Love Is Always Write Volume 4

mention, I have been around you for over two years now. I pick up on things."
    "Suppose." Zeb took another drink and sat forward again. "That was him." He glanced quickly back at Nick. "That I was talking to in the back."
    "Yeah? I kinda figured that one out. And…"
    "And…" Zeb sighed and lifted a palm to press to his forehead. "He said he never wanted to break up, that I broke his heart when I left…"
    Zeb went on and gave Nick a brief overview – that wasn't the same as spilling your guts. Right? -- of what had been said in the back room, and for once it felt good to have someone else as a sounding board. He'd talked to Callie a few times during the first month when it was the hardest, but even to her he'd try to pretend everything was fine just so she wouldn't force him to talk about it. For some reason it was easier with Nick. He was comfortable around the older man, but it was also probably because Nick hadn't been around back then and didn't know Chad.
    "Why do I get the feeling there's still something more?" Nick asked, not so drunk that he wasn't still as observant as ever. Zeb, of course, didn't tell his friend anything about taking the shot or how it made him remember his father. But there was one thing he'd left out that he could offer Nick, he just wasn't sure…
    "There was something. He -- well he didn't actually say it but he implied it."
    "What did he imply?"
    "That he loved me." The words rushed out in a breath, not so comfy with the L word. When Chad had said it Zeb had just pretended he didn't hear that part. Easier that way. "I know. Crazy, right?" Then he looked over at Nick who was looking back seriously. Not laughing at him or looking at him like he was nuts.
    "Not so much. How did he imply it?"
    Zeb took a slow breath and admitted quietly, "He said he thought we'd been in love."
    "Also implying that he thought you loved him. Did you?"
    Oh, wow. Shit. Zeb hadn't even thought of that – that Chad also meant he thought he'd been loved. Zeb had already been overwhelmed by their conversation, so pretending not to hear Chad's words wasn't that difficult. But now? He looked back at the bottles behind the bar, narrowing his eyes to better study them – distract himself – and hoped this huge weight in his stomach would go away. "The thing is, he never said that before and I don't know if I should believe him or not."
    "Is he a trustworthy guy?"
    "Of course he is. I mean, there were a couple of things he lied to me about back then, but…" Zeb shrugged and looked back down at the bar.
    Nick gave him a friendly shoulder bump. "I don't know what to tell ya. I think you just have to let it sit with ya for more than five minutes. Sleep on it for a night or something. Maybe you'll know more tomorra." Nick seemed more relaxed than normal, the effect of the alcohol, but wasn't quite slurring and seemed alert enough. Maybe just one more and then they'd call it a night.
    Zeb mentally smacked himself in the forehead. Here he was, letting his buddy get drunk and talking about depressing shit when they were supposed to be celebrating. Sometimes he was a crummy friend. So he called the bartender over and asked if it was possible to get a shot for his friend.
    The bartender made a wise ass joke asking him if he wanted a shot glass for his root beer too. He decided to ignore it and held up his glass towards Nick for a toast. "To baby girls!"
    "To baby girls!" Nick cheered with a huge dopey grin on his face. Callie had her ultrasound done that day and Nick had been upset to miss it. But when she'd found a way to fax the pictures to their hotel with a huge title of "It's a Girl!!!" across the top, Zeb knew they needed to celebrate to cheer his friend up.
    He let Nick go on about how excited he was to be having a little girl, insisting that she would be the most spoiled little daddy's girl ever. His princess, he was already calling her. Zeb smiled and laughed and shared in the joy until it was most definitely obvious that he'd broken his promise to Callie, and her husband was good and sauced. Of course, Nick rarely drank, and with his five and a half feet and only one hundred and fifty pound frame, it didn't take him much. So Zeb didn't think it was entirely his fault.
    One of the guys offered to go grab the car and Zeb helped Nick keep stable on the walk out the back door and into the back seat. It only took two minutes of the engine noise before Nick passed out. The rest of the guys were quiet on the trek back