Page 5

I yell, “Drinks on me!” as we stand up there. Thankfully, Tyler saves my lying ass, steals my credit card telling everyone I’m not serious and I have no money.

Partially true. I have fifty-seven dollars in my checking account.

You would think at some point during all of this drinking I would have begun to feel sick. I drank a lot of alcohol, but maybe it was the heartache soaking it up.

Shaking myself from those thoughts, I look over to Tyler who I notice, not for the first time tonight, is staring at my chest. His gaze only lingers there for a minute and when he looks back up to meet my eyes, he winks, and we find ourselves once again smiling at each other.

A switch in the songs draws our attention toward the stage and Rawley’s playing a slower song, SafetySuit’s “Never Stop,” his attention on Sophie in the corner of the bar drinking with her friends. My brother is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, Sophie, but refuses to admit it. He’d rather fuck with her head than tell her how he feels.

I drag my eyes back to Tyler and notice that again he’s not looking at me, but instead at my chest.

It makes me sigh. Again. Actually sigh because the way he’s looking at me sears my skin with his heat and sends my heart sputtering like a misfired engine. It’s there in his eyes that he’s enjoying my reaction, along with the slow lick of his lips and the darkness in his eyes.

I think it’s worth mentioning again that I’m incredibly drunk. Having said that, I want to be clear, I’m not throwing myself at Tyler. I’m launching myself.

Sipping the drinks a little more slowly, I keep having to wipe the condensation from the glass. It drives me mad, seeing it pool around the glass. I also hate the drips when I would go to drink, and water spills all down the front of me.

Tyler’s amused and even keeps taking my napkins to see what I will do if the water pools and I have nothing to wipe it up with.

Teasing bastard. He’s done this to me since I was a kid and he realized I had obsessive compulsive disorder.

“Want another one?” Zack asks, gesturing to my empty drink with a nod.

“I’m here to make bad decisions and regret them in the morning. Serve it up.”

Tyler laughs beside me when Zack turns around to make the drink.

“What if youdon’tregret them in the morning?” Tyler asks.

“Even better.” I point my finger in his face. He tries to bite it, his cheeks flushed from his buzz.

“What the hell is in those drinks?” Tyler asks when I take a drink and moan and then looks at Zack. “Dude, cut her off already.”

Zack whispers something I don’t hear but they both laugh.

I push the menu at him and then protectively cup my glass. “It’s not on the menu. It’s a secret concoction.” The word cock rolls off my tongue nicely and doesn’t go unnoticed by Tyler.

In fact, I think it makes him uncomfortable because he shakes his head but shifts on his stool, his left arm dropping to his lap.

Resting my arm over his shoulder, I hug him to my side. I’m a happy, loving drunk and will love on anyone if they let me get close enough to them. “Man, I’ve always had a huge crush on you. I remember when I was like fifteen, and you were twenty-one, you snuck a beer from a party for me and took me out in your truck around town. Do you remember that night? It was snowing like crazy and you were doing donuts in the parking lot of the shop. You asked how old I was that night and when I said fifteen—”

“Yeah,” he interrupts, nodding. “I remember that night.”

“You said damn when I told you my age, but you knew how old I was so I couldn’t figure out why you asked.” Removing my arm, I stare curiously at him, his smile higher on one side. “Were you mad?”

“Kinda.” He shrugs, flipping a bottle cap around in his hand. “I only asked because I needed the reminder. You were pretty hot that night but way off-limits. I shouldn’t have even entertained the idea, but I did.”

I love the way he says, “But I did,” because he’s honest with me and I love honesty right now. “Well.” I shrug myself. “I’m not fifteen anymore, so there’s that.”

“No, you’redefinitelynot fifteen.”