Chapter 13

Mia

Her flaws…

"HOW DO YOU FIT three gay guys on one bar stool?" Andrew asks, and looks around at us all. Jaxon is standing behind the bar with his arms on either side of Bailey, resting on the counter. Andrew and I are on the other side, sitting on stools. We're all enjoying the peace and quiet before the nighttime rush. Andrew's been entertaining us with random jokes for the last half hour.

When none of us come up with an answer, Andrew puffs out a frustrated breath. "Ah, come on, guys! You've got to know this one!" Still, none of us say anything. "You flip it over."

Jaxon groans and shakes his head while Bailey and I laugh. "You have a very deranged mind, Andrew," Jaxon tells him.

"What? You didn't think it was funny? How about this one? A guy walks into a bar and orders a shot of whiskey. After slamming the shot glass down, he orders another. The bartender asks, ‘What's the matter?'

The guy says, ‘I just found out my youngest son is gay.'

The next day, the same guy is back ordering a shot of whiskey. ‘Another!' The guy yells, after slamming the shot glass down.

‘Now what's the matter?" the bartender asks.

‘I just found out my oldest son is gay.'

Two days later, the guy's back again, asking for another shot of whiskey.

‘Shit, man, does anyone in your house like pussy?' the bartender asks.

‘Yes!' the guy yells. ‘My fucking wife!'

When Andrew is done with his joke, we all laugh with him. I really love Andrew. He can make anyone feel better with his silly ways. He tells a few more jokes until our attention is pulled away when the door opens.

"Chris!" Andrew yells in his deep voice. "Come on over here, baby, and sit with us!"

Chris waves and walks over.

"Hey, guys," she says, and takes a seat next to Andrew.

Andrew reaches over, pulls her stool closer to him, and throws his arm around her shoulders. We all know what's coming next.

"So, Chris, any word yet when your brother is coming to town?"

Ever since the day Chris showed Andrew her brother's picture, he has been obsessed, constantly asking her when he is going to be here. It's pretty pathetic, but it's been funny watching him fawn over someone he's never even met.

"Nope, not yet. He has a few things he has to do before he can break away."

"Can you ask him to hurry it up? It feels like I've been waiting on him forever," Andrew says in a serious voice. He really is unbelievable sometimes.

Chris chuckles. "It's hasn't been that long, Andrew. I only showed you the picture a little over a week ago."

"Yeah, but the day you showed me that picture was already a day too long. I need to see him in person. Wait!" Andrew straightens up in his chair and faces Chris. "Does he know about me?"

Chris looks away from him guiltily. "No. I didn't want to add any more pressure on him."

"So, that's why he's not up here already. If he knew about me, he wouldn't want to waste any time getting to me," Andrew says cheekily.

"God," Bailey says. "Can anyone be more full of themselves?"

Chris gives us all a sad smile. "He's already dealing with the repercussions of my family by himself. I want him up here as soon as he can get here, and I was worried that if I told him I was trying to set him up, he may hesitate. Jase is a very independent and determined person and doesn't like to be coerced."

Andrew picks up Chris's hand and kisses the back of it. "Don't you worry about a thing, Chris. I plan to take good care of him. No coercion will be needed once he gets a good look at me." He winks at her.

And Andrew will. He's the type of person who will give his life for those he cares about. Andrew is outrageously funny, sweet, loyal to a fault, and a badass when he needs to be. The guy who captures Andrew's heart, and gives his in return, will be very lucky. Andrew will give his all to ensure that person is happy, I have no doubt. However, don't let his loving nature fool you. It takes a lot to make Andrew angry, but when he is, he's unstoppable. You don't want to be in his path when he's angry.

"I know you'll take good care of him, Andrew. That's why I wanted you to meet him. He's a really good guy. A little rough sometimes, but he's one of the best people I know. Not to mention, you're hot, and I'm hoping that once he gets to know you, it'll make him want to stay."

"Think I'm hot, do you?" he asks, grinning.

"You know you are," all three of us girls answer at once, which causes Andrew and Jaxon to laugh.

"I know, I know, you all want me. I'm sorry, ladies, but as pretty as you girls are, I just can't get it hard for you. But you, Jaxon," he gives him a sexy dimpled smile, "you can have me anytime, until Jase gets here. No dice after then. I'm a one-man man."

Chris elbows him in the ribs, and I throw a coaster at him, which he dodges. Jaxon just chuckles, bends his head, and plants a kiss on the back of Bailey's neck.

"In all honesty, Chris, he'll be in good hands here. We'll find a way to get him to stay." Andrew gives her shoulders a squeeze before letting go.

The door opens again and in walk Mac and Nick. They immediately head in our direction. Mac stops beside my stool. His leg brushes against mine when he squeezes in to take a seat. I can feel the heat from the close proximity of him, and it makes my heart rate pick up.

