"Maybe you're not giving most women enough credit."
He shrugged. "Maybe not. Maybe that speech was an excuse to hide the fact that I'm just not ready."
Since that might actually be true, Megan decided not to press the point. But she hoped he found someone soon. Griff was funny and cool and talented. Between his work as a voice actor, his popular podcast, and the web series that had taken off like gangbusters, he was really making his mark.
But in the midst of all that attention, she feared that he was terribly lonely.
Still, push him too hard and she'd end up in the land of the hypocrite. Because her lack of interest in dating was about more than tank tops. She'd had a relationship in LA, and not a good one. Honestly, she wasn't inclined to repeat the experience anytime soon.
Still, that didn't mean she wanted to be celibate. Unlike Griff, she'd had a couple of hook-ups during her months in Austin. But that was more out of loneliness--or, if she were being honest--horniness. But those were just Band-Aids, not relationships. Not even close.
Heck, she didn't even do overnights. And the idea of opening her heart and soul to a man...? Well, she figured it would be a long time before she'd be ready to go down that road again.
Ready to go, they headed out of her unit and to the exterior gate. The Railyard Condos had been constructed from old warehouses in the downtown Austin area. And since the unit she'd sublet was near the west end of the property, they didn't have far to walk before they reached the intersection. They turned north, then continued the two blocks to Sixth Street.
"Oh, what the hell," she said, as much to fill the silence as to lighten her suddenly heavy mood. "Maybe we should just chuck it all and get married."
"Fair enough," he said as they turned left onto Sixth Street. "If we're both still single by the time AARP starts sending us sign-up notices, we'll tie the knot."
"Deal," she said, and they both laughed, the heavy mood now gone. Mission accomplished, she thought as they approached The Fix on Sixth. Just being in the bar that she'd come to think of as a second home would have lifted her mood, but it was nice to go in smiling.
Considering it was past eight on a Sunday night, the place was surprisingly crowded, a fact that Griffin must have noticed, too, because he leaned toward her and said, "I think all the extra publicity is working. Double-edged sword, though."
She knew what he meant. The original owner of The Fix, Tyree Johnson, had been battling some financial issues recently. And he'd made it clear a few months ago that if The Fix was going to stay open past the end of the year, it needed to start showing a regular and solid profit.
More customers meant more profit, and that was a good thing, especially since the fate of the bar was at stake. But it also meant more people, even on nights when the place used to be mostly dead, and sometimes Megan feared that the bar that had become a surrogate home would expand into something too crowded for comfort. A place where even if she could find a seat at the bar, once she sat down she'd realize that she didn't know anybody's name at all.
For now, at least, that was an idle worry. Not only did she and Griff both find seats at the far end of the long bar that ran parallel to the main wall, but the bartender, Cameron, brought over both of their usual drinks within seconds after they'd sat down. "Anything to eat?" he asked, his blue-gray eyes focusing on both of them in turn. "I know you guys love the Cobb Deviled Eggs."
A grad student at the University of Texas when he wasn't tending bar, Cam had also recently been promoted to Assistant Weekend Manager. Considering he'd never forgotten her drink and always recommended food that made her mouth water, Megan thought the promotion was well-deserved.
With his dark hair and broad shoulders, Cameron had recently earned the title of Mr. March in the upcoming Man of the Month calendar, and seeing him reminded Megan that she had a meeting soon with Eva Anderson, Tyree's fiancee and the official photographer for the calendar and the bar.
"Hey!" Taylor hurried over, flanked by Brooke Hamlin, a reality TV star who had pitched a show that focused on renovating the interior of The Fix. So far, they'd only been filming and editing, but the show was set to launch in August, and Megan anticipated that the crowds would grow once the show actually aired.
"Thank goodness you're here." Taylor slid in between Griff and Megan, but her attention was dead-on Megan. "Something's up. Something not good."
Megan frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"The flyer," Brooke said. "I overheard Jenna and Reece talking. But all I know is that there's some sort of crisis with the flyer."
"What? That's impossible." She looked down at the flyer she'd been so proud of and wondered what could possibly be wrong.
"It's probably nothing," Griffin said. She was sitting on his right side, as had become their habit, since she blocked his scars from strangers who might otherwise take a seat beside him. Now, he took her left hand in his right and squeezed, the scar tissue hard and tight against her skin.
"Don't worry," he said. "How bad can it be?"
Pretty bad, she realized less than three minutes later when Jenna hurried over. "I'm so glad you're here," Jenna said, relief and worry both lacing her voice. "I was about to call to see if you could come in. Tyree and I really need to talk to you. Like, now."
Megan glanced at Griffin who still looked clueless, but supportive. "Um, about what?"
"Parker Manning," Jenna said. "He saw the flyer, Megan. And he's pissed as hell."
Chapter Two
The moment she walked into Tyree's office, Megan knew what a condemned man facing a firing squad must feel like.
Tyree sat behind his desk, his hands clasped in front of him on his desktop and the light from the reading lamp making his dark skin gleam.