Page 24 of Pick Me

“I think someone forgot to tell them that the Hamptons white party is o-v-e-r,” Meredith whispered to me as she nodded toward

a cluster of girls in white dresses.

Meredith was in a pale blue short set that showed off her perfect stomach, which was essentially a calling card for her work.

I’d opted to be anti-theme in a yellow print dress I’d gotten a couple of years ago. We’d both wisely opted for sneakers given

it was an outdoor party.

“I prefer all white to the screaming eagle patriotism.” I shifted my eyes toward a shirtless guy wearing a red, white, and

blue top hat and a flag tied around his neck. I sighed. “It’s going to be a long night.”

Colton had already disappeared to do shots with his work friends, leaving me and Meredith to plot our battle strategy.

“A long, good night,” she said as she looked around the crowd on the manicured lawn. “A muse-tastic night.”

I stopped myself from admitting that the two thousand words I’d added today poolside were in the wrong manuscript.

“This place is amazing, but it sure doesn’t give the classic Hamptons vibe,” I said as I eyed the glass and steel monstrosity

in the distance behind us that looked more like a villain lair than a home.

“Yeah, not my thing at all,” Meredith agreed. “But you can’t beat the view.”

We both turned to admire the pink sun sinking into the water.

“I really hope Colton keeps his clothes on tonight,” she added. “Drunk skinny-dipping is sort of his thing.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’d prefer to not see your boyfriend naked.”

A woman in a clingy red silk halter dress and killer arms stopped in her tracks when she spotted Meredith.

“Harmony Pilates!”

“Yup, that’s me.” Meredith smiled at her. “I thought you looked familiar.”

It was her usual feint, because Meredith saw so many body parts during class that it was almost impossible for her to keep

track of people.

“Oh my god, I love your class. I usually go to Spirit on the Upper West Side, but I’ve done a few drop-ins with you,” the woman said.

They descended into Pilates speak so I peeled off in search of a drink. The hosts had gone all out and set up three bars around

the vast property, along with a dance floor and stage where a club DJ was staring intently at his phone. So far, he’d only

been playing lo-fi house music, but I had a feeling he was cueing up a playlist of bangers for when the sun went all the way

down.

I squinted at the liquor displayed behind the bartender as I waited in line. No surprise, it was all top-shelf.

“Hey, virgin.”

My heart contracted as I turned around, because of course it was Kai in all his tanned, bright smiling glory. Mercifully,

there was no one else in line behind us, so the only other person to witness my gape-mouthed stare was the bartender.

“Oh, hi!” I finally managed once I’d collected myself.

He jutted his chin toward the bar. “What are we drinking tonight?”

We? Be still my heart.

“Um, what are we in the mood for?”

He gave me a wicked grin and pumped his fist in the air. “Shots, shots, shots, shots—shots—shots!”

His puppylike enthusiasm was adorable.

“Well, okay then.” I laughed. I turned to the bartender. “I guess we’re doing shots.”

The dour-looking guy did not look impressed to be serving us. “And what kind?”

“Uh... do you have any Yamazaki 18 back there?” Kai asked.

“We do not,” he answered.

“How about Pappy 20?”

I’d never heard of either, but I assumed it was because they were ridiculously expensive.

He put two shot glasses on the bar in front of him and poured as his answer. I noticed that his tip glass was already full,

so there was no reason for the grumpiness. But then again, he was working a party in the Hamptons filled with finance bros

and their influencer girlfriends on a holiday weekend. It tracked.

Kai handed me a glass, then lifted his toward me. “Happy Fourth.”

We clinked them and threw back our drinks simultaneously, then slammed the empties on the bar.

“Wow, you downed that like a champ.” He lifted an eyebrow.

It burned my throat, but I refused to even sniffle.

“I’m no stranger to liquor.” I shrugged, until I realized how it sounded. “Not in an alcoholic way, of course. I can appreciate it, is all.”

“Good to know. Not every woman can handle the hard stuff.”

I had to clench my teeth to keep the dad joke inside.

