NICHOLAS

“No, Matt, I don’t think she’s interesting.”

Matthew and I are watching a pretty face making her way through the living room.

He asks, “Too vanilla? How’d it go with…?” He chuckles at my shrug and says, “You have a thing for bathrooms.”

“I prefer them. People always knocking on the door. You don’t linger.”

“Good point.”

“She was fine. It was what it was.”

We make our way behind the bar as Matthew says, “I could have sworn you disappeared into a guest room with Penny that one night.”

I reach for the secret stash of actual glassware Billy keeps hidden in a wine box. Only his guy friends know about it. “That was with Marla.”

“Same night?”

“At midnight we break these. Yes, same night. They knew about each other. I wasn’t tricking anyone.”

“Nicholas,” he smirks, “You’re a boss.”

“No games, that’s how it works. They know what they’re getting into. Anything more and you’ve got complications.”

I use the available tongs to slap a few ice cubes in our bucket glasses. Matthew clamps his fingers around a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka, holds it up for my appraisal. I nod and he pours while I snatch up the uncapped Pellegrino bottle as a mixer. Matt squeezes a couple of limes and we’re off and running, figuratively speaking, clinking our toast with the unspoken promise that no matter what happens tonight, we will have a good time.

We always do. He’s been my best friend since we were kids.

Growing up, he lived next door to me. Our parents were friends until they found out that Matt’s father was beating the shit out of him. My father, Jeremy Cocker, was a Marine before I was born so there is no fucking way he’d have let that child abuse continue once he knew about it.

I’ll never forget the day he overheard me and my brothers and sister talking about what was happening to Matt.

You don’t discuss those things too loudly when you’re young. You whisper, feeling confused, helpless. We didn’t know how to tell Mom and Dad that their friends weren’t the good parents they believed them to be.

After all hell broke loose, there was a rumor that his family might move. I spent many nights in my bedroom whispering on the phone with Matt while his folks fought in the other room over at his place. We’d stare at each other through the curtains, discussing how to make it possible that he stayed in Atlanta. It was a rough time. The therapy sessions. The silences between the adults in their house and ours.

Finally things settled and he was allowed to come over again, but our parents’ friendships were over for good.

In the Cocker Family we’re not violent.

I take that back, we get in fights, but always with other people outside of our clan. Sometimes you’ve gotta knock a guy to the ground to protect your own, fight for a helpless victim like my buddy Matt, or stand up for something you believe in like never treating a person beneath your status with disrespect. I clocked a guy once for pinching a waitress’s ass in front of me. He probably won’t make that mistake again.

Violence in your own family is just never okay. It’s not what love is.

That one time with my cousins Gabriel and Ben was awful. But guys will fight over a woman, sometimes can’t be helped. It was unfortunate they wanted the same one. That was a bad fucking day in our history. The vibration of it is still felt.

I’m just grateful Matthew’s parents stuck around, didn’t cut and run. Not only because it showed a desire to change and make it right, or that we were able to keep an eye on him and make sure it never happened again, but I got to keep my friend.

He’s like a brother now. My siblings feel the same. Don’t know what life would be like without him.

“Speaking of virgins,” Matt smirks, “How’s your sister?”

“Shut the fuck up,” I chuckle. “You’re such a dick. And we weren’t speaking of virgins, but nice segue.”

Grinning, he takes a hefty gulp of his vodka soda as we head to the backyard by way of a loud, crammed kitchen smelling of meatballs. Billy makes them every party he has.

Not homemade, mind you.

They’re from a package.

Some famous chef made millions off freezing his masterpieces, selling them to grocery stores across America. If it were Billy cooking, he’d fuck it up, party guy that he is.

“Nicholas, Matthew! Where you guys headed? You haven’t even said hey!”

I call back, razzing him, “A chef’s hat, Billy? Little heavy handed, dontcha think?”

He taps it pretty hard, squashing it in the process. “Nice touch, huh?” Chuckling back to his stash of tangy balls, he shouts, “I’ll catch you outside when I get done here!”

Marla smiles as I walk by her. “Hi Nicholas.” Those dark eyes have sex in them every day of the week. Bet she gives the dude at the Arco station the same come-hither smile.

Sliding into her personal space, I smirk, “Looking good. How ya been?”

