Hot Drummer Summer

“When’s the last time you got laid?” My best friend Tasha linked her arm with mine and tugged me down Sixth Street in downtown Austin.

“That’s classified information,” I said. She didn’t need to know exactly how long it had been since someone had ventured into the long-neglected territory between my thighs.

Tasha let out a dramatic sigh. “Come on, Stevie. It’s the first Friday night in how long that you don’t have to work and don’t have to worry about getting home to the kiddo?”

My heart squeezed tight as I wondered what my eight-year-old son Miles was up to tonight. His dad was fresh out of another round of rehab, and in an attempt to set things right for all the people he’d hurt in his life, he was trying to forge a relationship with his son. I’d given up on my ex a long time ago, but Miles deserved to form his own opinions about his dad. Knowing they’d be spending the night at my ex sister-in-law’s house was the only reason I’d agreed to let Chad take our son overnight.

With no one to get home to, Tasha had threatened to dissolve our lifelong friendship if I didn’t let her take me out for my birthday. I didn’t know how she talked my folks into letting me take a Friday night off. They counted on me to manage Sanders, the restaurant and bar they owned, especially on the busy weekends.

“This place looks good. Why don’t we stop in here for a drink and see how it goes?” Tasha pulled open a large wooden door. Loud music drifted out onto the street.

“Maybe we should grab dinner first? Somewhere quiet where we can talk?” I suggested.

Tasha’s brows arched in a challenge. “Stevie Nicole Sanders, you’d better get your gorgeous ass inside before I make you do a shot for every second I have to stand out here on the sidewalk.”

I rolled my eyes, way too used to Tasha’s drama. “Fine. I’ll stay for an hour.”

“Three.” She held up three fingers as I passed to head into the loud, crowded bar.

“Two, if they know how to make a decent old-fashioned.”

“Fine.” She let the door close behind us and steered me toward the long bar at the opposite end of the room.

Live music blared through the speakers. The band played a decent cover of a current hit. I’d never claim to have an ear for music, but I’d listened to my fair share of local bands that played at Sanders. I hadn’t seen this one perform before.

“You sure you want an old-fashioned and not something fruity?” Tasha waved the bartender over.

“I don’t suppose you’d let me just get a club soda with lime?” I didn’t have anything against grabbing a drink with my bestie, but I had a big day ahead of me tomorrow. One of the bands we’d hired to play at our annual beach bash had cancelled earlier in the day, and I wouldn’t be able to find a last-minute replacement while nursing a hangover.

Tasha leaned toward the bartender. “She’ll have an old-fashioned in the biggest glass you have, and I’ll take a vodka lemonade.”

“The biggest glass they have? Really?” It wasn’t Tasha’s job to make sure I had a good time tonight. Though she went out of her way to try to make me feel like I still fit in with the group of women we’d been friends with for forever. Most of them had moved away and taken their first step up the corporate ladder. Meanwhile, I was stuck in the same small Texas town I’d grown up in, and even worse, still living with and working for my parents.

I wouldn’t trade Miles for anything, but getting knocked up at seventeen had pushed me right off the straight and narrow path I’d planned on following. Instead of graduating high school and heading to college, I got my GED and moved in with my mom and dad. I thought I’d eventually get my degree, but at twenty-five, I only had a few college credits on my transcript. My lofty goal of getting my MBA and finding a stable nine to five that wouldn’t require working weekends had been put on the burner in the way, way back.

Now, my life revolved around Miles. Since his sperm donor had never been reliable, I tried to be both mom and dad, which left very little time for friends, significant others, or pursuing outdated dreams.

The bartender returned with our drinks and set a huge glass filled to the top onto a paper coaster in front of me. It looked more like a Big Gulp than a cocktail.

Tasha picked up her drink and held it out to me. “Let’s toast.”

I wrapped both hands around my drink and hefted it off the bar. “To what?”

“To you loosening up a bit and to me finally getting that promotion I’ve been working on.” She clinked her glass against mine and took a long draw on her straw.

My gut clenched, and the blood drained from my cheeks. “You got the promotion?”

“Sure did. You’re looking at the newest regional manager.” Her well-groomed eyebrows waggled. “What do you think about that?”

My drink suddenly weighed five-hundred pounds. I set it down on the bar and swallowed the awkward lump that had formed in my throat. Tasha had been working toward a promotion for the past eighteen months. She deserved it. I should be happy for her.

“That’s awesome.” I reached deep down and tried to force a teeny tiny bit of enthusiasm into my voice. “It’s about time they realized how amazing you are.”

“I know what you’re thinking,”—Tasha put a hand on my arm—“that I’m going to move away and forget about my best friend and godson I’ve left behind.”

I shook my head, not wanting to admit that was exactly what I feared. “You won’t forget about us.”

“Damn right I won’t. You and Miles can come and visit whenever you want. The townhouse I’m looking at has a great community pool, and—”

“You’re already looking at townhouses? How long have you known about this?” I tried to keep the hurt from my tone. Tasha and I told each other everything. She was my person. Since we’d binge watched “Grey’s Anatomy” together multiple times, I could say she was my Christina and Meredith kind of person. We’d grown up on the same street and even now we rarely let a day go by without seeing each other or talking to each other at least once.

She’d been there when I cut my own bangs way too short and immediately lobbed off her own long, dark hair so we could start a trend together. She’d hugged me through the heartache of first love and had been the one holding my pee stick when two pink lines appeared and I found out I was pregnant with Miles. She’d held my hand while I pushed a nine-pound baby out into the world while his dad was on another bender.

We’d never lived more than a few minutes from each other, and a promotion meant she’d be moving to her company’s headquarters in Fort Worth, a few hundred miles away.

“I didn’t want to say anything until it was for sure.” Tasha wrapped her hand around my arm and squeezed. “We’ll still see each other all the time.”

“I’m happy for you, really, I am.”

“Maybe once I get settled, you and Miles can come up to visit and see if you like the area.”

“Fort Worth?” I took a huge gulp from my drink. My parents would disown me if I moved that far away. Though my dream had always been to leave my tiny Texas hometown, that had gone up in smoke when I found out I was pregnant. Now, my goal revolved around providing a stable life for Miles and making sure he had the kind of opportunities I’d let slip away.

“You make it sound like it’s Timbuktu.” Tasha laughed. “Hey, watch my drink? I need to visit the ladies’ room real quick.”

I nodded and my friend disappeared into the crowd. Some birthday this was turning out to be. Turning back to the bar, I lifted the huge glass to my lips to take took another gulp of my whiskey concoction. Someone bumped into me from behind. My drink spilled down the front of the one halfway decent top I owned, drenching me in the process.

Sputtering, I slid the now half-empty glass onto the bar. “What the hell?”

“I’m so sorry.” A hand landed on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I swiveled on my stool to face a wall of white cotton. The cotton t-shirt stretched over a chiseled chest. Lifting my chin, I trailed my gaze over a dark beard, a tentative smile, and finally reached a pair of eyes the same shade of blue as the bluebonnet-covered hills in springtime.

My mouth went dry, and I tried to force myself to speak.

Nothing came out.