I run a towel through my damp hair and my phone goes off. I answer it without screening the call, hoping it’s Savannah.
It’s my mother. “Cassius.” My mother’s voice is all honey and Southern charm on the phone. I tense. The last thing I need right now is my mother interfering with her perceived problems.
“We’re having a family dinner tomorrow night.” She says it like it’s a reminder. Like I come every week. Not a demand.
“That’s great. I hope you enjoy it.” I grab some clothes out of the pile of clean clothes and start to get dressed. If I hurry this up, I’ll still have at least an hour to work on the new cocktails before I have to start going over stuff with Katie.
“Seven on the dot, don’t be late. And if you would wear a tie—”
Stop the train right there and return it to the station. No. No family dinner—at least, not one with my real family.
“Mom, I have to work tomorrow night.”
“Cassius Ryan Gardner, is it too much to ask for you to come and see your family? After everything that’s happened, who knows how much time we have left with each other?”
That card is never going to get old for her. Never mind that dad wasn’t in mortal danger. Never mind that she hasn’t been interested for the last five years. Never mind that I might have a life outside of whatever resemblance of a life they have. The only reason I’m not going to hang up is because of Tasha. My sister still regularly puts up with them. She still lives with them. And I am trying to do right by her.
“Thank you for the invite, but I have responsibilities to people. I can’t just abandon them when something comes up.”
And not right before a big opening. Jogging down my stairs, I pause at the bottom to lock my door and walk down the hallway toward the bar, the phone still to my ear.
“Cassius.” She puts on her stern mother voice. Too bad it barely worked when I was a kid, and since I left the house it has no effect on me. Katie and Jackson are at the bar. Katie’s prepping for the night and Jackson’s going over some last minute plans. I hunch my shoulders as if I can keep this call under wraps.
“My hands are tied, Mom. I’m sorry.”
There’s a rustle on the other end of the phone, and a welcome voice comes down the phone.
“Cash,” Tasha says. “The thing about this dinner-”
“Love you, gotta go, bye.” I hang up the phone with only the slightest twinge of regret. I promised to be there for Tasha, but going to family dinner is pushing it. I slip my phone into my back pocket. My mother has never worked a day in her life. Being responsible to her means showing up for a luncheon on time, or at least fashionably late. Much like my father, there’s little thought given to how their actions impact others.
Katie looks up from where she’s stacking glasses. She’s been coming in early to train, because someone’s got to take care of Altitude. Jackson’s still grinning like a fool, and Ryder seems to have ventured out of the back office for this sideshow as well.
“Did you just say the words, I love you?” she asks, staring at me like I’m growing horns or decided to have small stars tattooed all over my face.
“Although this may shock you, I do know those words.”
“Savannah?” She says with an arched brow.
The response makes me miss a step and I catch myself on the bar. What in the world would make Katie say something like that? I like Savannah, and if she did find someone else out in sunny Southern California it would piss me off, but love? That meant things like putting up with chick flicks and brunch. People have sisters for that, not fuck buddies.
“No,” I say way too quickly. That’s insanity. We’re just normal friends who fuck. That’s it.
Katie holds up her arms, surrendering to my verbal gun splatter. That was not supposed to come out like that. I take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose. Back track time. Let’s try this again, without a mention of Savannah. “It was my sister.”
“You have a sister?”
Katie is just being curious, friendly even, but talking about my family isn’t something I want to do with anyone.
As if on cue, my phone goes off again. I screen the call this time, and it’s Tasha. I did just hang up on her. If I don’t take this then I really am breaking my promise to her.
“Natasha, how long has it been since we talked?” I try to ignore Katie and Jackson’s shared faces of mock shock. I cover my phone. “It’s my sister. Please address your shock to my ass.”
Heading back to my apartment, because I have zero interest in giving Katie and Jackson any more ammo on my family, I ask Tasha about school.
“Classes are great. It’s the other things I need help with.”
“Like what? Cause I ain’t helping you hook up with any boy.” She’s my sister and I love her. Knowing what I was like in high school means that no boy will be allowed within fifty feet of her. I’ve been calling her to check in and slowly we are making our way back to each other.