“Fantastic as always. I loved the bracelet you sent.”

“The what?”

“Oh, wait.” Her eyes slide to the ceiling as she taps her chin with a pretty fingernail. “You didn’t send me a present. You should have.”

“Pretty sure I gave you something last time I saw you.”

“Not something I can keep.”

Leaning in I whisper, “Memories are forever.”

“So are rubies,” she volleys back. I just laugh so she tries another tactic. “I need your cock again, by the way. When are you coming by?”

“You wanna say that a little louder so everyone can hear?”

“You know I’m not quiet.”

I kiss her sultry lips and murmur, “And now Matthew knows it, too.”

He laughs and walks away, a wordless gesture that I’m to follow. He’s giving me an out, which I’ll take. As we leave I promise, “Soon, baby, soon.”

My cousin Lexi passes, surprising me. She reacts, too, and we go in for a hug, her tamed red hair smelling so familiar.

“Hey cuz, what’re you doin’ here?” I ask, squeezing her extra hard for a second before I let her go.

She greets Matthew with a hug, too, answering me while she does, “Just dropped by for a second on my way somewhere. Samantha is with me, of course. She’s in the ladies room.”

Since she and her sister are often with mine, I ask, “Zoe, too?”

Shaking her head on a beautiful smile, Lexi twirls her hair. “She’s with your mom tonight at the Atlanta Woman’s Club. There’s some boring event happening and Zoe wanted to help the floral designer. Always eager to be around plants, as you know.”

Matthew asks, “Weren’t you going to be a florist, Lexi?”

“I dabbled. Not my thing.”

I smirk from behind the glass, “What is your thing exactly? You dabble a lot. I know you don’t like working at that yoga studio.”

On a laugh of agreement she scans the party. “I like working for Paige—she’s awesome—but the place is so fucking boring, Nicholas, you know how it is.”

“No, actually I don’t. How is it?”

Her smile becomes oddly secretive. “I’ll find what I want to do, you just wait.”

“Something to do with a guy named Brad, this ‘thing’ you want to do?”

Emerald eyes flicker, and her white teeth show a little less. “Who’s that? I don’t know anyone named Brad.”

“I dropped by Max’s film-set the other night out of curiosity, Lex.”

“Oh?” Her eyes slide to the party with fake-boredom. “He still working on that?”

“You know he was finishing up after Christmas passed.”

“And?”

“It’s January.” Smirking at her unamused stare, I slide my free hand in my pocket. “Your brother, who loves you, asked if I knew anything. That’s what brothers do—we watch out for our little sisters.”

“You don’t bother Zoe like Max bothers me!”

“She doesn’t require much; Zoe’s a saint.”

“My brother has to mind his own business! And so do you!”

“Yeah, keep waiting for that.”

“I’m serious, Nicholas!”

“Me too.”

“I’m twenty-three now!”

“Uh huh.”

Glaring at me, redhead temper in full swing, Lexi grits her teeth for a few seconds, then decides against telling me to fuck off. The smile returns and her posture softens. “Well, there’s no Brad, so why am I even wasting my time arguing with you about an imaginary person?”

“Why are you wasting mine by lying?”

Playfully she punches me, and it’s not soft. I weather the blow with an entertained grin as Samantha, Lexi’s younger sister, walks up, smile wide open at being so happy to see me.

“Nicholas! Oh my God, hi!”

I lift her off the ground. “I’d spin you around, Blondie, but there’s no room.”

She squeezes me tightly and kisses the side of my head before I set her back down.

Shy around my friend, she offers him a wave, “Hi Matthew. You look good.”

“Sam, radiant as always.”

Her smile shifts to the side, a single dimple poking into her right cheek. “You’ve been drinking, that’s why.”

Lexi has one, too, and it appears as she swats Sam’s arm. “You do look good tonight! I told you that!”

Matthew and I exchange a glance that we want to ditch them now. While I love my cousins, they won’t help us meet women. It’ll look like we’re taken.

He swirls his ice. “I finished off my drink and we haven’t even made it out to the backyard yet.” Politely he asks, “Ladies, want me to get you a cocktail?”

Lexi blinks at him. “No, thank you. We’re going to another party so…” She sucks her lips and glances to Samantha.

I chuckle, “Brad waiting for you?”

