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Robby
Shuffling from one foot to the other, Robby stood outside Brick’s door waiting for someone to answer his knock. Liv had texted him to come by after work, but she didn’t say why. If he was lucky, a plate of pasta waited for him in the kitchen.
Liv opened the door, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him inside.
He caught a whiff of a light, floral perfume.
“We,” she declared, “are all going out tonight.”
“We are?” On a random Wednesday?
She pursed her lips, drawing his attention to the shiny pink gloss there. Liv wasn’t usually one to wear makeup. She also had on a cute dress with a flared skirt and strappy shoes. Not her normal teacher attire.
“What’s the occasion?” And why was he here?
“Jonathan came home in a terrible mood Monday night and hasn’t come out of his funk since. He wouldn’t talk about it.” She smoothed her hair. “When I was talking to Amanda this afternoon, she told me the same thing was going on with Kane. I don’t suppose you know any reason why the two of them were set off?”
He stared at his shoes. Brick and Kane had seemed okay at work, but if he was being honest, they had kind of been walking on eggshells yesterday. He didn’t want to lie about what happened with John, but he had no intention of reliving the experience.
She hummed. “Well, whatever happened, I figured it would be nice for us all to go out and have a good time. Jonathan said you were working at another site today, so you didn’t see him, but he’s still wound up a little tight.” She ruffled his hair. “He loves you. If anyone can help me get him out of this funk, it’s you.”
How could he say no?
“Kane and Amanda are at the restaurant. Matt is meeting us there too.”
He perked up at the mention of Matt’s name. “Yeah?”
Brick scowled as he emerged from the bedroom. He tugged at the collar of the polo shirt straining across his broad chest. “You have anything to do with this, Robby?”
“Oh, hush,” Liv tutted. “Just get in the car. We haven’t been to Moe’s in ages.”
Moe’s was a small bar and grill just a few blocks away. He had only been there once before, when Brick and Liv first met. They had pool tables in the back. Unfortunately, pool was not his forte.
Still, if Liv thought it would make Brick happy, he considered it no hardship to go back. Especially if they still had cheese sticks on the menu.
Kane and Amanda were already seated at a table when they arrived.
Brick grumbled at his wife. “How come Kane gets to wear a T-shirt?”
Liv whispered something into his ear, and his cheeks turned a dusky pink. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Livie-mine.”
They joined their friends at the table and ordered an appetizer sampler to share. Normally, Kane and Brick would be cracking jokes or flirting with their wives like crazy by now. Instead, Kane picked at the label on his longneck, and Brick tugged on his collar again.
Robby sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened at the site the other day.”
“Don’t,” Brick growled. “Your brain is taking you places you don’t need to go.” He slashed his hand through the air before Robby could even argue. “You are not responsible for the shit other people do. I know you don’t think so much of yourself. I’ve been there. You’ve got to hear me, though. You’re better than that. Better than your fucktard ex thinks you are. Better thanyouthink you are. And I’ll just have to keep telling you so as long as it takes for you to believe it. You did the same thing for me.”
“I did?”
“Damn right you did. You were the first person who ever wanted to be my friend. Not because I could do something for you or because you were scared of me. Just because…hell, I still don’t know why. You did, though, and it meant something to me. It still does. You feel me?”
Robby rubbed his chest. “Yeah. I’ll let it go if you will. I know you’re mad about what happened. I know you’ve got my back. What I need right now, though, is to have some fun with my friends. Besides, if the two of you stay like this, your wives are going to disown me.”
The waitress set the tray of food on the table, and Brick swiped a Buffalo chicken wing. “Nobody is going to disown you.”
Robby frowned as Kane, Amanda, and Liv each grabbed a cheese stick, leaving none left on the platter. “I know. The disowning part was a joke, but I meant the rest. Seriously, though, can you try, please, to let it go?”
“Whatever,” Kane grumbled, swiping one of the popcorn shrimps.
