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“What about this one?” I hold up a fire-engine red paint chip.
“No.” Carter is one more ridiculous suggestion away from punching me. If we weren’t in the hardware store, he probably would’ve by now.
I sigh, as if he’s being stubborn. “Fine. I just figured you’d want to be reminded of your hubby while he’s gone on his shifts.”
“I am not painting our bedroom the same color as a fire truck.” He scans the colors again, only to grab the same grey he keeps choosing. “I like this one.”
“Yes, you’ve said that about a million times. It’s boring.” I move down the wall of color to pick up one of the pre-made color pallets. It’s way too much color for Carter, so I put it back and grab a different one. “Hey, what about these?”
Carter takes the folder from me. “I like these. That grey is close to the one I already picked out.”
I drop my head back with a groan. “You’re fucking hopeless.”
Carter laughs. “I’m joking. I do like this green color. It’s soothing.”
“Let’s get a couple of samples of the ones you like best to try them out.” We get a couple of sample sizes, and Carter starts to ask for the grey, but I stop him. “No, you do not need a sample of the boring colors. We need to know if you’ll like the bright ones first.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Do these three, then.”
“Sam better bring me a cake or something for all the work I’m doing for him,” I grumble.
Once we’re checked out, Carter and I drive back to his new house. It’s a nice traditional-style home with three bedrooms, a huge kitchen, and a closed-off dining area that Carter’s going to use as an office.
Sam is on shift today, so Carter asked if I’d help him pick out paint colors. I was pumped he asked me to come over. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten to hang out for longer than our soccer matches. It’s moments like these that make me grateful I work in a bar. I don’t need to be there until this evening, which gives me plenty of time to spend Saturday with my brother.
We take our paint supplies inside his house, and I put everything on his kitchen counter. “Hear me out,” I start. I grab the paint chips we picked out and tape colors to the wall to show Carter my vision. “All of these colors go together already, so we can mix them up however you want, but I think this is the best combo, since your kitchen and living room are open to each other.”
“I’ll want to see the paint on the wall, but I agree with you. It will look nice and bring some brightness to the room since our furniture is grey.”
“Exactly. It’ll add a little pop without being too dramatic.”
“Thanks for helping me pick this out. If I’d done it with Sam, he’d have let me get the grey. He doesn’t truly care what color I pick.”
“Dammit. I should’ve pushed harder for the red!”
Carter chuckles. “He probably would’ve hesitated on that one.”
I help Carter paint a few swatches of paint on different areas of the walls to get a good sense of how the color will look all over the room. When we get done, I can tell Carter is pleased with the choices. He keeps looking at the color swatches and smiling.
We clean up and put together a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips, both of us stuffing our faces without talking much. This is one of the many reasons Carter is my best friend. I don’t ever feel like I have to be the entertainer like I do when I hang out with my other friends. Everyone always expects me to be the life of the party, and for the most part, I am. Having fun is ingrained in my personality, but there are times when it feels more like an obligation and less like me. When I’m with Carter, there are no expectations of who I should be.
“What have you been up to recently?” Carter asks.
“Not much. The bar has started to pick up since it’s getting warm outside.”
“You dating anyone?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you know?”
Carter winces. “Everything?” He says it like a question, as if he’s preparing for me to be mad.
Instead, I roll my eyes and laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Adam’s the worst gossip of the five of us, despite pretending like he isn’t.”
“You’ve got that right. He always says it’s because he wants to make sure we’re doing okay, but I think he just likes being in our business.”
“Right? He’s so nosy.”
“To his credit, I don’t think he’s told anyone else besides me. He was worried no one would be there for you.”
