Page 24 of The Misfits of Copper County
Kel, whose muscular frame always seemed weirdly disconnected from his ever-present Birkenstocks—like he was half gym trainer, half laid-back delivery driver—gave me a wave and an easygoing smile.
“You made it!” Hayes said. “I worried you’d bail.”
I slid into the empty chair. “Said I’d come, didn’t I?” I flagged down a server and ordered a local favorite beer. “Two Hayburners, please.”
Hayes’s eyebrows shot up, and he and Kel exchanged a look.
“Whoa,” Kel said. “Save some for the rest of us.”
Hayes smacked Kel’s shoulder and laughed like Kel’s comment had been hilarious in the extreme. “Or wait for the wings we ordered. You eaten yet?”
I hadn’t, but when the beers arrived, I immediately took a long pull from the first. “I’ve had a day,” I told them, “and Reed just offered me a ride home if I need one.” I paused. “I mean, to Delaney’s place. Not… nothome.”
Hayes leaned forward. “Yeah, how’s that going? Staying at Delaney’s, I mean?”
I took another long drink, and Hayes and Kel exchanged a look.
“You know, you could totes stay with us, Brew,” Kel offered. “Hayes and I usually take turns on the pull-out and the actual bed, but we don’t mind doubling up for a while if you need a spot to crash. You could play DragonBlood4 with us! We just started a tournament, but you could get in on it?—”
“Don’t worry about me. Let’s talk about you,” I interrupted. “How’s work, Hayes? Still loving it?”
“Oh, shit, yeah.” Hayes smiled eagerly. “Let me tell you about my new client!”
While I sipped my beers, Hayes launched into a long, detailed explanation of the app he was developing. I understood about half of it, and I was pretty sure Kel didn’t understand much more, but he watched Hayes with a kind of appreciative fascination and hung on his every word, anyway.
Eventually, the two of them fell into their own conversation about the video game they’d been playing. I couldn’t help noticing the easy rhythm they had, finishing each other’s sentences, punctuating points with physical contact—a punch to the shoulder here, a headlock there.
Watching them dance around each other was arguably worse than being with the loved-up couples I’d left behind.
“Dude, you should have seen Kel’s face when that dragon horde broke through,” Hayes crowed, throwing an arm around Kel’s neck and ruffling his hair. “Like a wittle baby seeing a clown.”
“Fuck off, dude!” Kel shoved Hayes with a laugh, but his hand lingered on Hayes’s shoulder. “You were the one who screamed like a child.”
“Did not.”
“Yousodid. And your face was doing that thing, too.” Kel reached out to poke Hayes’s cheek. “Where your tiny, baby dimple pops out, and?—”
It was exhausting watching two people so clearly in denial, so completely oblivious to what was obvious to everyone else.
Between this and Delaney’s stubborn refusal to see what was right in front of him with his damn house, it felt like I was surrounded by people determined to make life harder than it needed to be.
“Can you two cut it out or get a room?” I snapped.
The table went silent. Hayes and Kel jumped apart like they’d been scalded, both turning bright red.
“What the… what the hell, Brew?” Hayes’s cheerful smile disappeared, and his eyes went stormy with anger. “Kel and I are just friends. You know that. Not cool.”
Shit. I rubbed my face. “No. It really wasn’t. I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole tonight.”
Kel and Hayes exchanged a look that seemed to communicate a thousand things without words, and then Kel nodded and cleared his throat.
“I’m gonna let you guys talk while I, uh… bathroom.” He jerked his thumb toward the far side of the bar, then slid out of his chair and disappeared into the crowd.
Hayes fixed me with a glare, all traces of his usual eager-puppy enthusiasm wiped away. “What the heck is wrong with you?”
I took another swig of beer and sighed. “I’m really sorry, Hayes. I’m in a mood, and I’m taking it out on the wrong person.People. I’ll apologize to Kel again when he gets back. Maybe I shouldn’t have come out at all.”
Hayes’s face softened. “No. Fuck.I’msorry, bruh. You’ve had a shit week. The shittiest. Losing the camper, replacing all your stuff? Fucking sucks. No wonder you don’t want to hear me and Kel goofing around.” His mouth twisted to one side. “Have you had any luck with the insurance company?”
