Page 32 of Tobias

“Oh, yeah. I’m meeting some friends at a bar across town.” She holds her cell up to show me she has the Uber app open.

“Well, have a good night, Allison.”

“You too.”

I shove my hands into my pockets and start walking. I’m not far from The Butterfly. I’ll get drenched but it’ll be quicker to walk than drive. There’s nothing left to do tonight, other than dread tomorrow. May as well drink to forget—or tryto forget. Maybe I’ll be so hungover tomorrow that I won’t care where I am. I push through the outside door, moving to the side when someone starts up the stairs to leave. It's a very strange building. Walking down into what looks like a tunnel before getting to the bar, but some of these old Seattle buildings are just like that. An architects nightmare, I would assume.

“Hey, Tobias,” Mario says, startling me.

“Oh, hey. Leaving already?”

“Just having a smoke.”

I nod before leaving him and heading inside.

It’s dead, other than the regulars. The group of guys I know are all sitting together at the bar, and a few others that come here often that I recognize by face but don’t really know are off in another corner. Behind the bar, as usual, is Pete—and someone else. An attractive blond guy that looks about my age. Must be the new owner.

“Hey, guys.” I take up the seat beside Benton and catch Pete’s eye. He gives me a head nod and gets to work on my drink.

Nathanial gets up to give me a hug, while the other guys wave and say their hellos from their seats. Nathanial is affectionate with the people he considers friends, and it’s always a point of contention when he dates someone, which is why he chooses not to. He hops onto my lap, resting his forehead against my temple. I don’t think he was hugged enough as a child.

“What’s up with you?” he asks quietly as Pete puts my drink in front of me. I slide my card over, and he takes it.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’ve been here a lot,” Nathanial answers softly, his hand running up and down my back. If I didn’t know him as well as I do, I’d kick him off me, but this is just Nathanial, and I’ve known him for years. I don’t mind his need for physical touch. He’s harmless.

“Just hanging out.”

“You only hang out when you’re sad.”

“Not true.”

I grab my drink, taking a sip and enjoying the burn of the whiskey going down my throat. With enough whiskey, thoughts of being sad won’t be able to bother me. Nathanial pets me, then kisses my cheek before bouncing back to his seat at the other end of the bar. He’s not entirely wrong. I’m not sad, I’m just… blah. I don’t know how to explain it. In a funk, I guess. Thinking too much. There's always a problem when I think too much.

“Did you get a look at the new owner?” Luca asks, leaning forward on the counter so he can see me past Benton. “He’s a hottie, right?”

I chuckle. “Yeah, he’s okay.”

“Okay?” Luca gapes. “He’s sex on legs.”

“I’m sex on legs,” I say with a grin.

Luca smiles suggestively. “I guess that’s true, but he’s still hot.”

“So, ask for his number.”

“Oh, no. He’s… involved.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” Benton says, drawing out the word and swinging around on his stool to face me. “That he moved away from home to follow some guy he’s in love with but missed an opportunity with a few years ago.”

“No way,” I say.

“Yes way,” Benton and Luca say at the same time. I roll my eyes. Gossip queens.

“How the hell do you know that?” I sneak a glance at Emmet, who’s got a clipboard in his hand and looks like he’s taking inventory of the bottles on the shelves. He’s attractive, for sure. Lean but muscled, like he works out regularly. Blond hair, bright eyes. Looks like the jock type, which isn’tmytype.

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