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“We’re aware that punching each other won’t solve the problem. And yeah, he’s coming around.”
“Hindsight is a real asshole,” Tristan observes.
“That’s absolutely true,” I agree. “You and Rix doing good, though?”
“Yeah. Bea’s a fucking miracle.”
“You looking forward to her moving in full time?” I ask.
“She’s almost there already, but I’m looking forward to her officially giving up the second bedroom, you know? It’s like confirmation that we’re on the same page.” Tristan scans the room, maybe to make sure no one else is paying attention. “I’ve been looking at rings. I know it’s probably a little early, but Bea’s applied to a couple of programs for the fall. She’ll have to make a decision soon.”
“That’s good though, right? That’s what she wants?”
“Yeah, and I’m all for it. She’s good at the finance stuff—great, actually—but it’s not where her heart is. There’s no reason for her to stick it out in a job she sort of likes when I can afford to send her to school for something that brings her joy. Hell, I’d pay for courses for the rest of her fucking life, if that makes her happy. But I can’t piss a circle around her all the time, you know?”
“The smell would be a lot. And Hemi wouldn’t be happy about the public indecency charges,” I offer.
“Right? But I can put a huge fucking rock on her finger so all those potential douchebags know she’s mine. I figure at the end of summer we’ll have been dating a year, and she’ll have lived with me for a few months—but not so long that she’s totally sick of my shit—so I can lock her in.”
I chuckle and pat him on the shoulder. “I don’t know that you need to worry about locking her in. She’s pretty damn in love with you. I can’t see her getting sick of your shit anytime soon.”
“I really fucking hope not, because Bea’s it for me. I would do anything for her. You know?”
“Yeah, man. I do.”
Roman returns from the bathroom, wearing his worried-dad frown. He looks over at the ladies. “How many pitchers of margaritas have those girls had?”
“The last two have been non-alcoholic,” I tell him.
“That’s a relief.”
Roman polishes off the rest of his beer. “You sticking around?”
“Until Aurora’s ready to go, yeah.” This part is hard to get used to. He’s my best friend and my girlfriend’s dad. I’ve watched out for her a lot over the years. But her staying at my place, that’s new.
“You want to knock on my door in the morning and we can head to practice together?” he asks without looking at me.
It’s an olive branch. We’ve been driving separately.
“Fuck, finally. Let’s take your SUV, Hollis, and you two can drive my ass for the next couple of weeks.” Tristan shakes his head. “It’s been seriously inconvenient for me to drive while you worked your shit out.”
“I feel like I had a right,” Roman says.
“I’m not saying you didn’t. I’m just saying it was inconvenient, and you two can share the responsibility while you’re making it up to me.” Tristan grins.
I shake my head. “You’re an asshole.”
“I know.”
“See you two in the morning.” Roman sets his beer bottle on the table behind us and stops to hug Aurora before he leaves.
“Speaking of people who need a girlfriend, it’s about time Roman jumped back in the pool,” Tristan says.
“Agreed. Especially now.”
“I don’t even know what his type is,” Tristan muses.
“He doesn’t talk to women when Aurora is around,” I explain.
