“I am.” I take my own bite. “Is it a bad thing?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m just surprised is all. You know I’ve been pushing you to put yourself out there since we first met.”
“If it were just going to be him and me, alone, on this trip, I would probably have a different opinion of it, but it’s for his friend’s wedding. He needs a date, so I was happy to say yes.”
If I’m being honest with myself, I would probably still go even if it was just him and me, but I’d have to really think first. I just like being with him. It’s easy and there is no expectation or drama.
“Why didn’t you mention it when we went out Saturday night?”
I shrug. “I guess I just wanted to make sure I actually wanted to go before I mentioned it to anyone else. When I realized the excitement was staying, I decided to mention it.”
“And you all haven’t… you know… yet?” she asks with raised eyebrows.
“No.” I shake my head. “We’ve just kissed, and those are just as good.”
“Bullshit. That’s just not true at all. You just haven’t had sex in a while,” Liv teases.
“You haven’t made out with Isaac Black.”
“That good, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“Are you nervous? Overnight trips like that usually lead to sex, especially at weddings. Those make everyone horny.”
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. Hell, having sex with Isaac enters my mind six hundred times a day. I knew when I agreed to go away with him I was essentially agreeing to sleep with him, or at least be open to the idea if our time together leaned that way.
“I am nervous, but not like I expected to be. It’s more of an excited nervous. I’ve never been to Napa and I have an excuse to dress up and dance with a hot guy. It’s formal attire.”
“You know what that means.”
“What?”
“We have to go dress shopping!” Liv exclaims and claps her hands.
Isaac
“You invited her to Napa? Seriously?”
“Don’t sound so shocked, Finn.”
He cracks open the peanut in his hand and tosses the shells into the basket at the end of our table. “Why not? You never introduce girls to all of us at once. We are lucky if one of us gets to meet someone you’re with.”
“I’m not with her. We are just, I don’t know, seeing what happens.”
“Sounds like something a pussy-whipped asshole would say.”
“Hard to be pussy-whipped without the pussy.”
“You still haven’t fucked her? Jesus, man, who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”
I point at him. “Watch it.”
“Fine, fine.” Finn looks around, as the bar grows more and more crowded. “Where’s Caleb? He’s been in the bathroom for fifteen minutes.”
“Maybe he fell in.”
“Nah, we aren’t that lucky.”
I laugh and swallow a gulp of beer. “I told Christopher I was bringing someone. He was just as shocked as you.”
Christopher went to high school with all of us. We were all extremely close, hell, if he lived closer, he’d be here with us anytime we came.
“I still can’t believe he’s getting married.”
“Right? It’s like saying Caleb is going to get married. I never thought anyone would tame Christopher, but I guess Danielle is gifted as hell.”
As if we summoned him by saying his name too many times, Caleb sinks into his seat with a huge smile on his face and lipstick marks on his neck.
“Why are we talking about me?” he asks, and Finn and I just stare at him. “What?”
“How the fuck do you do it? We haven’t been here thirty minutes and you’re already banging some chick in the bathroom?” Finn praises him, “Tell me your ways, Yoda.”
“My secrets, you need not,” Caleb replies, then sips his beer. “Besides, it wasn’t a random person. It was Staci. She needed it; I needed it. We understood.”
Ah yes, Staci, the server he fucks frequently when we come by for drinks.
“You’re an animal,” I tell him. “And we were talking about the fact it’s weird Christopher is getting married.”
“We were also talking about the fact Isaac is bringing a date to stay the weekend up in Napa for said wedding.”
Caleb chokes on a mouthful of beer and coughs. “What?”
“You all are making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. So what if I’m bringing a girl? I’m allowed, aren’t I? So fuck off.” I glare at both of them. “And if you do anything to make her uncomfortable, I’ll kick your asses, got it?”
“Why would we do anything to make her feel uncomfortable? Come on, man, we are the lives of the party and everyone likes us,” Finn says.
“Exactly. We’ll make her, whoever she is, feel right at home,” Caleb adds.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.”
Chapter 12
Isaac
Two weeks flew by in a flash.
One minute, I was talking to the guys about bringing a date with me to Napa and the next; I’m stepping onto the train for the ride up with Sawyer’s hand in mine.
“I’ve never ridden a train before,” she says with wide eyes. “This is amazing and so fancy.”
The train from the Bay Area up to Napa Valley is one of the nicer train experiences. It really leans heavily into the luxe feeling the entire area has. After taking the ferry across the Bay, we were shuttled to the train, and I have to say, having Sawyer with me feels perfect.
“We are meeting a couple of my buddies. They’re sitting with us. I’m sorry for anything they say ahead of time. They can be… a lot.”
“I like when people are a lot. It keeps me on my toes.”
“You haven’t met Finn and Caleb yet.”
We weave through the other passengers, toward the back of the main car, where we find my two best friends sitting next to each other, already nursing a scotch each.
“Early start, fellas?” I slide my hand to lie on the small of Sawyer’s back. I know Caleb will know who
