Page 18 of No Rhyme or Riesling

They grabbed a pair of stools at the bar, and Beau immediately approached, wearing a beaming smile on his face. “That performance wastrès magnifique!” the man exclaimed. “You are quite the talented pair.”

Adam tried to grin, but it felt forced despite the excitement he'd experienced just a few short minutes ago.

“Can I get you boys something to drink?” Beau asked.

“Please,” Adam blurted out, inwardly wincing at how desperate he sounded.

“What would you like?” Beau asked, glancing from Adam to Skylar and back.

Adam didn't know a thing about wine, but that was the only thing available. At that point, though, he'd take anything, so he said, “Surprise me.”

Beau grinned. “You are finally going to let me work my magic on you?” He braced his hands on the counter and leaned in close, giving Adam a slow, scrutinizing once-over. “Ah!” He whirled around, plucked up a clean glass, and scanned the massive display of bottles lining the wall, representing several local wineries.

“Just make sure it's one of John's,” Adam added.

Beau smirked at him over his shoulder. “What do you take me for?” He snatched down a bottle bearing the Vista Robles logo, then poured a glass of something clear. Beau set the glass in front of Adam and watched him expectantly.

Adam drew the glass towards himself. His heart was beating a little too fast and his hands still shook, but when he heard anotherdaddyfrom somewhere behind him, he couldn't resist picking up the glass and taking a sip.

He paused as the wine ran over his tongue, the flavors bombarding his senses.Whoa. Adam took another sip, his eyes going wide. “Holy shit,” he gasped in surprise. He'd wanted nothing more than the old, familiar burn of alcohol, but he'd been bracing himself for something that tasted awful. “That's actually really good!”

Beau grinned again as he turned to Skylar. “And you…”

Skylar looked from Beau to Adam and back. “What's going on right now?”

“Beau's doing his thing,” Adam explained before taking another sip.Mmmm. The wine went down way better than he'd imagined it might. He took another sip, then let out a contented sigh. “He pairs you with the perfect wine.”

“Okay…” Skylar said slowly, his eyebrows raised in skepticism.

“Ah, yes, I have just the thing,” Beau announced, quickly pouring a glass and pushing it across to Skylar. “You are grenache. A medium red. Not too light and not too bold, but just right.”

“If you say so,” Skylar mumbled so that only Adam could hear. But he picked up the glass all the same and took a sip. His eyes went wide. “Holy bajeezus.” He sat there for a moment, staring at the glass, before he tried another taste. “Okay, I'm convinced. That's amazing.”

Beau flashed him a grin before moving off down the counter to help someone else.

Adam took another sip of his own wine and let out a sigh. It wasn't his dad's scotch, but it was certainly doing the trick. He felt the alcohol flowing through his veins, warming his body all over, little hazy tendrils slowly making their way straight to his head, drowning out the memories and grief.

“Man, this takes me back,” Skylar said. “You know, I actually still have that last bottle of scotch you bought us.”

“Seriously?”

Skylar took another sip of his wine, then nodded. “I never buy myself alcohol anymore. Can't afford it. Pretty much the only time I drink is when I'm on a date with a client. And, hell. Those guys always think they know everything there is to know about wine, but let me tell you: everything they picked was gross.”

Adam laughed. “No wonder,” he said, gesturing with his chin towards Beau.

Skylar nodded. “But I also have to watch how much I drink on a date so that things don't get out of hand. But, shit. Sometimes you just need that escape, you know? So I've been clinging to that scotch bottle, drinking a tiny bit here and there, but only on days when things are especially bad and I think I'll never make it.” He shook his head like he was casting the thought aside. “Can you believe the shit we got up to with fake IDs back then?”

Adam barked a laugh. “Oh my god.” He'd almost forgotten about that. Both he and Skylar had been just this side of nineteen when they met, so the only way they could get their hands on alcohol was with the use of fake IDs, ones that Trevor had somehow managed to acquire for the band. Adam still didn't know how Trevor had pulled that off, but at the time, he hadn't cared. Being buzzed was the only way he'd been able to cope.

He tipped back his glass, only to find it empty. But Beau reappeared almost instantly with the bottle in hand, so Adam held out his glass for a refill.

Skylar got a refill as well, then held up his glass between them. “To old times.”

Adam smiled. “To old times.” He clinked their glasses together and took a sip, sighing with relief when the effects began to grow. Adam had fully intended to only have the oneglass, but as the haze took over his brain, he realized he'd forgotten how good this felt.

One more drink certainly wouldn't hurt.

Chapter 7

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