There's an empty stool beside Chris that's closest to the door, but Nick bypasses it, instead choosing to take the one on the other side of Mac. He keeps his eyes away from Chris as he passes her. I watch as Chris's expression falls at the obvious rejection. I look over at Jaxon and Bailey and see they noticed as well. Jaxon looks at me and shrugs. Bailey just looks sadly at her friend. There is some seriously fucked-up shit going on there.

Both Mac and Nick order beers, and Jaxon fetches them.

I look across Mac and talk to Nick. "Hey, Nick, how have you been?"

"Just peachy," he says into his beer bottle, his body tense.

I raise my eyebrows at Mac. I don't let Nick's attitude deter me.

"When did you get back?"

He looks at me out the corner of his eye and grumbles, "This morning."

"Are you okay?" I prod some more.

"Yep," he grunts.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of tense." I know I'm pushing, but I don't care anymore. It's time we stop pussyfooting around him. He's moped around enough. If no one else is willing to put a stop to it, I will.

"Jesus Christ, woman! Yes, I'm fine, okay!" he barks.

"Hey!" I raise my voice and lean across Mac with my arm on the bar in front of him. He sits there quietly drinking his beer. Everyone else is quiet as well. "We're your friends and we care about you and we're worried. If you don't like it, then too damn bad."

"Mia—"

"No, Sheriff, he needs to stop being a dick. I'm tired of his grouchy damn attitude," I tell Mac.

"Piss off, Mia. I don't need your fucking concern. I just want to sit and drink my damn beer in peace."

"Nick, watch it, man," Mac warns.

Nick closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them again. I can see him visibly trying to control his temper. He turns his head to me.

"Sorry, Mia. I've just had a rough week. I appreciate your concern, but I promise I'm okay."

"I understand, Nick. Please know that we're all here for you if you need us."

He nods and says, "I know."

I sit back in my seat and pick up the soda sitting in front of me. I look around and see everyone watching me, except Bailey, who has her eyes on Nick. She looks like she's going to break down any moment. Jaxon turns her around and wraps his arms around her while she buries her face in his chest. The look he sends Nick's way is a mixture of empathy and displeasure. I know Jaxon has mixed feelings about Nick's behavior. He hates for anything to hurt Bailey, but he also knows the pain Nick is going through.

Andrew has his head close to Chris, who you can plainly see is hurting. He's murmuring something to her that I can't hear. I bring my gaze to Mac and see him watching me with respect. His lips tip up at the corners, and he smiles.

He bends his body toward me and says, "My parents are coming to town in two weeks. I'd really like if you could come to dinner one night while they're here. They'd love to see you."

Again, the guilt of the way I treated them makes my chest hurt. They weren't the ones who betrayed me, but I still punished them for what I thought their son did.

"I'm sure they probably hate me. I never went and saw them after what happened."

"They don't hate you, Pix. They know what happened and understand you choosing to shut them out as well. They know the pain you went through."

I look up in surprise. "They know what happened with Tessa? Everything?"

"Yes, everything, even the drugs. I was a wreck afterwards, and became even more so when you wouldn't talk to me. They forced me to sit down and talk to them. I told them everything. I needed someone to talk to about it, needed advice on what to do."

"What did they tell you?" I ask.

Taking my hand in his, he answers, "They told me to wait, and said not to push you. That you were hurt and I needed to give you time. They felt that you would eventually come around enough for me to talk to you and explain." He looks down at our hands before looking back at me. "But then Tessa showed up, and it was too late. I knew you would never give me another chance after I found out she was pregnant."

I don't know what to say to him. I don't know if I ever would have allowed him to talk to me. But I do know that yes, once it was known that Tessa was pregnant with Mac's baby, the dagger that was embedded into my heart was surrounded with cement. There was no getting it out. The pain I felt that day was unlike any other pain I had felt before. It crippled me. I stayed in my bed for a week afterwards, alternating between crying and raging. I knew I was worrying my family, but I didn't care. The pain was too great to care about anyone else. It wasn't until Jaxon threatened to go find Mac and bring him over so we could all talk that I snapped out of my pity party. No way was I letting him back into my house. Of course, he and Jaxon were friends, so he did eventually come to the house. I simply made sure I was never there when he was.

Doubting they truly are okay with me shutting them out, I still tell Mac, "I'll go, Mac. I owe them that much at least. They were always there when things got bad at my house with my dad."

"You don't owe them anything, Mia. They don't blame you for not coming around. They knew it would be too hard on you. But they'd love to see you again."

I smile at him. "I'd like that, too. I've really missed them."

