Page 60 of Falling into Place
He followed her to a rambunctious group near the back of the room, crowded around a table with a giant two-foot-tall game of Jenga on the wooden, picnic-style table.
Sasha yelped and nearly spilled her beer when she saw him, jumping up to give him a hug. “You came!”
“Happy birthday, sis.” Macy sidled up on his other side, and he put an arm around her. “And hello to our ringleader.”
Sasha addressed the twelve or so people gathered around. “This is my long-lost brother, whom most of you have heard about but never seen in the flesh.”
He waved awkwardly.
A chorus ofheys andwelcomes went around before they were once again focused on the ongoing game, and the tension left him when their eyes moved on.
“Ready for trivia?” Macy asked Carly.
“Always.” She checked her watch and said, “Game starts in ten. Either of you want anything from the bar before we start?”
“Sure,” Brooks said. “I’ll come with you.”
“Grab me one of their hefeweizens, will you?” Macy asked him, and turned to find a seat.
Brooks and Carly wove through a few tables to the long bar top, found a place between other patrons to squeeze in and place their orders.
“Ever been here before?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, seems cool, though. I bet it’s packed on weekends.”
“It’ll get pretty busy tonight, too. Trivia nights are always a hit.”
Some guy standing next to Carly leered at her from behind, and Brooks glared at him over her shoulder.
“Hey, you two!” A blonde with a bright smile approached. She held out her hand. “I’m Kendall. Nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you from Sasha and Carly.”
“Don’t believe anything Sasha said.” He was curious what she’d heard from Carly, though.
Kendall laughed. “She said you’re a hot doctor. And unless you’re not really a doctor, I see no lies.”
“Kendall’s the shy one of the group,” Carly said, her tone teasing but with an undercurrent of something else. Brooks shot her a side-eye and almost whispered something in response, but Kendall had sidled up next to him and bumped his shoulder with hers.
“Buy me a beer?”
“Sure.” He hadn’t been flirted with so openly in a while. It felt nice, but he was keenly aware of Carly standing on his opposite side. “Order whatever you like.”
The bartender returned with his and Carly’s drinks, and Carly quickly walked away, leaving him and Kendall at the bar while she waited for hers.
She hopped up on a vacated barstool and rotated to face him. “Ever played bar trivia before?”
He shook his head. “I know Sasha loves it, though. I’m not surprised she picked this for her birthday. What kind of questions do they ask?”
“Sometimes there’s a theme, like Harry Potter or nineties music. Tonight’s just general trivia so there’ll be a mix of everything. Pop culture, history, music. Anything, really.”
“Good to know. Are there prizes?”
“Gift cards. But it’s more of a pride thing in our group. It’s all about bragging rights.”
They continued talking while they waited for her drink, and he learned she was an Ohio native, moved to Oklahoma in middle school, and a real estate agent. She loved country music (did he know Chris Stapleton was playing downtown next week?) and was super into hot yoga (he was welcome to come with her next Wednesday to give it a try). The conversation required virtually no help on his part to keep afloat, which was kind of nice.
When the bartender brought her beer, they stayed at the bar for a few minutes longer, but then Sasha called out across the tables that it was almost game time.
Once back with the group, he handed Macy her beer and took an open seat. Kendall sat beside him, and he forced himself not to look around to find where Carly had settled.
