Page 48 of Behind the Bench

The silence in the car that follows is excruciating. It’s awkward as hell and you can cut the tension between Lincoln and me with a knife. It’s stifling and making me more on edge.

When Lincoln’s fingers grazed against my arms, I swear the world stopped. His presence and touch sent my nerve-endings haywire. The reaction confused me but also lit me up like a firework. What sent me over the edge was when he leaned in close, whispering I look beautiful. His breath brushed against my ear, making my skin tingle and causing my heart to pound against my ribs.

I’m still trying to calm my erratic heartbeat when I abruptly blurt out “Could you turn on some music?”

I hear Sadie chuckle next to me, and I make a mental note to tell an extremely embarrassing story about her later tonight as payback.

“You got it,” Hunter says. He hands Lincoln his phone cord from the center console. “You can be DJ, Lincoln. I know how picky you are about your music.”

Lincoln grunts, but takes the cord from Hunter despite his lack of enthusiasm. It only takes him a second before the opening chords of “Smoke a Little Smoke” by Eric Church fill the SUV. He turns to set his phone on the center console, butnot before looking back at me and giving me the smallest hint of a smile.

Does Lincoln Scott love himself a little Church too? A man after my own heart.

I sink back into my seat and let the music calm my nerves. Just when I’m about to get fully lost in the music, my phone buzzes in my hand, breaking the spell.

Sadie

You are so freaking screwed.

We pull up to The Cracked Mug about twenty minutes later and I’m feeling great. The music worked its magic and I have a small, but good, buzz going. I’m not sure if it’s from the two margaritas we had at home, or from the very obvious electricity buzzing between me and Lincoln, but either way, I am ready for this night out.

Hunter parks the SUV and we all climb out at the same time. Sadie makes her way to me and hooks her arm through mine. We both turn to make our way into the bar and stop so abruptly we trip over our own feet.

The boys clearly aren’t paying attention because they run full speed into us.

“Ah! What the hell? What’s wrong?” Hunter asks without bothering to look at what caused us to stop in the first place.

Sadie sweeps her arm out in front of her. “That! Do you not see that? This place takes ‘dive bar’ to a whole new level!”

Both men turn their heads in unison and proceed to keel over in laughter. I can’t help it. I burst out laughing and join them in their hysterics. Before long, we’re all laughing hysterically, wiping tears from our eyes. This is the craziest looking bar I have ever seen in my life.

The Cracked Mug is, quite literally, a mug-shaped bar. I mean, there’s even a damn handle sticking out of the side of the building! There appears to be a “crack” in the mug, starting at the top of the building and ending just above the door. No windows. Just a giant ass cracked mug.

I can’t decide if it’s the coolest or most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.

I’m wiping the last tears from my eyes when Hunter finally composes himself enough to explain himself. “I was chatting with Niko about where we should go tonight to avoid the team and the press. I told him I wanted a hidden gem dive bar. He gave me the name and address of this place but told me not to Google it.”

“And you didn’t think that was weird?” Sadie asks while nudging his shoulder. Hunter flicks her ear and they begin swatting at each other like a couple of toddlers. I swear these two are more like brother and sister each day.

Once they’re done with their theatrics, Hunter raises his hands and shrugs. “What! I wanted to be surprised!”

Lincoln clasps Hunter on the shoulder. “Well, mission accomplished. This is definitely a surprise, man.”

There seems to be a lighter air surrounding Lincoln tonight. I’m not sure what it is but ever since he whispered in my ear and sent chills down my spine, he seems lighter. Happier.

I think I like this lighter side of Lincoln.

Seeming to sense my attention on him, Lincoln looks over and catches me staring. I’m fairly certain I have a goofy ass smile on my face too. So that’s great.

Sadie rescues me from myself and grabs my hand before she starts pulling me toward the front door of the bar. She turns her head and hollers at the boys. “Last one in the bar buys the first round!”

Once we’re inside it’s not hard to find a table, consideringthe bar is mostly empty. I’m actually a little surprised by this because the inside of the bar is impressive.

On the far side along the wall is a well-stocked bar with a handful of stools lining the bartop. There are a few high top tables spread throughout, but they’re unlike any tables I’ve ever seen. It looks as if they were made out of something from a factory, definitely industrial looking, with weathered pipes that look like they could hold a giant roll of paper. The tops of the tables are made of the most gorgeous wood I’ve ever seen, and are stained the same color as the handmade bartop that crosses the back wall.

“Whoa, this place is awesome!” I hear Hunter say as he takes his seat at our high top table. “Niko mentioned this place was an ode to an old paper mill that used to be around here. I bet these tables were made from the old factory. They’re pretty sweet.”

“I was just wondering what they were made from. They’re beautiful.” I run my hand over the top of the table and then grab a drink menu from the center.

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