As I finished off another slice of pizza, Rachel said, “Can I ask something obvious?” When no one said anything, she asked, “You both realize that you’re going to date long-distance, right? Is that what’s happening here? Because I thought your dick would fall off if you did that, Nick.”
Nick choked on his pizza as he punched at his chest. “My dick will be just fine, Rachel, but it appreciates your concern.”
“You forget that I was there when you broke her heart and told her you couldn’t date anyone long-distance without cheating.”
“I lied,” he deadpanned.
Rachel spit out a laugh. “I knew it. We both did. Hell, we all did.”
“Yeah?” Nick cocked a brow in my direction.
“We assumed,” I said, clarifying, “but I believed that you meant what you said.”
“I’m sorry. Again.” He kissed my cheek.
“I know you are.” I offered him a small smile. That day when he broke up with me no longer felt like a moment that had just happened, but more like something that happened eons ago.
“Will you be my girlfriend, Jess Michaelson?” Nick asked loud enough for the girls to hear without straining.
“I thought I already was?” Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes on him. I had assumed that my forgiving him and him being here meant that we were back together, no questions needed.
“You were, but I still wanted to ask you. Officially.”
“You two are going to ruin me, I think,” Brooke said as she reached for another slice of pizza. “How can any relationship compare to this?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Be thankful you weren’t there when they were at State together. You dodged a bullet, my friend.” Looking at Nick and me, she said, “Although I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. Really. I mean it.”
I smiled at my best friend, knowing that her words were sincere. I didn’t care if Nick and I made people sick. I’d never care about what people thought about us ever again.
Like Nick said, it was us against the world, and God help anyone who got in our way or tried to break us apart ever again.
Epilogue
Jess
Fifteen months later
If Nick and I had any qualms about being in a long-distance relationship, you’d never know it. He came to visit me every chance he got, even if it was only for a day. I thought it was sweet but not necessary, considering how busy we both were. I tried to tell him to stay home, but Nick refused to listen, claiming that he wanted to spend all of his free time with me. He said it didn’t matter where I lived—he was going there.
After he left that weekend, he had gone straight to the bar to pick up his phone from Ryan and fill his brothers in on what had happened between us. Nick’s dad was sitting in the bar drinking a beer when he arrived. Apparently, Nick had been surprised but thankful to see everyone in one place, hoping to mend any broken fences once and for all.
When his dad presented him with paperwork releasing him from his contract at the company, and then Frank tossed him a partnership agreement offering him a one-third ownership in the bar, Nick couldn’t sign each one fast enough. The day he called to tell me that news was something I’ll remember until I die. I’d never heard him so happy, relieved, and excited before. Everything was finally falling into place for my guy, and that thrilled me no end.
I parked my car in the bar’s small reserved lot and hopped out with a smile on my face, wondering for a moment if I’d ever stop smiling. When I graduated with honors this past spring, I moved back to Southern California the very next day, not wanting to delay my life with Nick another minute. Seeing him sitting in the crowd at graduation with my parents was one thing, but coming back home to him where I belonged was another.
“Hey, Jess,” Kyle said from his perch handling security outside the door.
“Hi, Kyle.” I greeted him with a bear hug as the bar noise from indoors filtered out.
“Busy night?”
Shaking his head, he shot me a look. “What do you think?” he said sarcastically, and I laughed.
It didn’t seem possible that Sam’s could get even more popular, but after Nick bought in and started working there, that’s exactly what happened. Word spread that there was a third Fisher brother, and that brought in even more customers and all kinds of publicity.
Women had their bachelorette parties there, posting clips and pictures all over social media, thanks to Nick. He had created a special filter for Snapchat you could only use when you were inside the bar, as well as a clever backdrop for posting pictures only to Instagram. He really was brilliant, using popular social media sites to his advantage.
Local news channels featured the brothers at least once a week, and every type of reality television show wanted to film scenes at the bar, claiming to love the vibe there. But we knew the truth—it was the three gorgeous brothers the cameras loved, not to mention the audience. Tourists insisted on visiting the “bar hotties with the bodies,” a new catch phrase that came out of one of those reality shows.
Pulling the door open, I stepped inside the packed room, searching for my guy. I spotted him behind the bar with Ryan at his side as they mixed drinks with big smiles on their faces. Frank was at the other end, craning his neck so he could hear someone shouting their order to him.
There wasn’t anywhere to sit at the bar, so I hung out in the back while I waited for Rachel to show up.
“I see the love of my life,” Nick shouted, his voice rising above the bar noise, and I glanced up to see him making a beeline straight for me.