Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology) (18 page)

“You were there too?”

“Yeah. I walked Carly back, remember?”

“And that meant you had to stay?”

I could tell Colin was getting angry, and he
probably had the right to, but I also noticed his parents watching
us. I didn’t want them listening in. “Didn’t you say you wanted me
to meet someone?” I asked him, hoping he hadn’t meant his
friends.

“Oh yeah.” He took my hand. “See you,
guys.”

“You’re going to have to explain what all of
that was about,” he said quietly as we walked across the lawn.

“Maybe I will when you explain why you didn’t
introduce me to Carly when she was in town.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Neither is this.” I wasn’t sure if that was
true or not, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of ratting
out Carly.

“Fine. Let’s drop it for now.” He took my
hand as we stopped in front of an older woman sitting at a table in
the shade.

“Grandma, this is Maddy.” Colin pulled out
two chairs across from her.

I took one of the seats. “Pleasure to meet
you.” Was meeting his parents not enough? Now I had to meet his
grandmother?

“Oh, she’s lovely.”

She spoke to Colin like I wasn’t there.

“She is, isn’t she?” Colin beamed, putting an
arm around me.

“When are you due?” The woman turned her
attention to me.

“Excuse me?”

“When’s your due date?”

Colin exhaled sharply. “Grandma, Maddy isn’t
pregnant.”

“Sure she is, your mom told me all about
it.”

“I don’t see why she would, because it isn’t
true.”

“Wait, that’s right. Aarron is the one who
knocked up the girl.”

Colin and I glanced at each other. His
expression was equal part worried that I was going to flip out over
his grandmother’s mistake, and shocked that he just found out his
other cousin’s girlfriend was pregnant. He made a quick excuse for
us, and we walked off.

“Sorry about that.”

“You’ve been apologizing a lot this
weekend.”

“I know I have been. I’ve had a lot of
reasons to do it.”

“Why not try to change that?”

“I will. It looks like the cocktail hour is
almost over. It’s about time for me to give you that dance I
promised you.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Colin could dance better than I expected.
Once again, I’d underestimated him. I assumed he would be tentative
on the dance floor, but it turned out he was confident and even
daring. He had me laughing and grinning so much my face hurt. We
only stopped dancing to eat and to happily head back to our room.
This time Colin didn’t bother with the pull-out couch.

I rolled over, disappointed to find empty
sheets next to me. It was Monday morning, and against my better
judgment I’d spent Sunday night at Colin’s place. He’d looked so
darn sexy when he asked me, and I was kind of afraid the magic of
the weekend would wear off now that we were back home. Despite the
downs of the weekend, I’d had a good time. Saturday night had been
even better than Friday, and Sunday night, although less frenzied,
had been equally as satisfying.

I felt around on the nightstand for my
glasses, surprised that the clock only read seven thirty. Had Colin
left for work already?

I sat up, holding the sheet to cover myself,
even though there was no one there to see me. I felt around on the
floor, glad to find my clothes exactly where I’d left them.

Dressed, I checked out his amazing bathroom
again. At least three times the size of my current bedroom, it was
huge. At some point I’d have to check out the giant shower—and the
soaking tub. Hopefully, I’d have to the chance to do both with
Colin, that is if I ever found him.

I walked downstairs, calling out Colin’s name
as I went. I didn’t get a response, but I did find a note scrawled
on the back of one of his business cards and a twenty-dollar
bill.

Had a great time. I didn’t want to wake you
up.

There was only one logical explanation for
the twenty dollars—it had to be cab fare, but there was no way I
was going to let him get away with it.

I pulled my phone out and texted him.
Twenty dollars? Do you really think that covers what we did last
night?

I left the money on the counter and walked
outside. He hadn’t left a key, so I figured he just wanted me to
close the door behind me. I wondered what his company would think
if they knew he was doing that.

I knew the walk home would be long, but it
sounded much more appealing than taking a cab. The weather was
still warm in late September, but the early hour made it a pleasant
walk. I was twenty minutes in when my phone rang.

“Why hello.”