Mac brings my hand up and flips it over so he can kiss the inside of my wrist. I have to force back the tears that are threatening to fall. I've missed the sweet kisses Mac used to give me. Ever since the day I grew the courage to give Mac the innocent kiss on his cheek at the lake and he kissed my wrist, he started doing it all the time. I miss so many things about Mac. I wish with all my heart I could be brave again and give us another chance, but the pain I remember feeling, the pain I still feel sometimes, holds me back. I can't get over the image of him and Tessa together. I know it's irrational, but I can't help but still be hurt he didn't recognize it wasn't me that he was with until it was too late. But then again, even if he did know it was Tessa, he wouldn't have been able to fight her off. The drugs made sure of that.

Beside me, I hear Bailey and Chris talking about this weekend. All three of us, along with Karyn, are going out to Lucki's, a bar in the next town over. Bailey had to beg Jaxon to give both her and me the night off together. Of course, she didn't have to beg too hard. Jaxon would give both balls over if it meant keeping his angel happy. I was actually shocked that Bailey was willing to go. She normally doesn't like crowds, especially crowds that can become rowdy. She's come a long way in the last two years, but she's still very reserved, with good reason.

"So what time are we heading out?" I ask the other two.

"I'm picking Bailey up at eight. After, we'll swing by and get you and Karyn. Jaxon said he would come get us when we're ready to leave so we can all drink. He'll come get my car the next day."

This surprises me as well. In the two years that I've known Bailey, I think I've only seen her drink a few beers. She prefers to stay sober so she can watch her surroundings. Men scare her, not as much as they used to, but she's still leery around ones she doesn't know. I'm proud of her for taking this step. I'll have to make sure to keep an eye on her to ensure she stays okay with the situation.

"That sounds good to me."

"Where are y'all going?" Mac asks.

"Lucki's," I tell him, and watch as displeasure crosses his face.

"You're letting your girl go to Lucki's?" Nick pipes in, looking at Jaxon in astonishment.

"I won't be far away. I'll be at Bounce until they call me," Jaxon says, looking back at Nick with his pierced brow raised.

"What about the bar? Who's going to be here?" Mac asks.

"I'm closing early. People won't like it, but I don't give a fuck. My angel wants a girls' night and she deserves one. We'll be okay to close early one night."

"What's wrong with Lucki's?" Bailey asks, looking worried.

"Don't let them scare you, Bailey," I tell her, and give the guys a dirty look. "Nothing's wrong with Lucki's. Years ago, it was a bad place to go to, but it's since changed owners. They've cleaned the place up."

Still looking worried, she just nods and doesn't say anything else. I look at Chris and see her watching Bailey with a troubled expression.

I reach over the bar, take her hand, and give it a squeeze. "Come on, Bailey. It'll be fun and we'll be fine."

"I don't know. Lucki's doesn't sound like a safe place to go. We could just stay here and—"

"No, we need to get out of this town for the night. I promise, Bailey, you'll enjoy yourself."

"I could go along," Andrew says. "Would that make you feel better? No one would dare mess with you if I'm there." Andrew doesn't just say this because he's cocky. Well, he is cocky, but the truth is, no one would dare mess with Andrew. He can be very intimidating when he needs to be. It's all the tattoos and muscles. I know he would never let anything happen to any of us girls.

Bailey perks up at that. "Could you go?"

He gives her a seductive smile and replies, "You just want to see my moves, don't you? All you had to do is ask."

That causes Bailey and the rest of us to laugh and all her worries are forgotten. You've got to love Andrew.

"Don't forget, I've already seen your moves, Andrew."

"Oh, baby, you haven't seen nothing yet. You just wait until we're away from the workplace. I'll be making all your panties wet."

Chris sputters out a laugh, and Bailey looks like her face is going to explode from all the blood rushing to it. I reach over and slug him on his arm.

"Ow!" He rubs his arm in mock hurt. We all know my light punch was like a tap. "What? I'm only speaking the truth."

"You are so lucky that you like dick, Andrew," Jaxon says with amusement.

I hear Mac grunt in agreement. When I look at Nick, I see his lips twitching.

Andrew jumps up from his stool and gives Chris a loud smack on the lips. Reaching over, he gives me the same treatment. After he's done, he jumps up on the bar, swings around, jumps down on the other side, and plants a kiss on Bailey's lips as well. We all laugh when Andrew next moves to Jaxon, who just stands there.

"Watch it, Andrew. Come near me with those lips and I can't promise you'll have your looks going for you anymore."

Andrew stops in his tracks and contemplates his next move, as if he's debating whether or not it would be worth it. Jaxon doesn't move from his spot. He stands there, expression impassive.

After a couple of minutes, Andrew steps back. "Now we can't have that, can we? Can't blame a guy for trying, though."

He gives Chris a beer, takes Mac's and Nick's old bottles, and gives them fresh ones.

"Prepare yourselves, ladies," he says loudly. "I'm about to show you the right way to party and have a good time!"

Shit, God help us all.