Page 5

Chapter 5

Moxie

“O w!” I yell, as I chuck the offending eyelash curler across the room. Why do I even own a contraption like that? I don’t remember using it before and can’t fathom when it would have ended up in my collection.

“Yeah, I know,” I mutter to my reflection. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Why am I trying to impress him anyway? My body roils with brand-new emotions making me ignore my instincts to get the hell out of this situation. I meet my own gaze, intense and wary, and immediately picture my mother staring into her own mirror, not realizing I stood in the hallway. I watched her fight to compose herself after another argument with my father over empty wallets and stacks of bills. Her trust in others wiped away as completely as her tears over the friend that betrayed them.

Bringing a guy home from the bar is easy, but this date with Wyatt is tangled up with expectations from him and Hannah. I know better than to let myself grow close to him. I know how recklessness with my heart can leave me empty, just as easily as a careless gambler can blow their life’s savings in a few bets. Yet here I am, subjecting myself to the pokes and prods of alien beauty products because a stubborn girl insisted, I take a chance and because a handsome man made me laugh and feel alive. Suddenly, I have a tiny flame of hope flickering in the damp caverns of my damaged soul.

Abandoning efforts to beautify beyond my standards, I quickly draw on some eyeliner and throw on a blue dress that hugs my curves and flares at mid-thigh. My stomach churns with nerves and the fear that I'll live to regret giving a man a chance beyond a one-night stand. I wonder what my parents would think after all their warnings to be careful with my trust, although I don’t think a string of hookups was what they had in mind. Maybe I should call and cancel.

I hadn’t planned on going to family night at the casino. I’ve skipped it every other year despite heavy peer pressure to attend. I’ve never felt the need to bond with my colleagues outside of work hours, but my boss needled me to attend once again. I gave a reluctant maybe, but the idea of wandering a ballroom full of my coworkers and their friends and families all alone sounds like the worst way to spend a day.

I’d gone rafting on a promise to Hannah, but I found myself hooked. I had to see him again, and I confess I wanted to show him off. I knew if I was going to the event, I wanted him by my side, so I invited him on a whim.

With the clock ticking down to event time, the anxiety over-interacting with my coworkers in a social setting makes me sick. Hannah is going to bounce around declaring herself Cupid 2.0 when she sees us together.

My intercom buzzes, and the cancellation ship sails into the distance, leaving me petrified in its wake.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll have fun. Deep breaths,” I coach myself, then let him in.

“Damn.” His eyes wander over me. “You look gorgeous.”

I grin at the compliment and stand a little straighter. Take that, torturous beauty gizmos.

“Thank you.” Heat rises to my face. Shit, I’m blushing. I swallow back the nervous lump in my throat and take in Wyatt. His wavy blond locks are pulled back into a bun, but one strand has already broken loose from the hair tie, as free-spirited as the man himself.

He stands proud and eager in his suit, watching me with a goofy grin. He gives his tie a nervous tug, and I wonder if he agonized over his outfit as much as I did my makeup.

“You clean up pretty well yourself,” I say.

His hand relaxes, smoothing down the tie and falling to rest at his side. I wish my nerves could be so easily calmed. “Only for you.”

The comment makes my heart flutter; at the same time, alarms go off in my brain. Go on a couple of dates. Have fun, but don’t fall for him.

Nervously, I clear my throat, grab my purse from the hook, and slip out the door. “Do you think you can behave yourself tonight?”

His eyes roam my body and settle on my lips for a long moment before he answers. “I’ll be completely honest. I don’t know if I can.”

I’m comfortable in my skin, and my ego is doing just fine without his compliments, but flattery is always nice. I smile to myself and lock the door, certain he’s checking out my ass while I do.

“I came over here confident that I’d be a nice piece of arm candy for you, but you’re breathtaking.” Wyatt keeps staring as if I might disappear if he looks away for too long.

My cheeks heat. “Alright, don’t overdo it.”

“Just being honest.”

“Uh-huh. I like the idea of you being my arm candy.” My earlier anxiety melts away.

“I'm not just a pretty face. Wait until I turn on the charm. I’ll win over your bosses, coworkers, and friends. In fact, I might be the most popular one there by the time this is done.”

