18. Nolan

CHAPTER 18

Nolan

“ W hat about this one?” I hold up a fire-engine red paint chip.

“No.” Carter is one more ridiculous suggestion away from punching me. If we weren’t in the hardware store, he probably would’ve by now.

I sigh, as if he’s being stubborn. “Fine. I just figured you’d want to be reminded of your hubby while he’s gone on his shifts.”

“I am not painting our bedroom the same color as a fire truck.” He scans the colors again, only to grab the same grey he keeps choosing. “I like this one.”

“Yes, you’ve said that about a million times. It’s boring.” I move down the wall of color to pick up one of the pre-made color pallets. It’s way too much color for Carter, so I put it back and grab a different one. “Hey, what about these?”

Carter takes the folder from me. “I like these. That grey is close to the one I already picked out.”

I drop my head back with a groan. “You’re fucking hopeless.”

Carter laughs. “I’m joking. I do like this green color. It’s soothing. ”

“Let’s get a couple of samples of the ones you like best to try them out.” We get a couple of sample sizes, and Carter starts to ask for the grey, but I stop him. “No, you do not need a sample of the boring colors. We need to know if you’ll like the bright ones first.”

He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Do these three, then.”

“Sam better bring me a cake or something for all the work I’m doing for him,” I grumble.

Once we’re checked out, Carter and I drive back to his new house. It’s a nice traditional-style home with three bedrooms, a huge kitchen, and a closed-off dining area that Carter’s going to use as an office.

Sam is on shift today, so Carter asked if I’d help him pick out paint colors. I was pumped he asked me to come over. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten to hang out for longer than our soccer matches. It’s moments like these that make me grateful I work in a bar. I don’t need to be there until this evening, which gives me plenty of time to spend Saturday with my brother.

We take our paint supplies inside his house, and I put everything on his kitchen counter. “Hear me out,” I start. I grab the paint chips we picked out and tape colors to the wall to show Carter my vision. “All of these colors go together already, so we can mix them up however you want, but I think this is the best combo, since your kitchen and living room are open to each other.”

“I’ll want to see the paint on the wall, but I agree with you. It will look nice and bring some brightness to the room since our furniture is grey.”

“Exactly. It’ll add a little pop without being too dramatic.”

“Thanks for helping me pick this out. If I’d done it with Sam, he’d have let me get the grey. He doesn’t truly care what color I pick.”

“Dammit. I should’ve pushed harder for the red! ”

Carter chuckles. “He probably would’ve hesitated on that one.”

I help Carter paint a few swatches of paint on different areas of the walls to get a good sense of how the color will look all over the room. When we get done, I can tell Carter is pleased with the choices. He keeps looking at the color swatches and smiling.

We clean up and put together a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips, both of us stuffing our faces without talking much. This is one of the many reasons Carter is my best friend. I don’t ever feel like I have to be the entertainer like I do when I hang out with my other friends. Everyone always expects me to be the life of the party, and for the most part, I am. Having fun is ingrained in my personality, but there are times when it feels more like an obligation and less like me. When I’m with Carter, there are no expectations of who I should be.

“What have you been up to recently?” Carter asks.

“Not much. The bar has started to pick up since it’s getting warm outside.”

“You dating anyone?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you know?”

Carter winces. “Everything?” He says it like a question, as if he’s preparing for me to be mad.

Instead, I roll my eyes and laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Adam’s the worst gossip of the five of us, despite pretending like he isn’t.”

“You’ve got that right. He always says it’s because he wants to make sure we’re doing okay, but I think he just likes being in our business.”

“Right? He’s so nosy.”

“To his credit, I don’t think he’s told anyone else besides me. He was worried no one would be there for you.”

I throw my hands in the air. “Dammit. Now I can’t be mad at him.”

“So… What’s going on between you and Katie? ”

“We’re dating. I think.”

“You think? How can you not know?”

“She’s a little… cagey? I can’t quite figure out if she’s just busy with Cody or if she’s still hesitant about dating me. We talked last week, and I told her how I feel about her. She reciprocated those feelings and said she wanted to see where this could go, but since then, she hasn’t been as enthusiastic as I expected.”

“Tell me what she’s not done that you thought she would.”

“I guess I thought she might initiate contact a little more. We talk on the phone and text frequently, but it’s usually me reaching out to her. She does send me silly things that her students have said sometimes, or she’ll vent to me if she’s frustrated.”

“That’s all good. Did you know that she hasn’t dated anyone since Cody was born?”

“I had a guess, but I wasn’t positive.”

“Imagine going nine years only having to check in with your best friend. I’m betting Katie isn’t in the habit of thinking about anyone other than Cody. He’s been her priority for so long that it might take her a while to add you into the mix.”

“I hadn’t thought about it like that. That wouldn’t be easy to just change your mindset immediately.”

“The fact that she’s sharing things with you and turning to you when she needs to vent is a good sign.”

I nod, my doubts easing entirely. “You’re right. And I’ll keep putting in the effort so she never feels like she’s not enough. I want her, Carter. More than I’ve ever wanted anything before.”

“Good. Keep being you, and she’ll see you’re not going to drop her when things get hard.”

Those words follow me throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening. I don’t know why I never thought about how hard it would be to suddenly add another person to your priority list after years of only focusing on one person. I also don’t know much about Cody’s dad, but I can’t imagine he’s a good guy if he was willing to leave his perfect son and his beautiful mother alone for all these years.

The bar is steadily filling up. Being a Saturday night, it’s all hands on deck. I’m behind the bar with Amanda. We’ve got three servers walking around to take orders and clean up tables. Something about the energy in the room when the bar is packed invigorates me. My smile is genuine, even though I haven’t stopped moving in the past hour. I’m not entirely sure what time it is. I want to say nine or so.

Amanda and I work in tandem, making drinks as if we were born to, and I make a mental note to promote her. She’s the most competent employee I’ve ever had, and she’s lasted longer than most. Plus, she could manage some of the nights in the summer when I need to take some time off. That would be fucking awesome. The summer is always our busiest time. I don’t have as much flexibility in my hours then.

I wipe down my area of the bar, taking advantage of a break in customers.

“What’s a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?” My head snaps up, my gaze clashing with the dark eyes of my woman. I smile widely at seeing her sitting in front of me. She grins back at me, laughter making her brown eyes sparkle.

“Not a damn thing, but I’d take a kiss if you’re willing.” I wink at her.

Katie crooks her finger at me, and I lean over the bar as far as I can. She grabs my chin to kiss my cheek. I start to pull away, happy with just that little bit of contact, but she turns my face back to her and plants a kiss on my lips.

“Hi, little dove,” I say against her mouth .

She moves to sit back on her stool, her cheeks turning rosy. “Hi.”

“This is a surprise. Where’s Cody tonight?”

“One of his buddies invited him over to play laser tag and have a sleepover tonight.”

“That’s great.” On the inside, I’m fist-pumping the air. Katie came to me without any prompting. She had the whole night to herself and wanted to see me. “What would you like to drink?”

“An old-fashioned, please.”

“You got it.” A few other people come up to the bar while I make Katie’s drink. She waves me off when I try to apologize. My eyes constantly move back to her. I can’t get over seeing her here in my bar. I never imagined she’d just randomly show up without us having a plan beforehand. This just proves I need to do whatever it takes to reciprocate every ounce of effort she gives me. I want to ensure that she knows I’m going to be here, no matter what.