Tequila Shots

Chapter 6

"Boys don't hunger for fathers who will model traditional mores of masculinity. They hunger for fathers who will rescue them from it. They need fathers who have themselves emerged from the gauntlet of their own socialization with some degree of emotional intactness. Sons don't want their father's 'balls'; they want their hearts. And, for many, the heart of a father is a difficult item to come by." ~ Terrence Real

Brent's POV

I was running late and I hated it. I fished through the bowl on the coffee table for my keys but I couldn't find them there. It was a sign that my day was going to be a shitty one. Pecos' text had woken me up and a glance at the time made my jaw drop. I was already way behind time and I hadn't even taken a shower. I knew from then on that I was fucked for the day only to get ready to leave the house and my keys were nowhere to be found. I packed the contents back into the bowl and headed for Drew's office. I rapped twice on the door and walked in without waiting for his reply.

"Hey, have you seen my keys?"

"Top of the morning to you too," Drew smirked.

"I'm running late, man. Did you see my keys?" I asked again.

"What made you so bitter this morning? You look like you can bite someone's head off."

"I sure can and I will bite yours off if you override my question one more time," I glared at him. I knew he was stalling to try to get me to calm down but his actions had the opposite effect on me. I was getting more irritated by the second.

"Relax! Here," he laughed.

He tossed my keys at me and I caught them before they hit the floor.

"I knew you had them," I scoffed.

"Mind you, I didn't hide them. Rachel took it from Renny this morning and she brought it to me. I don't know how he got to the bowl on the coffee table but she found him playing with everyone's keys and so she brought them all here. Javi already took his."

"Yeah. Whatever. See you," I turned to leave, taking out my phone to call Uncle Carl that I was running late when Drew stopped me.

"Brent! Can I see you for a second?"

"I'm late, man," I groaned, wondering what it was that would make him stop me from leaving.

"I know. That's why I asked for only a second."

"Alright. But give me a minute. I have to inform uncle Carl that I'm running late."

I dialed his number and he picked on the third ring. His voice sounded hoarse and groggy like he didn't get enough sleep. I informed him that I would meet him in thirty minutes and he pushed it to an hour. Apparently he had just gotten out of bed and he wasn't feeling so good. I told him not to worry. I was going to go to him. We would have the meeting at his house. He may be my contractor but he was family before that. I ended the call and turned back to face Drew who was looking at me earnestly.

"Everything okay with Uncle Carl?"

"He's not feeling so good. I'll go see him after we're done."

"Oh that's good. Say hi to him and Mati for me. I should stop by one of these days."

"Okay, so what's up?"

"Yeah that. So as you know, Rachel and I met up with Sam of which you were supposed to be there but I get that you couldn't make it. Anyway, we talked a bit. Rachel and I both told her about the ideas we had for the wedding and asked for her opinion. She said they were good and would serve as the foundation for whatever she came up with. Then she asked to go to the house. I guess she wants to see the space she would be working with to be able to plan how to organize it and decorate it..."