shake—well, his body wiggled like he’d attempted to jostle the giant—and said, “Logan, shh, calm down. Vonda and I didn’t expect you to be on time. Jerry stayed late to help me and only left about ten minutes ago when you called and said you were almost here.”
The mountain of a man—aka, Logan, sagged with relief and ran his hand down the back of his longish brown hair. “Oh, good. Thanks. I know Vonda said she’d make sure I got cut first tonight, but I don’t mind staying if you want to cut out a little earlier. We didn't want to disrupt Jakey’s schedule any more than necessary tonight, so he’s staying overnight with my parents.”
Bobby shimmied and planted both hands on Logan’s pecs. “You're not going to stay one second later than I need you. Have you had one night without Jakey in the last six months? Don’t even answer that because I know you haven’t. Tonight’s your night to live it up.”
Two spots of red appeared above Logan’s beard. “I was considering going back and sleeping on my parents’ couch. Just in case Jakey needs me.”
Bobby's face softened, and he gave the other man a quick hug. As he pulled away, he said, “At least promise me you’ll go home and get an uninterrupted night’s sleep. I know you love your nephew, but you have to take care of you, too.”
A rude a-hem from a customer interrupted the conversation that really took no more than two minutes, yet had enthralled me more than any clip I’d watched online in months.
“Are you seriously eavesdropping on their conversation?” my best friend, Shane, asked from my right side.
“Of course, he is,” my big brother, Conrad, said from my left, while wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “His staring wasn’t exactly subtle.”
“Where did you two come from?” I asked, turning my head back and forth between the two of them as the cacophony of voices and instrumental music through the sound system penetrated my ears. I’d been so focused on the two bartenders that everything else had ceased to exist.
“Back there,” Shane said, pointing at a table behind us where their boyfriend, Davis, was sitting with several other men.
“Oh, I didn’t even see you guys there.” I quickly hugged both men, then turned back to get Bobby’s attention so that I could pay for my margarita, but he was already standing in front of me, a big smile on his face.
“Sorry about that. Did you want me to take care of that for you so you can join your friends?”
As I reached for my pocket to grab my wallet to pay, the group seated at the end of the bar rose, leaving several unoccupied chairs. “Actually,” I said as I handed him my card, “I think I’ll just run a tab and hang out down there.”
Bobby winked. “Good man.”
I picked up my drink and moved with Shane and Conrad hot on my heels. They waited until I nabbed a seat before they peppered me with questions. “Why aren’t you sitting with us?”
“Where’s, uh, what’s the girl’s name he’s seeing now?” Conrad asked Shane like I wasn’t right there.
Shane smirked. “Yeah, right. Like I pay attention to their names anymore. He goes through them too fast to make that necessary.” He made a show of looking around me. “But surely you aren’t alone tonight?”
My brother laughed. “Of course, he is. That’s why he chose to sit at the bar. Who did you see up here that caught your attention, little bro?”
If only he knew.
Shane leaned into me. “Don’t you want to spend time with us?” He pouted, fluttering his lashes over his big brown eyes.
“Or aren’t we good enough to be seen with?” Conrad asked, faking annoyance and crossing his arms over his chest.
“What on earth are you two doing?” the man who appeared behind Conrad’s shoulder, their third, Davis asked. My brother leaned back into the older man, who instantly wrapped his arms around him from behind and rested his head on his shoulder, flashing me a smile. “Hello, Creed.”
“Thank goodness you’ve come to rescue me from these idiots. I don’t know how you deal with them all of the time. They’ve got no chill,” I teased with mock-outrage.
Shane wrapped his arm around my shoulders and scooted in close. “We have no chill? You’re the one sitting at the bar listening to other people’s conversations.”
I laughed and kissed his cheek. “You know I’m a people watcher. And they were standing right in