Page 21 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

By the end of the night, I’m exhausted, not because of work but from playing dodge-Eve. From the opposite end of the bar, I watch as she struggles with one of the beer taps.

“Nora, go help Eve.” I nod in Eve’s direction.

She glances to where I nodded and then back at me. “Why don’t you go help her?”

“Because I’m doing my best to keep my distance.”

She rolls her eyes. “You know, you’re not going to be able to keep this up.”

All attempts to push away thoughts of her have been futile. The only thing I can do is simply grit my teeth and suffer through the rest of this miserable night. “I’m trying not to think about that. I need to stay more than an arm’s reach away from her. Otherwise, I might not be able to control myself.”

Nora gives me a half smile. “It’s kind of cute. I’ve never seen you like this with a girl.”

I glare at her. “Me either. I’m at a loss on what to do about it.”

“Since you’re in distress?—”

“I’m not in distress.”

“Flare guns are launching into the sky all around you. I’ll bail you out this time, but just know I’m not always going to be here.” She shuffles down to the other end of the bar to help Eve.

She’s right. Mayday. Mayday. This vessel is going down, and sinking into the dark abyss of the ocean is more appealing than dealing with Eve and Jake. Sadly, I’m not a boat, so I need to face this. Driving her home will be my first test.

After we finish cleaning and restocking the bar, Nora sets the alarm, and I turn to Eve. “Are you ready to go?”

Eve freezes before pivoting to face Nora and gasps. “He speaks,” she says, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Yeah. Lach’s just being dumb.” Nora glares at me, and Eve laughs.

I motion for them to take the lead while I shut off the lights and lock the door. The parking lot is mostly empty. Only a few cars remain, left behind by customers who got rides home. Nora and Eve are a few steps ahead of me, chatting about the night. I keep my distance. As Eve struts in front of me, my gaze keeps drifting down to her round ass. It’s certainly not an ass I should fantasize about. I can’t help but think back to the night in the hotel room. My fingers digging into the soft skin of her ass as I pound into her while her nails claw at my thighs, her orgasm on the verge of exploding. My dick twitches in my jeans.

“This is me.” Nora points to her car.

Fuck. I startle at the sound of her voice and shake the thoughts away. Nora glances my way and smirks. No doubt she caught me checking out Eve.

“Alright, you two kids have fun.” She turns to Eve. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Nora.” Eve gives her a wave.

I unlock my truck and climb in without saying a word. Eve follows suit. I turn the key, and the engine roars to life. My seatbelt clicks into place, and Eve buckles hers. As I followNora’s taillights out of the parking lot, silence fills the cab. I’m praying it can be like this the entire drive to Jake’s.

But Eve breaks the silence. “So, are you going to just not talk to me?”

My fingers tighten on the steering wheel. I keep my gaze locked on the road in front of me. “That’s my plan until I figure out what to say.”

“Fine. I’ll talk.” Even in the dark car, I see her shift in her seat to face me. “It was a bit of a shock to see you again. Especially when I never expected to. Even more surprising that you work at my brother’s bar. But I’m excited to see you. You helped me turn a really shitty situation into something fun. Definitely enjoyable. You made me feel like I could actually have something good in the world.”

My grip tightens to the point my knuckles are almost white. But if I let go of the steering wheel, I’ll want to reach over and touch her, and I can’t. I shouldn’t. She has all the same feelings I’m having.

She wrings her hands together in her lap. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be in town. I need to figure some stuff out, but in the meantime, I’d like for us to at least talk. Get to know each other. Grunts and head nods don’t count.” A small laugh escapes her. “I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to sharing another bed.”

From the corner of my eye, I catch her staring at me. Maybe she’s trying to read my expression. To determine whether this facade I’m giving her is fake or if, in fact, I want to explore more of this connection we share. But I can’t. I blow out a deep breath. “You’re my best friend’s sister. That’s how shit gets messy and complicated. And I can’t do that to Jake.”

“I see.” Her face falls as she twists to face the dashboard. “I’m an adult, and you’re an adult. I think we can make our own decisions.”

“You don’t understand. I just… I can’t do that to Jake.” Mostly, I’m afraid of what Jake would do to me. “He’s one person in my life who’s always had my back.”

“So you’re just going to ignore me. Got it.” She crosses her arms over her chest and turns away to stare out the window as streetlights pass by. The rest of the car ride to Jake’s house is silent. When I pull up to his short driveway from the alleyway, I know the gentlemanly thing to do would be to escort her to the door, but if I remove my hands from the steering wheel, I’ll reach over and tug her to my lap because that’s what I’ve wanted to do all night.

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