Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
The curiosity was eating away at me, though. Something about being back in Amberfield, breathing this clear, cold air again, was making me crave Evan.
>>Mitch: So what are you doing?
>>Evan: Solving complex math problems, of course. Saving the world one equation at a time.
>>Mitch: Don’t tell me you’re actually doing math at this time of night.
>>Evan: No. I’ve been drinking, actually. Please tell me not to do tequila shots.
>>Mitch: Ooh, tequila…
>>Evan: You’re supposed to tell me NOT to drink it, asshole.
>>Mitch: Right. I’m a terrible best friend. Stick with beer or wine. Unless you’re with me, obviously.
>>Evan: Perfect. Fuck, I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
>>Mitch: Maybe we can go out and get cowcalled together.
Truthfully, it didn’t matter what the hell I did with Evan. Anything would be fucking awesome. I was so excited about seeing him that for some reason, my cock was even a little hard. Even though I was all alone in the front yard and nobody could see, I felt my cheeks growing hot. I needed to go take a cold shower.
There was never any reason for Evan and I to have become best friends back in the day. We bonded over the silliest kid stuff: we were both born on the twelfth of the month, him March and me June. We both liked Legos, and later on Space Invaders. His mom was a saint of a woman, who let me sleep over far more often than I should have, because my own home life was shitty.
In high school, I became the star quarterback just because I had the body for it, and he became the head of the Mathletes because he had the brain for it.
When bullies fucked with him, I made it stop. Then when his mom died when we were sixteen, we shared in the pain together, staying by each other’s side all year.
If I hadn’t gotten Jess pregnant on prom night, maybe I would have stayed in Amberfield forever, like Evan did. But instead I’d moved to Chicago with her fifteen years ago.
Now, as I sat looking at Old Man Jones’s front yard—my front yard—almost nothing had changed, other than the house looking older and more weathered. The big oak still sat right in the same place, its big branches currently illuminated by the moon.
I already wished Evan were here with me. With every passing day since my divorce, I’d been craving his company more and more.
I stepped inside and grabbed my laptop, flipping open to the local Amberfield website that I’d been visiting every day. The site was probably older than Zach, and everything on it always loaded slowly. I clicked on the job listings page like I’d been doing every day. I couldn’t exactly be a personal trainer to B-list celebrities in this town. I didn’t even think there were Z-list celebrities here, unless you counted whoever was the current quarterback at Amberfield High.
Back when I was the quarterback I got treated like royalty. I lived for the team. It was strange thinking that I may have had the best year of my life when I was seventeen. I was thirty-two now and I felt like I was starting my life all over again.
A new job listing had popped up on the Amberfield website. Until today, the only things on offer had been for a sewer management position and a nail salon technician, neither of which I had any business applying for.
But the new headline caught my eye.
Bartender needed—No experience necessary—Must be able to work nights.
I clicked on the listing. The bar was called Red’s Tavern, and it seemed like a relaxed place. The picture showed a view of the tavern from the street. It was a simple, kind of western-themed place, right on the edge of Amberfield where the old feed supply store had been.
I’d always liked that part of town. It was full of quiet, tiny shops, like a simple street from the Old West. I couldn’t imagine any nightlife there, but I guessed that Red’s Tavern must be the only bar on the street.
And for once, it was a job I probably could do. The words on the screen seemed like they were yelling at me, now.
Apply in person today! Red’s is open until 2 a.m. nightly. Join the team and join the party.
No better time than the present. I took a quick shower, tossed on some proper clothes, and told Zach I’d be back in a couple of hours with ice cream and hopefully a new job.
Even if I’d failed at keeping my marriage together, at least I could do this one thing right.
3
Evan
Note to self: Don’t. Take. Tequila. Shots.
Ever.
“Maybe I should take tequila shots,” I mused, staring at the bottle on the shelf straight ahead of me.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Red answered from behind the bar.