Into the Nothing (Broken Outlaw Series Book 1) by BT Urruela

peeking from behind chapped lips. This guy is into Paige, and he makes no attempt at hiding it. It’s almost amusing the way he interacts with her. At first I thought maybe he was gay, but the way he looks at her…I don’t know. It’s creepy.
    “By the way, Paige,” I say, trying my best to shut this dude up. He’s already starting to annoy me. “I’ve decided it’s a question that cannot be answered.”
    She shakes her head as I take a new beer from Brandi and lift it in appreciation. Ethan looks to me, confused.
    “I said you have to answer it.” She smirks. “Rules are rules.”
    “Answer what?” Ethan asks.
    “Better show, The Office or Friends ,” Paige says, her eyes still on me. “So, Xander?”
    “That’s easy, they both suck,” Ethan interjects.
    “That’s not an option, Ethan. Xander, go.”
    “If you’re holding a gun to my head, then… I guess… The Office .” Paige throws two thumbs down and boos.
    “This is a shit conversation.” Ethan’s haughty voice is grating on my nerves.
    “So let’s talk about you then, Ethan. What do you do?” I ask before chugging my beer. I tried to mask my annoyance, but it’s not something I’m very good at. Especially after I’ve been drinking. The rate at which it’s going down now is scary. We are about to enter Xander drunk territory, as my buddies who serve would say, which never turns out very well for me.
    “I’m a mechanic at my dad’s shop. Not my dream job, but it pays,” Ethan says.
    “So what is your dream job?”
    “Hell if I know. Not a goddamn mechanic, that’s for sure.”
    “Hey, I know the feeling. I’ve done everything from electrical installation to construction and roofing. Now, I’m picking grapes. God knows where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing a year from now, but none of it’s ever what I imagined I’d be doing.” I look at the empty shot glasses. “Hey Ethan, you want a shot? Paige, I don’t know about you. You gotta drive.”
    “Wait, wait, wait. I want one!” Paige whines. “I’m sure as shit not driving after all the shots I’ve had. Are you crazy? We can just have Brandi take us home after the bar closes. She spends the night pretty much every night anyways.”
    “Okay, cool, and Ethan?” I ask.
    “Yeah, I guess, but what are you having? I don’t do the strong stuff.”
    “Nah, we’re just doing Fireball.”
    “That is the strong stuff.” I try my best not to laugh, but it tears from my mouth regardless. Paige starts laughing too, and Ethan’s face turns bright red.
    “Fuck you guys,” he says, flicking his hand our way effeminately.
    My laughing stops abruptly. Any other man saying those words to me would’ve been beaten senseless. I stow the feeling away, not wanting to ruin the evening. Instead, I motion for Brandi to grab three more. She starts to fill four. So much for our DD .
    She brings the shots, balancing them against each other as only a seasoned bartender can, and sets them in front of us. Ethan grimaces when he lifts his. I want to laugh again, but I refrain. It takes everything I have not to ridicule him.
    “Cheers!” I say and we take the shots. Three of them stay down. One comes right back up in a trail leading to the bathroom, our laughter a soundtrack behind Ethan as he scurries away. Paige and I laugh for a good five minutes as Brandi bitches about how she “won’t be cleaning that shit up”.
    Ethan comes back with a stick up his ass and barely speaks I’m too drunk to give a shit, though I can promise you I wouldn’t care stone cold sober either. This dude is a fucking creep. And right now, he’s lucky he’s Paige’s friend.

    Ethan leaves soon after his Smirnoff Ice is finished with a hug for Paige and a cold shoulder for me. We spend an hour or so more at the bar watching ESPN, talking sports and dropping a few more shots. After Brandi gets off work, Paige and I settle in the back of her Honda Civic.
    By the time the engine starts, she and I are