“It’s cab money, Maddy. Please tell me you’re
joking and didn’t actually think it was something else.” The panic
in his voice was comical.

“Considering I didn’t get any compensation
for the weekend, I figured you knew I wasn’t a prostitute.”

“Maddy!”

“What? You’re the one who left me a note with
money thanking me for a great night.”

“I didn’t thank you. I just noted how good a
time I had.”

“Very big difference.”

He sighed. “Next time please keep your jokes
to my voicemail.”

“Why?” I suddenly felt some panic of my own.
“Did someone else read it?”

“Yeah, someone I work with.”

“Lovely.”

“Lovely isn’t exactly the word I used. I had
to explain that my girlfriend has an interesting sense of
humor.”

“Girlfriend, is it?”

“Yes. Do you have a problem with me using
that term?”

“Not exactly, but we never discussed it.”

“Discussed it? What is this, eighth grade?
Listen, I have to go. I’ll stop by to visit you at work
tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you another
night.”

“I thought you’re working every night this
week to make up for taking the weekend off?”

“I am.”

“So your plan was to wait a week to see me
again? I’ll be lucky if I make it through today.” His voice
softened. “I miss you already.”

I felt the same way, but it seemed way too
sappy to admit it. “All right, I guess I’ll see you later
then.”

A car sped by with the windows down. An
unidentifiable pop song blared from the windows.

“Wait. Where are you?” he asked
suspiciously.

“I’m about halfway home.”

“Halfway home. You’re walking? Didn’t this
whole conversation start out because I left you cab money? I didn’t
want you walking home, Maddy.”

“I don’t mind the walk. Use the twenty for
something more useful.”

“Yeah, something really useful—I’ll use it to
over-tip that bartender I’m sleeping with.”

“See now you’re back to the insinuation we
started with. You can’t use ‘tipping’ and ‘sleeping with’ in the
same sentence.”

“Will you text me when you get home?”

“Very funny. It’s broad daylight.”

“On a busy road. Please just text me. I feel
bad enough about not driving you home myself.”

“I guess this means you won’t be inviting me
to stay over on weekdays again.”

“Oh, I will be. I’ll just have to come up
with a better solution.”

“Don’t you need to get back to work?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Have a great day,
Maddy.”

“You too.”

I slipped my phone back in my bag. I was
walking up the outdoor stairs when I realized I’d left my suitcase
at Colin’s place. I texted him as soon as I pushed open the door.
I’m alive. Please bring my suitcase by tonight if you can. XOXO
Maddy.

He didn’t write back at first, so I made
myself a cup of green tea and poured myself a bowl of Cinnamon
Toast Crunch. Macon had picked it up as a joke—and it sounded
perfect.

I was washing off my dish when Colin texted
back.
Glad you’re alive. There’s no reason to bring over your
suitcase. You can bring it when I drop you off tomorrow morning.
;)

Did you just wink at me?

Yes.

Go back to work.

You are much bossier by text.

Maybe if you actually do work now, I’ll see
you later.

I’ll find a way to see you anyway, but
you’re right.

I laughed. Colin passed the first test of
dating me. He had a sense of humor.

***

“Do you want to go diving tomorrow?” Macon
surprised me by coming by work on a Monday night. The only
guaranteed visit was on Thursdays, but he never came so early in
the week.

“Sure. I don’t have anything else going
on.”

“Will you be home at seven thirty, or…”

“Yes. I’ll be home.” I was glad I’d worn my
glasses home from Colin’s. Thanks to extra contacts, I didn’t need
my stuff back right away.

“Cool. Not that I care where you sleep, but I
haven’t seen you in days.”

“Is that why you’re here? Checking on
me?”

Macon smiled. “Just saying hello to my long
lost friend.”

“It was only a weekend.”

“A weekend and a Sunday night. Traditionally,
a weekend away involves getting home at some point on Sunday.”

“Were you worried about me?” I cut up some
limes, getting ready to hand off a large order of Coronas to a new
waitress.

“Not worried, just surprised. You still
haven’t filled me in. All I know is you got his kid sister
wasted.”

