red was looking over at me, seeing if I’d cracked.

“I see what