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Chapter 1

“Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!” The heavy pounding of many exuberant hands thu e as left of the cheesesteaks they ordered earlier

Pat tipped back his shot and chugged hard, nearly choking himself on the thick taste of black beer and Irish crea too old for this shit

He slalass and roared like a champ, but his victorious cry was cut short by a belch that seeed ht not survive the next week Tomorrow, he’d be back home in Jasper Falls, reunited with his crazy Irish fa the end of this chapter in his life as well as his brother’s wedding His insides would surely be fermented by then

“Keep it down, Heaves!” his best friend, Jo, yelled, angering his sour stomach all the more with a hard smack on his back

She’d called him Heaves ever since they were children, when they broke into his parents’ liquor cabinet They drank so much it was a shock they hadn’t ended up in the hospital He’d spent the next several days dry heaving, and Jo spent the next fifteen years not letting him live it down

“No lass as Dina attempted to refill it “I have to drive in a few hours”

He squinted at the clock on the wall, debating if it o or seven in the lasses sometime around the cheesesteak feast No one did cheesesteaks like Philadelphia, though it was up for debate who ht in the City of Brotherly Love, they ordered several froreats like Geno’s, Pat’s, Tony Luke’s, and even Shank’s He definitely did not want to see his dinner return

“We’re gonna head ho over Shay’s shoulders as they staggered for a hug goodbye “Don’t be a stranger, man”

Pat kissed Shay’s cheek and gave Jeff a thu “I won’t Give me a call sometime next week and let me kno you make out at the animal rescue Don’t let Shay talk you into one of those little dogs people carry around in their purses”

Jeff laughed “You got it”

“We should go, too,” Dina said, nudging Brian, who had passed out on the table an hour ago

The parade of goodbyes lasted severalBroad was empty Jo smiled at him, her dimpled cheeks the sareat disguise to whatever was going on inside her alwaysbrain

“What?” he asked, sensing she had soet off her chest

“Nothing” She shrugged “I just can’t believe you’re leaving me”