the parts that we mess up.”
That’s right. The morons had stained themselves into a corner. Laurel and Hardy couldn’t have written better material.
Brody scoffed. “Fuck that. If I never see a bucket of stain again, it’ll be too soon.”
“We’re going to have to do two coats anyway.”
“What?” Brody yelled the word so loudly he almost lost his balance.
“Jesus Christ, just get down.” As Drew said the words, he reached up and wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist.
“No, this is the only way,” Brody gritted out as he let go of the railing with one hand so he could try to pry Drew’s arms off.
“Death is not the only way.”
“You’re so dramatic. It’s not that far of a drop. A broken leg tops.”
“Are you forgetting how much experience I have with a broken leg? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
Brody stopped wrestling with Drew and took a deep breath.
“Drew,” he said calmly and sincerely. “You’ve gotta let me go.”
“Never.”
Drew’s reply was just as heartfelt, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. Taylor seemed to be on the same wavelength, because we both doubled over in peals of laughter. It was the kind of bone-deep laughter that made my ribs hurt. After the day I’d had, I’d never felt anything better.
Both of the guys froze, their heads whipping in our direction.
“How long have you been standing there?” Brody asked.
“So. Long,” I choked out between breaths that were more like harsh pants. Tears were leaking from the corners of my eyes.
“It’s like watching Rose and Jack say their final words to each other,” Taylor added, which made us both laugh harder.
“Fuck it, we’ll both jump,” Drew said as he hiked a foot up on the railing.
“Drew Nolan, don’t you dare,” I admonished, my good humor disappearing quicker than Aamee’s clothes on prom night.
He put his foot down and slowly faced me.
“How did you guys even manage to do this?” Taylor asked.
“This numbnut,” Drew said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Brody—who was still balanced on the railing like a frightened lemur—“was in such a hurry to get done, he wouldn’t plan things out with me. He just kept saying, ‘We got it, we got it.’ And now look at us.”
“You can’t blame this on me. You know how reckless and impulsive I am. It’s your fault for not keeping me in check. You’re supposed to be the responsible one.”
Drew rolled his eyes as he muttered something under his breath I couldn’t make out.
“Real mature,” said Brody. “I’ll have you know that’s murder, and I don’t think you’d fare too well in a prison yard.”
Oh, so Drew had said something about killing Brody. That was understandable.
“Not a court in the land would convict me,” Drew shot back.
“You’re a really mean boss, you know that?”
“Hey, guys?” I called, causing them both to look at me, their expressions thunderous. I put my hands up to ward off their glares. “Maybe you can stop fighting and get out from there now?”
Drew threw his arms up in clear frustration. “How? We’re trapped.”
“Just shimmy along the railing. Brody’s already up there. Just sit on it and use your hands to push you around until you get to the stairs,” Taylor instructed like it was the most common-sense thing in the world.
And she said it like that because it was the most common-sense thing in the world. They were ten feet tops from the stairs that led to the back of Rafferty’s. These two were certainly not smarter together.
Drew and Brody looked at each other for a second.
“Dude, they’re really smart,” Brody whispered.
“Yeah, but don’t tell them that,” Drew muttered back. “We’ll never live it down.”
Do they think we can’t hear them?
“We’re already never living this down,” Brody said as he started to shuffle himself to the stairs.
Drew hoisted himself up next and carefully moved to the stairs, and both guys hurried over. When they arrived, Drew leaned toward me and pressed a kiss to my temple.
“You guys stopping by is a nice surprise,” he said.
I smirked. “I bet.”
Drew ignored my comment and gestured to the deck. “How’s it look?”
“Like it needs a second coat of stain,” Taylor replied, her voice breaking on the last word as a laugh sneaked out.
I snorted in an attempt to keep my guffaws in, but it was no use.
The two of them just made it too damn easy.
Chapter Ten
D R E W
“I never thought I’d say this, but Aamee is actually starting to grow on me.”
I’d been lying on my side on