Sweet Little Thing: A Novella (Sweet Thing) Read Online Free Page B

drink.”
    “Deal,” he said, but before he Googled it on his phone, he stood up and made an announcement. “This genius,” he said, pointing his ginormous index finger at the top of my head, “doesn’t believe this is CCR on the jukebox.”
    The eight random people in the bar all shook their heads and said, “What?” and “Of course it’s CCR.”
    Tyler continued, “I’m going to Google it and if it’s CCR, then this guy will buy this bar a round.”
    The other daytime drinkers-slash-alcoholics all cheered and clapped. I watched as Tyler Googled it. His silly, smug grin was washed from his face in seconds.
    He stared at the screen and then under his breath he said, “It’s the goddamn Hollies.” He looked around the bar and yelled, “We lost, people. Sorry. Better luck next time.”
    When things settled down, I remembered that I wanted to interrogate him about the pregnancy-test thing. “Do you and Jenny have any news or anything?”
    He looked over at me. “No. Why?”
    “I was wondering about the baby thing.”
    “The baby thing?” He seemed pissed. “Is that how you ask if Jenny’s pregnant?”
    “Shit. Sorry, bro. I didn’t mean to be rude. Yeah, I guess I’m asking if Jenny’s pregnant.”
    “No, she’s not, but we’re still trying, and I don’t mind that part.” He waggled his brows. “What about you guys? You gonna wait until after you’re married?”
    “I don’t know. At first we were like rearing to go, but our jets have cooled. We’re definitely waiting until after we’re married and then some. Dude, it’s hard enough having a puppy, and with the studio launching, we’d be crazy to go there. I want kids for sure, but we’ve got plenty of time.”
    “Yeah, man. I hear ya. So you guys are getting married in two weeks. That means we have to do the bachelor party next weekend. I’ve been brainstorming.”
    “I don’t need a bachelor party.”
    “Hell, yeah, you do, and I have the perfect idea.”
    “What?”
    “Pub crawl and then lap dances.” He arched his eyebrows and nodded, saying, “Hmm, hmm, whaddya think?”
    “I don’t even know what to think. Whatever your plan is, you best run it by Mia. I don’t want to be divorced before I’m married.”
    “All right, then it’s set for next Saturday. It will all be planned and I’ll tell Mia almost everything.”
    “No nudey bars or strippers,” I said nonchalantly.
    “That’s like a rite of passage. What’s happened to you?” Tyler’s long arms started waving around. He normally talked with his hands, but when he was really passionate about something he would get both arms into it. It was creepy.
    “I just don’t want to.”
    “Liar.”
    Standing up from my stool, I threw a five-dollar bill down on the bar. “There. I’ll get mine. Everyone thinks that song is by Creedence Clearwater Revival; don’t sweat it. I gotta bolt.”
    I gave Tyler a typical guy shoulder hug and headed out the door. I heard him call back, “I’ll see you at eight on Saturday!”
    Before heading up to our loft, I stopped at the studio. Frank was sitting on the lobby couch, talking boisterously on his cell phone. The lobby was a tiny room in the front of the building. There were no windows aside from the two glass double doors. Inside the lobby sat a small couch and two leather captain’s chairs facing an Indian-inspired wooden table that Sheil had given us. There was a small desk in the corner where the receptionist, Maggie, sat. She was always insanely preoccupied with her looks. When I walked in, Frank held a finger up to me. I glanced over at Maggie, who was looking at herself in a compact mirror.
    “Mags,” I said in a loud whisper. When she looked up, I jetted my thumb toward Frank and mouthed, “Why is he here?”
    She shrugged and then went back to applying a coat of lipgloss. She’s grossly overpaid.
    I took a seat next to Frank and waited for him to wrap up the call.
    “Saturday, yes, that should work,” he said