“Someone has a high opinion of himself.” I cock an eyebrow at him, before resuming fidgeting as we walk to his car. I could use a little of his mischievous attitude tonight, stealing the show and taking the attention off me. One night to get through, and then they won’t pester me into attending another event for a whole year. Wyatt’s expression is so eager and open, I find myself wanting to be honest with him. “We’ll mainly be with the other dealers and our pit bosses. Fair warning, I hate these kinds of things. I’m not great at interacting with coworkers outside of work. I get anxious.”

I watch him for judgement but instead am met with an understanding nod. “Lucky for you I also make a great scapegoat when you want to get out of there. Just say Ebeneezer and I’ll fake a phone call that the horses escaped.”

I snort a laugh. There’s a lot to unpack there. “First, I think we need a less conspicuous codeword. Like malarky.”

He frowns. “That’s way less fun, but alright.”

“What are you talking about? Malarky is a great word. Second, most people would just go with I’m not feeling well .”

“Key words: most people. It would be too transparent. The horse thing is way more believable.”

I shake my head, and even though the smile won’t fade from my face, I make a mental note to try and tolerate the night without requiring Wyatt’s extraction services.

His expression shifts, and in a gentle tone, he adds, “In all seriousness, if you’re ever uncomfortable tonight, lean on me. That’s what I'm here for.”

“Thanks.” I ease into the car, losing some of the anxiousness that clings to me as tightly as the fabric of my dress. He wants me to depend on him, and that relaxed me? What kind of voodoo has he performed? I eye him skeptically, but he’s got that innocent grin. I barely know the man, but somehow, I don’t doubt him, only my own ability to rely on him.

We make small talk in the car and soon arrive at the event. The stream of vaguely recognizable faces surrounds me, making me feel trapped even in the open air as we walk across the parking lot. The ballroom is decked out with green and blue balloons, with food and drink carts arranged in a giant circle. One of thebeer carts looks like a wagon with self-serve taps all around it to get the brew of your choice from a selection of local microbreweries.

“There’s a flight of three mini drinks where you’re supposed to vote on your favorite to be the drink of the month for the property. Rumor around the casino today was that they’re delicious. Want to try them?” I don’t bother mentioning that I could use the liquid courage for my social anxiety. One-night stands with strangers I can do. A sea of acquaintances is my nightmare.

A sign for the flight mentions a Mai Tai, Aperol Spritz, and a Mango Margarita. “Absolutely,” Wyatt says.

As we get in line, I look around for Hannah. In my eagerness to see Wyatt again, it didn’t even cross my mind to mention to Hannah that he would be here. Now that I think about us all here together, it might have been better to let her know. She had such an elaborate plan for a meet cute, and Wyatt being here probably isn’t part of it.

In the corners, there are group games set up, and tables fill the middle of the room where small groups can gather or eat. About fifty people mill around getting drinks and sampling the food stations.

“They go all-out for this event,” Wyatt says.

I’d heard it had a large budget, but I must agree with him. There’s everything from a brightly-colored veggie shooters station and a taco and wing stand, to a station with kebabs. A group of people crowded around the wing stand laugh like friends, and I twist to face the other way. Next to the tacos, there’s even a wall of donuts. It looks like something that Willy Wonka could have dreamed up, with different colored frostings and sprinkles. A sweet, sugary scent fills the air.

Hannah is nowhere to be seen.

“It’s a win-win for them. They try out different ideas for the casino on us, and we get to have fun.” I return the waves of some coworkers and order two flights. I hand Wyatt his tray and take my own, and we set them down on a nearby counter-height table.

Now is the time for some liquid courage. I throw back a solid gulp from each and glance up to meet a concerned frown on Wyatt’s face. Right. He’s supposed to be my crutch for the evening, not the liquor. Except, I like him, and the fact that I like him is making me almost as nervous as being around all these coworkers.

I resolve not to take another sip until he’s caught up a bit. He kindly doesn’t comment, as I scratch down a vote for the Mango Margarita. He takes his time sipping each one and considering the delicate mix of flavors with a tilted head. His sudden serious connoisseur attitude contrasts with his typical playful grin and wonky gait. He’s so tall that his lope looks a bit like a puppy still growing into its legs.

“That’s a good one.” He returns the Mango Margarita to his board.

“It got my vote.”

