I love you, Mitch. You know I love you.”
“Oh, I can never stay mad at you, honey. What can I get you ladies?” He put down the glass and leaned both hands on the bar in front of us.
“I’ll have a whiskey sour,” Celeste said, and I nodded.
“I’ll have the same.”
“You ever had one before?”
“Nope.”
She laughed. “You’ll like it, it’s sweet.”
Mitch put the small drinks in front of us and waved Celeste off when she tried to pay him. “On the house,” he mumbled, slinging a towel over his shoulder and walking toward the other end of the bar before I could thank him.
“He always does that,” she said before taking a drink and placing some dollar bills on the bar in front of us.
I sipped the concoction carefully, unsure of what to expect. The sweetness and bitterness hit my tongue all at once before I realized it wasn’t half bad. “It’s good,” I said as the liquor traveled down my throat and warmed my stomach.
“Told you. I usually move on to straight whiskey after a couple of these.”
I almost spit out my drink. None of my friends drank straight liquor, and I couldn’t imagine the appeal. I definitely needed additional flavorings with my alcohol consumption.
Celeste pushed off the bar stool and I followed suit. We walked over toward the pool tables and stood side by side.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked, feeling comfortable with Celeste’s up-front and honest nature.
She leaned against the wood railing. “Of course.”
“You’ve known Tatum a long time, so what’s his deal? I mean, I honestly think he hates me.”
Celeste glanced over at Tatum and a smile lifted her lips. “Don’t be silly. Tatum’s one of the good ones. Probably one of the best, honestly. He and Brina were together all through high school, and he was a big football star. Brina wanted to leave this town and Tatum was her ticket out. But when his daddy died, and he gave up his college scholarship to stay on and help his mama run the shop…” She sighed and added sadly, “Well, Brina, she gave up on him too. Said that he wasn’t going anywhere anymore, and she didn’t want someone who was content with staying here and being a mechanic.”
My jaw fell open and I consciously closed it tight and continued to listen. I hadn’t liked Brina before, but now I hated her. As in wanted-to-punch-her-in-the-face-and-tell-her-what-a-horrible-person-she-was hated her. I also couldn’t comprehend how someone like Celeste could be such good friends with someone like Brina.
“How did you stay friends with her after that?”
“She’s been my best friend since we were five,” she explained. “I hated what she did to Tatum and I told her that, but I couldn’t stop being friends with her because of it.” She leaned toward me. “But honestly? I’ve never really looked at her the same since she did that to him.”
“Yeah. That would change things for me too.” I tried to understand Celeste’s reasoning, not certain I’d be able to stay friends with someone I’d lost all respect for.
“He has a big heart, Paige. It’s just been broken so deeply that he doesn’t trust that well anymore. Plus he knows you’ll leave him, and so he’s trying his best to be tough and act like he doesn’t care. You could probably ruin him forever and he knows it.”
I turned to look at her. “What are you talking about? He runs so hot and cold with me that I have no idea how he feels.”
She giggled. “For such a smart California girl, you’re sure not that observant.” She nudged my arm and nodded her head in Tatum’s direction, where he was shooting darts with his friends. “Just watch,” she said.
And I did. I watched as it was his turn to throw the darts. I watched as his arm pulled back before he aimed and let the tiny dart fly through the air until it stuck inside its cork target. And I fought the urge to sidle up behind him and wrap my arms around his muscular waist, nuzzle into his shoulders, and hold on for dear life.
He turned his head in my direction as he took a swig from his bottle of beer. His eyes met mine before they jerked away, and Celeste laughed. “He’s been doing that since you got here.”
I let out a little snort. “He has not.”
“He most certainly has. He knows your every move, Paige. And not because he doesn’t care. It’s because he does.”
“He is so frustrating!” I complained as Brina waltzed in the front door like she owned the place, her gaze darting around the room. “Looks like someone’s feeling better,” I whispered to Celeste.
“I highly doubt it. I bet someone tipped her off that you and Tatum were here. She can’t handle it, she’s so jealous.”