Meadowlarks (27 page)

             
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my jeans.

             
“Who is it? Is it Addy?” Alex tosses a log into the flame, and it sends embers flying up into the air.

             
             
Addison:
Hi handsome. Just wanted to tell you I love you. How's Alex?

              Me: He's OK. Happy, actually. I love you.

Addison:
Good. I was worried.

Me: Miss me?

Addison:
You have no idea. Riley went to bed, Zoe Cam and Leah are a little                                           drunk.

Me: And what about you?

Addison:
Well, I'm missing you. Badly ;)

Me: A 5 min drive is about a 20 min run. If you keep teasing me I'll               have to come home.

Addison:
Stay. Have fun, make sure Alex doesn't overdo it.

Me: :(

Addison:
I'm going to bed soon. I'll think of you ;) Goodnight, my love.

Me: K, that's it. I'm coming home.

Addison:
Blaine!

Me: Love you

“Welcome back!” Alex flicks a bottle cap at me when I put my phone back in my pocket and look up from my private daydream. “Well, what are they doing?”

             
“They're going to bed.”

             
“Oh...” He seems disappointed, maybe because there wasn't anything mentioned about Riley. “Let's get some tunes going!” He jumps up and runs into the house. Minutes later, two big windows open, and music starts thumping from the living room. We all sit around the fire, singing to the music and drinking beer like we're kids having a good time.

I haven't been drunk since my botched bachelor party in Cody. I think I've sworn off hard liquor. I'll stick to beer, and I pull another out of the cooler, twisting off the cap.

              I have no idea what time it is when we pass out. When I wake up, the sun is just rising, and the fire is nothing but smouldering ash now. Jer is still asleep, curled in his chair like a giant baby, but Alex is nowhere to be seen.

             
“Alex?” I call out, and Jer stirs but doesn't wake up. My head is pounding, and my body aches when I get up from sleeping in the chair. “Alex?” I call him again, no response.               Staggering into the house, I need to use the bathroom badly. When I open the door I find Alex, passed out on the bathroom floor, one hand around the base of the toilet. I kick his shoe with mine. “Alex, wake up.” He grumbles something incoherent.

             
“Buddy, wake up. I gotta use the toilet.”

             
“Man...Just go.” He attempts to sit and wipes drool from his cheek.

             
“No, get out. Come on; get up!” I help him stand, and he braces himself on the counter top.

Trying to adjust his eyes, he
looks at himself in the mirror. “You're such an idiot,” he says, either to himself or to me.

             
“What?”

             
“Nothin'. Where's Jer?”

             
“Outside sleeping.” I nod at the door. “I don’t need help…”

             
His good mood from last night is gone, and the little jerk that I saw at Zeke's and met in Addison's small kitchen is back.
Wonderful
. He leaves, and I slam the door behind him.

             
I wash my hands, and when I start to dry them, I hear the music start to thump again. The bass rattles some frames on the wall; they're dusty old shadowboxes with dried flowers. I'm sure they're from Jer's mom’s gardens. She would turn in her grave if she saw how he let them get overgrown. The flowers eventually died, and Jer didn’t seem to care; after all, his parents were dead, too.

             
The house isn't falling apart, but it is dusty and hasn't changed much in years. I really should take some time and help him around here instead of my house all the time, especially after everything he's done for me. In this moment, I feel like an ass for never thinking of it until now.

             
“Bro!” Alex, or
Dr. Jekyll,
as I'm close to calling him with all his mood changes, calls from the kitchen. “Breakfast of champions!”

             
The toaster pops up, and he drops two waffles on a plate and slides it down the counter to me. I shrug, grab syrup from the fridge, douse them with sweet maple goodness and devour everything on my plate in about five forkfuls.

             
“Thanks,” I manage to say with a mouthful of waffle.

             
“No problemo.” He slides two more frozen waffles into the toaster and pushes the lever down. “Well, good morning, sweetheart!” he says to Jer, who has just joined us.

             
“Mornin'.” Jer looks about as good as we do, and walks even worse. “I hurt. Everywhere.”

I laugh, and he sits down at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands.
              “Getting' too old for this shit, huh?” I joke and scoop coffee grounds into the coffee maker on the counter.

             
Alex grabs the remote for the stereo off the counter and turns down the music. The toaster pops, and he puts a plate on the counter, piling two waffles on.

             
“Here ya go, old man.” He slides it toward Jeremiah who grumbles and stands up to get his breakfast. “So, what's the plan for today guys?”

             
“Can we wake up first?” Jer groans.

             
The coffee is percolating, and it smells amazing, exactly what I need to get it together.               Jer covers his waffles with even more syrup than I did and eats them like a sandwich. Syrup’s running down his fingers, but he doesn't even bother to stop it, just lets it pour down on his plate.

