Page 13 of Loving Callie
Callie wasn’t ready to share all the sexy details of how she and Jake had spent the last twenty-four hours, but she knew her best friend wouldn’t let up until she knew something so she replied, “Yeah, you know me and cinnamon buns. It was hard to decide which I wanted more – him or the buns!”
“Please tell me that means you enjoyed them both?”
Callie smiled secretively. “Oh yes. I enjoyed them both. A lot.”
Reagan let out an enthusiastic cheer and grabbed Callie in a big hug and said, “Finally! My girl got some action! Tell me, was he as incredible as you make him sound? Is the hot bartender really hot?”
“It was more than incredible. He made me feel sexy, beautiful, and as if I was the most important thing in his world.”
The look of happy satisfaction on Callie’s face was enough to prove just how wonderful Jake had been. Touching Callie affectionately on the shoulder, Reagan’s gaze was brimming with excitement for her best friend.
“I’m so glad you finally found someone who can make you feel as wonderful as you truly are. That’s all I have ever wanted for you, and I really hope you can see through the crap your parents put you through, and see that this, real love and happiness, is what you deserve.”
Callie’s eyes threatened to fill with tears as she pulled her friend in for a hug.
“Thank you. You’ve always been by my side and you’re pretty much the only person who’s always been okay with me just being me. That means more than I can say.”
Placing her hands back on Callie’s shoulders, Reagan’s voice was serious when she replied, “Listen to me, Callie. Don’t let this man get away. If you could see the joy and excitement in your eyes, you would understand. I’ve never seen that look before. Anyone who can bring that look to your face is worth holding on to. But I know you, and I’m willing to bet you’re letting your mother’s voice invade your head and confuse you.”
Callie was speechless at Reagan’s impassioned plea. And, she grudgingly had to admit just how accurate her observations were. Sometimes, her best friend knew her a little too well.
“You’re right he’s a great guy. I’m not denying that. And I do want to see him again. But it’s way too early to think about anything serious. We’ve only been on two dates and I just can’t make any long-term plans right now. You know I can’t. Not with everything my father has coming up.”
With an exasperated sigh, Reagan jumped up, and started pacing in front of Callie’s couch. This conversation was exactly like so many others they’d had over the years, but Reagan wasn’t one to give up until her point was made. With a fiercely protective voice she began to rant. “There you go again. Putting THEM and their ambitions before yours. Stop it Callie, just stop it! You deserve happiness. And honestly, do you really think your dad’s election success will depend on who you are dating? Don’t ruin a potential future with Jake just because of what you think they might feel about it. Your parents are not worth your sacrificing this chance at happiness. I’m sorry to be so harsh, but its true.”
Reagan’s words were hard to hear, but Callie had to admit, she had a point. Why couldn’t she be in a relationship that made her happy? It was always possible that her parents would surprise her, and not be too harsh about Jake. And maybe pigs would fly, but who knew.
Standing up, Callie took Reagan’s hands in an effort to calm her friend down from her agitation. She knew Reagan came from a place of love, and her message was not exactly wrong even if Callie had to struggle to fully accept it. Surely she could agree to try.
“Okay, Reagan. I promise I’ll try not to let my parents get in the way of whatever this might become with Jake. I want to see where it goes, no matter what.”
* * *
Inventory for the bar was a sweaty job that consisted of counting, lifting and moving many heavy crates of alcohol. After a couple of hours of hard labor, Jake and Ryan were hot and tired. They poured a couple of local brews and sat down at the bar to catch up on the financial side of things at the pub. Business had been brisk, but that was expected for the first few months. They now had to discuss long-term plans on how to retain their customers and encourage new people to come through the door.
Chewing on his pencil as they brainstormed ideas, Ryan came up with his latest thought.
“What about trivia nights? We could do themed ones.”
Jake had to admit, this was one of Ryan’s better ideas. He had already vetoed wet t-shirt contests, to which Ryan had responded that Jake was just a prude. No, if his time with Callie was any indication, Jake was no prude. But he did plan on avoiding any over-sexualization of women. Both men were very serious about respecting women.
“Hey, Ry that’s not bad! Trivia night could be a weekly thing, with a different theme every time. I wonder if we could come up with a signature drink each week too?”
“Yeah, that could be cool. I do miss mixing drinks, the one downside to owning a brew pub is most people only drink beer.”
Jake rolled his eyes at Ryan’s statement. He knew his best friend was one of those beer drinking people, but he also knew Ryan loved the excitement of creating drinks and entertaining people while working behind a bar. It was why, when he realized he would actually be able to open a pub thanks to Pop’s financial gift, Ryan was the first – and only – person Jake had approached to be a partner.
Ryan and Jake had met in college, and the two men had a friendship that was easy, built upon a high level of trust and understanding as well as brotherly affection that made them excellent business partners.
After the two men worked out some more details for their trivia night idea and came up with a list of things to figure out, they settled back to relax for a few moments before getting back to work. Jake knew it was inevitable that Ryan would ask about Callie, and when Ryan looked at him over his beer with a sly look on his face, he knew the questions were coming.
“Alright, Evans, you’d better tell me where you were this morning? I was surprised at how late it was when you texted me. Tell me she was hot.”
Jake was surprised at the wave of jealousy and protectiveness that surged through his body at Ryan’s words. Fine, they had joked about women before, but Callie was different.
“Watch it, dude, yeah she’s hot, but she’s off limits. Got it?”
Ryan put his hands up defensively, just as surprised by Jake’s response.