“Her name’s Carly, and she was one of the
highlights of the weekend.”

“I’m guessing the other highlight has
something to do with you not coming home last night?”

I turned, feeling awkward discussing my sex
life with Macon. For all the joking we did about it, it felt
strange to talk about me getting some. “Yes. That’s the other
highlight.”

“How was it? Obviously it wasn’t awful if you
spent an extra night.”

“Why do you care?” I handed over the Coronas
and reluctantly turned back to Macon.

“I don’t really.”

“Okay, good. So how did the date with Mary
go?”

“It didn’t.”

“Oh. Why?”

“She said her sitter called in sick, but I
think she was making up an excuse.”

“Really? Why?”

“Just a feeling.”

“Any other dates lined up?”

“Who am I going to date? This place is
dead.”

I leaned back against the counter. “You
usually manage.”

“This is going to be my last winter
here.”

“Because you can’t get enough action?”

He laughed. “No, because it’s getting
boring.”

“Well, you can’t put off grad school
forever.”

“I guess it’s time to start applying.”

“I guess so.” I wondered if his reluctance to
apply had something to do with losing the job with his uncle. Was
he so deflated he didn’t want to do business at all anymore?

“So tell me about Carly.” He finished off his
drink. He was drinking beer for a change.

“She’s twenty-one and pretty cool. There’s
something weird going on with her and her family though.”

“What do you mean?” Macon asked with real
interest. He was a little gossip at heart.

“Her parents were cold to her, and Colin
never told me when she was here visiting.”

“When was she here?”

“Oh wait. I haven’t told you yet. She was the
girl I saw him with when I was out with Ralph.”

“No you don’t. Don’t just slip in that kind
of detail. I thought that was your undeniable knowledge that he’d
moved on from you.”

“Anyone could have made that mistake.” I
wasn’t about to admit to how quickly I’d jumped to conclusions.

“Your lameness aside, did you ask him about
it?”

I pulled out another lime for an order of
margaritas. “Yeah, he wouldn’t explain.”

“Kind of sketch.”

“I know. I’m not sure whether to let it
go.”

“What does your ‘gut feeling’ say?” He used
air quotes, making fun of how often I relied on my instinct.

“To wait him out.”

“Between this mystery and your inability to
figure out Lyle’s drink, you’ve got a lot of detective work to
do.”

I laughed. “Or I need to get a life.”

“Speaking of a life.” Macon nodded over his
shoulder as Colin made his way back to the bar. He was wearing a
shirt and tie. Evidently, he hadn’t gone home to change.

“Hey.” I smiled. “You made it.”

“I told you I would.”

Macon looked between us. “How are you doing,
man?”

“I’ve been good. Very good.” Colin looked
right at me as he spoke.

Macon rolled his eyes. I stifled a laugh.

“And you?” Colin asked.

“I’ve been fine. Glad to hear things seem to
be going well with you two.”

“So am I. Did Maddy tell you about our
weekend?” Colin spoke only to Macon and his tone bordered on alpha
male. It annoyed me. It’s one thing for guys to have a pissing
contest when they’re both trying to get in bed with you, but this
one was pointless.

“Yes, she did. Glad you guys finally got some
real time together.”

“Are you glad?” Colin asked with an edge to
his voice.

“Yeah. I’m always glad when my
friend
is happy.” I appreciated Macon emphasizing the platonic nature of
our relationship. Colin didn’t need to feel so threatened by
it.

“Good to know.”

“What can I get you?” I knew Colin wasn’t
there for a drink, but I figured I should at least ask.

“Surprise me.”

“Really?” I set aside the IPA I’d already
pulled out for him.

“Yeah. I realized you’ve never made me a
drink before.”

“Okay. Give me a second.”

All right, I had to get it right. He usually
stuck to beer, so I wanted to stay away from anything sweet. But he
liked lime flavor. He wouldn’t want anything complicated—he was a
classic kind of guy, so I decided to go simple. A Sapphire and
tonic. I went a little heavier on the Sapphire then I usually
would, but I was pretty sure I had the perfect consistency for him.
I stirred in some fresh lime.