             
“Jer! You're making a mess.” Alex scolds him, and I can't help but laugh at how domesticated they've become with each other. Definitely the odd couple.

             
The coffee finishes dripping, and I pour a steaming cup of “I have a hangover and I need to wake the hell up” and walk outside to sit on the porch. The sun is up and blazing already; it looks like it's going to be a good day. The clock on my phone says it is eight forty-three, so I call Addison, hoping she's awake.

             
“Good morning,” she answers, and I hear the smile in her voice.

             
“Hi, baby.”

             
“Mmm, you sound groggy. Have a late night, did we?”

             
“Little bit.” I clear my throat. “What are you up to?”

             
“Well, the girls want to go out for breakfast so we're going to Lake’s. Wanna meet us there?”

             
I take a big sip of black gold. “Umm, yeah. Okay.”

             
“And bring those two—let's get this over with.” She's clearly talking about the pregnancy bombshell.

             
“Kay, see you soon. Love you.”

             
“I love you. And I missed you, very,
very
much last night.”

             
This girl is going to be the demise of me. I feel myself start to get anxious with just her words.               “Baby, you're gonna get yourself in trouble. Lake’s has big bathroom stalls, you know.”

             
“I know.” She laughs. “Bye!”

             
“Bye.”

             
Hands slap my shoulders, and Alex almost jumps from behind me. How does he go from sleeping on the bathroom floor to perky and upbeat in five minutes? Must be his age; I guess I used to be like that too. And that thought makes me feel old. I finish my coffee and take the mug back in the house.

             
“Get cleaned up; we're going to Lake’s for breakfast.”

             
Jeremiah looks anything but enthused.

             
“With the girls.” I add. And he smiles, gets up and heads into the bathroom. The shower starts, and he's in and out in minutes, ready to go.

             
The efficient staff at Lake's pushes two tables together to accommodate all of us. The girls are already there by the time we arrive, scanning the massive breakfast menu.

             
“Hey, boys!” Riley waves to us when we walk in, like we wouldn't notice them all sitting there. Alex lights up and goes to sit between her and Addison. When he does, Riley gives him a kiss on the cheek, and he whispers something in her ear.

             
Since the only two seats are either between Zoe and Leah or at the end of the table, I don't get a chance to pick as Jeremiah swiftly sits beside the two girls and puts his arms on their shoulders.

             
“Ladies, how are we today?” He's got his game face on. “You're all looking lovely this morning.”

             
They giggle.

             
“Jeremiah, behave yourself.” Addison narrows her eyes playfully. “You be nice to my girls.”

             
“That's
exactly
what I am doing, thank you!” He's on a roll today, and we haven't even ordered yet.

             
I haven't seen Addison since last night when I left the house. She's got her hair down, my favourite way. It's falling over her shoulders in long perfect curls, and she's wearing a sexy blue dress with a low neckline which lets me see her...
Oh
,
Lord...
chest.

             
Come to think of it, I think it's the same one she was wearing the first time I saw her at Zeke's. As everyone makes conversation around the connected tables, I watch her while she peruses the menu, her eyes trailing along the words, and her long lashes batting gently. She catches my gaze and smiles at me.

             
“Love you,” she quietly mouths the words to me.

             
“I love you,” I whisper back.

             
Sadee is our server again, and she lights up when she sees us.               “Hi, everyone! So good to see you!”

             
“Hey, Sadee, how's it going?” I smile and introduce the faces she doesn't recognize, the four women at the table looking very out of place.

             
“It’s great! Has everyone had the chance to look at the menu?” She eagerly looks at us, pen and spiral notebook ready.

             
“I think so!” Addison smiles, looking around, and everyone nods.

             
I order a hearty omelette filled with red peppers and onions, shredded cheese, spinach and ham. I add on thick toast and diced potatoes on the side—and, of course, black coffee.               When Sadee places it on the table in front of me, I nearly salivate, the steam from the eggs wafting into the air and right into my nostrils. This beats frozen waffles hands down any day.

             
All the girls order pancakes. I guess I didn't pay attention when they ordered because what comes out on the plates don't look like any pancake I've ever seen. They're stacked and oozing strawberry sauce, covered with a mound of whipped cream and blueberries sprinkled around the base of the pile.

             
I've finished my omelette in record time, and when I take a piece of toast to slather jam on, I feel someone watching me. Her blue eyes are blazing, and she's got a devilish grin on her pretty face.

             
What is she up to now?

             
A finger slowly dips into the whipped cream on her plate, and she closes her eyes and puts it into her mouth, tormenting me while she sucks the sweetness from her fingertip. When she opens her eyes, she smirks, and I narrow my stare. She knows how to get me going.

I guess a stall in the bathroom will have to do because I don't think I can let her out of here without being inside of her first. We are completely oblivious to everything and everyone around us; it's like a blur of noise and
colors just whipping by, and we're in our own private moment.