THATCHER
I realize the second I finish that I have no idea what this chick's name is. Did we talk about names? Or did we just walk back to her apartment last night? I don't usually stay over, but I was completely exhausted after our acrobatic routine in her living room, her hallway, and her bed. And then she was down for an encore this morning…so here I am.
"Fuck," I shout, looking at her clock radio. "Is that the right time?"
She rolls over, pushing the curtain of her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Mmmm. I guess so." She runs her fingers lightly along my chest, letting her head flop back down on the pillow.
"Fuck. I'm so fucking late. Shit." I'm out of the bed in a flash, scrambling around her apartment looking for my clothes. I'm going to have to go wearing the same stuff I had on last night. I run my fingers through my long hair, trying to tame it a little. My family is going to kill me.
"Thatcher, wait." I hear her padding down the hall, still naked. Fuck me, she's hot. A tall, leggy blonde with big eyes and full lips. Do I want to get her number? Fuck it.
"Babe, I'm sorry. I have to get out of here." I find my wallet under the couch near my jeans. My keys…aha! They're on the floor inside the front door. When I stand up with them I see her standing with her arms crossed.
She raises an eyebrow. "You're just going to run out of here like this? Literally run out?"
"It's my nephew's birthday party. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"
"Give me five minutes and I'll come with you."
Woah. "What?" My tone is harsh, but is she serious right now?
"Bring me with you. To the party. I love kids!"
I hold my hands out, palms up. "Look, doll, we just met last night. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I can't bring you with me to my nephew's birthday party with my family."
"Doll? Babe? You don't even know my name do you?"
I open my mouth and then close it again. Fuck it. I wasn't coming back for more anyway.
"Fuck you, Thatcher Stag. Fuck you!" She starts throwing magazines at me from the shelf in the hall. I duck as a huge bridal catalogue comes flying at my head and then I remember. "Amber!" I look at the address label from one of the projectiles. Fuck. "Tiffany, come on. You seemed like you had a good time…"
She shakes her head. "You are unbelievable."
I don't have time to talk about this more. My brother is going to tear me a new one if I'm not there for this party. I pull the door open and then shut, jogging a bit to find my beat up old Ford Ranger parked outside. I slam the truck into gear and screech out of the parking lot just as I see Tiffany stick her head out the apartment window. I don't even hear what she's shouting at me.
I take stock of myself. My hair and beard are a mess. There's definitely lipstick on the collar of my polo. I'll have to go in just my undershirt. I wonder if my brother will buy it if I say I got hung up in my work this morning and lost track of time.
Luckily I have my nephew's gift with me. I can tell them I was putting the finishing touches on it, even though I've had it done for months. I had picked it up from the engraver last night before I hit the club, which was why I had it along, tucked safely in the glove box.
I pull up outside my brother's house in Highland Park. It's the house we all grew up in, where Tim took care of us after my mom died and my dad took off. Now Tim lives here with his wife, Alice, and their baby. Tim's always been hard on us, insisting that we keep our shit together. And with good reason. It's not like it rained money for our family. We had to be careful, couldn't afford any missteps. But I'm an adult now, and Tim's become even more of a hard ass since he married Alice. At least with me.
Our other brother, Ty, can do no wrong as far as Tim's concerned. Ty is a professional hockey star and his fiancé, Juniper, is a lawyer at my brother's firm. She used to be Ty's lawyer until they got together. Tim acts like the sun shines out of Juniper's ass and Ty is basically another sunbeam, between all his community service and the way he helped Juniper train for an Olympic gold medal in rowing.
I'm left to bear the brunt of all of them judging me. They think I'm some dirty, deadbeat, wanna-be artist. They think I'm a selfish womanizer, and maybe that part is true. I breathe slowly in and out through my nose. Yeah. That part is true.
I climb out of the truck and head inside, wondering how much I've missed and how long Tim is going to yell at me about it later.