“I don’t know, I’m leaning toward this pink one, but I need a few more sips of them both to be sure.” He clearly put a lot of effort into his appearance tonight and now is carefully weighing his options for a silly beverage vote. I normally suffer from resting bitch face, but when I'm around this guy, I keep catching myself smiling. Putting his all into this night for me feels like the greenest of green flags.

Over his shoulder, I see Hannah peeking around the edge of a large pillar across the ballroom. She holds a finger up to her mouth in a silence gesture, then flicks her hand in a jerky wave. I glance over my shoulders to make sure she’s talking to me, and she bugs her eyes out impatiently in response.

“I...” I hesitate. I thought now would be the time to tell Wyatt that Hannah and I know each other, but Hannah is clearly still in stealth mode.

“I’m sorry, do you mind if I leave you to consider that for just a minute? I’ll be right back.”

The crinkles at the sides of his eyes fall flat with disappointment, but he smiles and nods. “Sure thing. I can test these drinks all night.”

“Thanks.” Before I know what I’m doing, I lean in and kiss him on the cheek. I blink in surprise at my own actions and catch his significantly brightened expression before turning to go see what’s up with Hannah.

The second she sees me coming, she takes off at a power walk, and I follow her bobbing curls through the crowd like I'm some sort of spy in an action film.

Her speed kicks up, and so does mine. As we finally near the edge of the absurdly large ballroom, she ducks into a service alcove.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She peers carefully around the wall and checks both directions. “Yes, of course.”

“Of course. Because this is perfectly normal and not at all strange behavior.” I roll my eyes. Then again, the last time I saw her she was wearing a frog costume for stealth purposes, so I guess I should be grateful she’s wearing more normal attire.

“What is Wyatt doing here?” she hisses.

“Oh, that. We hit it off on the rafting trip, and my family is all out of state, so I invited him.”

“You didn’t think to tell me this?” I dropped the ball in updating her after the rafting. Clearly, I'm out of practice with the whole friend thing.

“No, sorry. But why don’t you come say hi now? We were just about to grab some food.”

She bites her lip. “I’ll say hi to him, just not right now.” Suddenly she ducks under a table.

“Hannah? Hannah! I could have sworn she was right here a second ago,” a confused woman who looks a lot like Hannah says as she searches the room.

“I’m so sorry,” Hannah whispers. “that’s my family. Can you please do me a huge favor and keep Wyatt out of sight of them? Like, at all costs. I don’t have time to explain now, but I promise I will as soon as possible. Pretty please?”

She grabs my hand and holds my gaze, but it’s all I can do to gape at her. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Thank you. Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

She ducks out of the alcove and hustles over to an older couple who are weaving between some cocktail tables nearby.

I’m immobilized by confusion when my neck prickles with alarm. I don’t know what the hell that was all about, but something tells me Hannah is hiding a major detail, and I don’t like it. Across the room, Wyatt shifts awkwardly and kicks at the ground. I can’t leave him hanging any longer. I feel bad for abandoning him as long as I have. The conversation with Hannah leaves me with a sense of impending doom, but I try to let it go and focus on my date. My feet unstick themselves, and I hurry back to Wyatt.

“Hey, I’m back.” I sidle up next to him. “Sorry about that.”

He immediately relaxes. “Hey, gorgeous. It’s all good. You were distracting me from homing in on the flavors and making an impartial decision anyway.”

“Oh, I’m a distraction, huh?”

He puts on an exaggerated frown. “A terrible one. And we couldn’t have that with a drink menu at stake.”

“It could have been disastrous,” I agree.

I force a laugh, but my stomach twists. It had seemed like Hannah had the potential to become a friend, but now she’s got my hackles raised. I didn’t know what to expect from Wyatt, but doing what Hannah has asked feels wrong.

I don’t want to hide anything from him, but she promised to explain soon. I’ll try to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of the night, but that’s all she’s getting.

Hannah and her parents walk past, heading toward a group of her customer service colleagues. She points, keeping their attention faced the other way like a tour guide.

Swallowing another wave of guilt, I take Wyatt’s arm. “Come on, let’s take a look around so we can decide how quickly we want to get out of here. I don’t know how long I can keep this dress on.” I tug him in the opposite direction since he’s frozen in place with his mouth agape.