Page 78 of Here's to Yesterday

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“Iwas only kiddingabout the stalking thing, Tucker,” I hear from besideme.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t,” I teaseback.

Maura chuckles and rests her arms on the table. My eyes automatically fall to her mouth. All I’ve been thinking about since I woke up this morning is kissing her again. And again and again and again. Because last night wasnotenough. Not evenclose.

The way she felt in my arms was so good. Exceptional. Marvelous. Magnificent. Insert adjective here, and that’s exactly what it was. But then my head cleared during our alcohol-induced make-out session long enough that I insisted we stop taking off each other’s clothes until we were both sober. Chivalrous and stupid, that’sme.

All I’ve wanted since I woke up was to kiss her more, and I was supposed to do so this morning. But that never happened because she ran out crying. And then we had our talk, and that was that. It wasn’t long after we finished our coffee that I took Maura home, where she basically bolted for the door while the car was still running, leaving me sad andconfused.

“What’s up, boys? You just hanging around or what?” she asks, snapping me out of myhaze.

Hudson and I decided to go out for beers and wings tonight rather than during the week, since I’ve got my meeting and he’s got softball practice all week withJoey.

“Rae and Joe are having a girls’ night so we thought we’d sneak out tonight while we can,” Hudson answers. He scans the bar with shifty eyes. “She’s not here,huh?”

He’s referring to Clarissa, the super slutty waitress who creeps us all out. She was rather pushy with Hudson in the past, so he always tries to avoid being anywhere nearher.

“You’re safe. She’s offtonight.”

“Yeah, off sucking dickprobably.”

“HUDSON!” Ishout.

“Fuck. Was that out loud?” he groans, dropping his head into his hands briefly before whipping it up and glaring at Maura. “It’s all your friend’sfault!”

“My friend? You live withher!”

“I only asked so she’d stop being so mad about the brownies,” he lies. Because let’s face it—he’s so fucking in love with Rae it’ssickening.

Maura laughs and moves on. “Sure. What will you guys have? Beer, cheese fries, andwings?”

“Yeah,” we say at the sametime.

She taps the table twice and backsaway.

As she walks away, Hudson drops his easygoing grin and stares at me. Hard. Like he’s searching forsomething.

I shift around nervously under his scrutiny. “Fuckin’ what,dude?”

“Trying to figure out what the hell happened to yourface.”

Oh, yeah. My black eye. Ialmostforgot about itagain.

“Tanner,” Imumble.

“Details. I mean Rae said you got hit, but I want the details. And then I want you to let me know when it is I get to punch Tannerback.”

I laugh because I know Hudson has been dying to punch Tanner for years, since they hate one another. Tanner hates that Hudson and I are more like brothers than he and I ever will be. And Hudson hates Tanner because, well, Tanner’s a fucking asswipe ninety-nine percent of thetime.

“I love that nothing is private in this group,” Imock.

“Right? Keeps shit interesting,” he says, like I meant what Isaid.

“Anyway, I took Maura to her shitty parents’ shitty dinner last night. Tanner decided to show up, and then he punchedme.”

“Because he knows you love hisgirl.”

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