Page 5 of Down Memory Lane
“Will do.” Travis never really felt up for trivia night, but he did it anyway for his family. Certainly there had to be a woman out there who could appreciate a guy like that. Shaking off thoughts of his brother’s love life, Felix tried to get back to planning his own. Whipping out his phone, he scrolled to the text thread he shared with his best friend. The messages went back years and Felix smiled at their shared history.
Felix:You coming tonight, Auts?
The reply came seconds later. The two of them might leave other people on read, but messages from each other always got an instant reply.
Autumn:Already on my way. Had to stop at the day spa for some lotion to kintsugi my hands.
Felix barked a laugh at the text, scaring the few customers that remained in the bar. Smiling apologetically at them, he replied to the message with a thumbs up emoji. Autumn had made Felix watch a documentary about the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold, and while he’d found it interesting, it wasn’t nearly as amazing as the woman he’d watched it with. Tonight, he hoped he’d get the chance to tell her that.
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As it turned out, Felixdidn’t get a chance to speak with Autumn much that evening. Between the number of patrons crowding the bar trying to get their drinks and the trivia emcee calling twenty minutes before start time to say he’d blown a tire and wouldn’t be able to make it, Felix hadn’t had a moment to spare since he’d greeted Autumn with a hug nearly two hours ago. Seeing her walk through the door in the form fitting sweater dress that was a shade darker than her bright hair, the sway of her hips hypnotic as she moved over to him, confirmed what he’d already known, he wasdefinitelyattracted to his friend.
When Autumn took a seat at the high top table his brothers were at and crossed her legs, her thigh high boots slid down just enough to give him a peek at the creamy ivory of her legs. Felix wanted to peel those boots off slowly and lick his way down each inch of skin as it was exposed to him. It had been a good thing he was behind the bar then because Felix was sporting wood that could rival the stiff tap handles he was supposed to have been pulling. It took every bit of his focus to tear his eyes away from his best friend, and even once he’d managed that, they kept drifting back over to her every chance they got.
As he stood center stage and read off trivia questions, Felix desperately avoided staring at Autumn so as to not repeat that earlier display in front of every patron in attendance. He felt like he was back in middle school, walking up to the front of the class to give a speech, keeping his papers in front of him to hide the biggest downside of male puberty, the inconvenient erection. Mercifully, Felix was on the final round of questions and he could go back to hiding behind the bar. Looking down at the notecard in his hand, Felix smirked when he read the question. There was one person he knew for sure would know the correct answer, but unfortunately, she wasn’t playing.
“Last question of the night and the one that will decide which team is triumphant, The Quizzly Bears or The Jeopardy Rejects.” Felix paused for a round of applause for both teams. The fact that no one at his family table made it to the finals was no big revelation. The Kemps and company knew a good amount about various subjects, but when it came to pop culture, they were hopeless. “Alright, the question is ‘Who played the male lead role of Rhett Butler inGone with the Wind?’ You have sixty seconds to answer.”
Felix watched both teams scramble to try and come up with a response. His eyes flicked over to Lottie, chuckling at the look of abject horror at neither having gotten it yet. When he turned back, he caught Autumn staring at him. There was a sparkle in her eyes that was always there because that was simply who she was, a person who inherently sparkled. Tonight, however, Felix liked to think that maybe it was because she was looking at him as differently as he’d been looking at her. They stared for what seemed like forever, but the timer going off alerted him to the reality that it had only been seconds. If time slowed that much when they simply stared at one another, Felix couldn’t wait to find out what it felt like when they did more.
Smiling at his best friend, he turned to both teams. “What are your answers?” When all eight people shook their heads, he chuckled. “Well, I guess we have a draw. Sorry, everyone. Phil has all the tiebreaker questions with him in his car so that’s the end of trivia for the night.”
A chorus of grumbles rang out around Felix as he grabbed the timer, intending to beeline off the stage when one of The Quizzly Bears spoke up. “Wait! What was the answer to the question?”
Felix pointed behind the bar to Lottie who was looking furiously disappointed in the whole room. “Clark Gable, you uncultured swine,” she huffed. Tossing a tea towel over her shoulder, she went back to filling orders as the rest of the bar snickered at her rebuke.
Making his way over to his family’s table, Felix gave a round of goodbye hugs to Beckett, Willa, Aiden, and Nicole. Before he could hug Nate, the man looked over at Autumn apologetically. “Sorry I wasn’t a good partner tonight, Autumn.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I was distracted.” Felix saw his older brother peek over at the bar where Lottie was holding court, laughing with a group of men who were practically begging for her attention.
“I’ll bet,” Felix muttered. When Nate glared at him, he smiled affably. “All those mayoral duties must keep you pretty busy. Go get some rest.” He pulled Nate in for a hug before pushing him out the door, chucking as he watched his brother hover near the bar for a moment before shaking his head and walking away.
Autumn stood and sidled up next to him with a furrowed brow. “I don’t think I will ever understand how your brother seems to dislike Lottie so much.”
Felix gazed down at his friend and pulled her into a side hug as he walked back toward the bar. “Me neither, but that’s their issue to figure out, not ours.”
Autumn nodded. “Speaking of figuring things out, do you think we could talk?” She looked around the still crowded bar and frowned. “Not here, but when you get home. There was something I wanted to get your thoughts on.”
“Sounds good, Auts.” Felix smiled, giving her one last squeeze before they parted ways. “I actually wanted to talk to you about a few things too.” At her raised brow, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, a gesture he’d done before but held more meaning now that he’d figured things out. “See you soon.”
“Soon,” she said dreamily. As she walked away, Autumn peeked back over her shoulder every now and then, each time finding his eyes on her. They would be there until Felix knew she was safely in the car he could see parked just outside, and where they would be for the rest of time if he got his wish.