“No,” they say in unison.

Lexi tilts her head, “Who’s Brad?”

Samantha echoes, “Yeah, who’s Brad?”

Matthew snorts.

I hand Lexi my glass. “Fill that up and I won’t tell Max.”

She frowns, “Seriously?”

“Do I look serious?”

“You never look serious, Nick.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

“Oh look, when I shorten your name, you lose it!” She pokes at my mouth. “How interesting!”

Catching her finger, I wrap it around my glass, and the others with it. “Grey Goose and Pellegrino. One lime. Do that order twice, would ya, because Matthew needs another one, too.”

Samantha thrusts her hand out and he sets the glass in it, blue eyes dancing. “Thanks.”

Mumbling to each other, my pretty cousins disappear into the crowd, throwing irritated looks over their shoulders at me.

As soon as they’re out of sight I nudge Matt. “Outside. Make them find us.”

“Oh hell yes.”

We stroll into a sea of twinkle lights above countless people. I could count them, but who the fuck really cares? All that’s important is that it’s a lot, because of Billy’s extensive contact list.

Inside, the DJ is slamming dance music off his computer. The sound is projected outside through speakers mounted along the wood fence and it’s so loud that Matthew’s head goes back a little, like he was punched. “How much you think he pays the neighbors not to complain?”

“He invites them.”

“Really? Genius.”

Cocking an eyebrow, I slide slow fingers through my hair as I scan the women. “Hmm…”

Matthew crosses his arms, blue eyes narrowing at the selection. “Who shall it be?”

“So many.”

He nods, “Life is good.”

Lexi appears, hands empty, her sister carrying the responsibility, at her side. She wants me not to tell Max but then has Sam do the dirty work? I know Lex—she thinks it’s beneath her to serve me. She’s got another thing coming.

“You made Samantha carry our drinks?” I demand.

“She wanted to!”

“I doubt that. For your error in judgment—”

“My error in judgment?”

“In pawning off your duty, the deal you signed in exchange for my silence, has now doubled in subservience. You must kneel and hand me my glass.”

A sarcastic laugh explodes and she looks to Samantha. “Can you believe this guy?” Locking onto me, her face becomes rigid. “I’m not kneeling for you.”

On a chuckle I exchange a glance with Matt. His eyebrows go up. To my cousin I smirk, “Kneel or I’ll call Max right now and have him tail you. In fact, I’ll follow you myself. Hey Matt, you up for some overprotective bullshit?”

“Uh…” I punch his chest and he grabs it. “Ow! Sure, okay, let’s follow your cousin around all night. Sounds like fun.”

“That’s better.” I point to the ground. “Kneel.”

Emerald eyes flash as she leans in to insist, “I will not kneel for you, Nick!”

“Don’t want to keep Brad waiting.”

Samantha explains, thinking she’s helping, “That’s no threat to her, Nicholas! He doesn’t know we’re coming—”

Lexi shuts her up with a warning look.

Sam tries to hand me the glass.

I point at the ground. “Kneel, Alexis.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“You called me Nick.”

“No fucking way am I kneeling for you, not in a million years!”

“Kneel.”

“No!”

Pulling out my phone I pretend to dial, and she balks, “Samantha, give it to me!”

She’s careful, doesn’t want to spill even a drop in case I get the whim to force her to walk on her hands or something worse, next. She half-kneels since her dress won’t let her do more without scuffing those black tights.

“Here you are, jerk.”

“Mr. Jerk.”

“Mr. Screw-You-Jerk-Face, here is your drink that I hope you choke on.”

“You may rise.”

Huffing through her nose, Lexi storms off. Samantha hurriedly hands Matthew his drink. Giving me a quick hug she whispers, “Don’t call Max, okay?” She rushes away.

I shout, “I love you, Alexis Cocker!” right before she’s about to vanish.

Lexi pauses at the door, sticks her tongue out at me, as Sam catches up to her. “I love you, too, Nick the Dick!”

Samantha throws me one last wave and then…they’re gone.

Laughing, Matthew and I clink our full glasses and go back to scoping out tonight’s pickings.

He mutters, “Whoever shall it be?”

“My plan?”

“Yeah?”

“Two more.”

With approval he smirks, “Let’s make that happen,” and takes a sip.