Kai was already diagnosing me as a not-like-the-other-girls cool girl even though it wasn’t how I identified. Whatever, it

seemed to be working for me.

It took a few seconds for me to come to terms with the fact that after manifesting this moment for weeks, it was actually

happening. Kai and I were hanging out . We had an ongoing virgin joke, and we’d done a shot together.

Was he in love with me yet?

And almost as important, was my muse back?

“What’s with the yellow?” Kai pointed at my dress. “You look fantastic, but you should be wearing the team colors. Happy birthday,

America!”

He gestured to his button-down featuring a red, white, and blue popsicle print; red shorts; and boat shoes. Post-shot was

not the appropriate time to get into the fact that I was a citizen of our country, not a rabid fan, especially given the political

climate.

“I don’t know. I just wanted to wear this. And I sort of forgot, to be honest.”

“Well, you’re making it work.” Kai grinned at me, and I felt my cheeks go warm at the compliment.

The party lights under the tents came on and the DJ seemed to take it as his cue to level up the music.

“Nice. Hungry Man is amazing,” Kai said as he bobbed his head. “I saw him do a set in Ibiza, and it changed my life.”

I laughed, only to realize that he was serious. I’d never been to Ibiza and it was my first exposure to “Hungry Man,” so who knew? I was banking on connecting with a stranger to mystically help my writing; maybe a life-changing DJ set should also be within the realm of possibilities?

A group walked over to the bar, so we stepped away to give them room. I held my breath, waiting for Kai to go find someone

more exciting to talk to, but he seemed totally focused on me, to my delight and terror.

“Let’s sit.” He pointed to a grouping of teak furniture that was off to the side, with thick navy cushions that did not look weatherproof. “But first... another drink. What can I bring you?”

“Gentleman’s choice,” I said coquettishly. I heard Meredith’s voice in my head, cautioning me about accepting open drinks

from strangers, so I craned my neck to watch him take the glass of wine from the unhappy bartender.

His hand remained on the stem the entire time.

He served it to me with a flourish. “Starting the night off nice and easy.”

“Minus that shot,” I reminded him.

“Nah, it was nothing more than light pregaming; you’re good.” He dropped down beside me on the couch. “So what do you do when

you’re not living it up in the Hamptons, Brooke?”

After imagining it for weeks, my name coming out of his mouth didn’t seem real. I was thankful for the shot warming my belly

and taking the edge off my nerves. I took a gulp of my wine.

“I’m a writer. Mainly romances.”

“Nice.” He nodded. “I gotta admit, I’m not much of a reader. I get bored.” He paused. “Is that bad?”

I realized that my expression must’ve shifted from liquor-drinking cool girl to mild horror.

“Maybe you’ve been reading the wrong books?” I offered quickly. I took another gulp of wine that brought my glass down to a quarter full. “What sort of stuff are you into?”

“Nothing that’s in a book.” He laughed. “So talk to me about pickleball. When did you start playing?”

“Oh, it feels like forever ago.” I sidestepped the question with a half-truth.

“I get that.” He nodded approvingly. “It’s an addiction. How’s your game?”

I was about to say something self-deprecating, but Owen’s advice stopped me. Plus, I was sitting next to a person who needed

to believe that I was better than I really was.

“It’s, uh, evolving all the time. Definitely improving. I’m signing up for the Parks tournament.”

“Aw, that’s adorable—good for you,” he said. “That’s a great beginner tournament.”

“Beginner?” I frowned at him. “It’s all levels.”

“Right, but it’s not officially sanctioned by any of the pickleball associations. It’s just a community thing.”

“Owen suggested it,” I said as explanation.

“Well, I’d never question the master’s wisdom,” Kai replied. “If Gripper wants you to enter, you do it.”

I took my last gulp of liquid courage. “You and I should play sometime.”

I snapped my mouth shut as soon as I said it, surprised by my own audacity. The invitation hung in the air for what felt like

hours when it was probably only a half second.

“Yeah, I’d love that,” Kai said agreeably. “I’m not at CPA as much as I want these days—”

He was interrupted by a red, white, and blue ambush that made us both jump.

“Bro, we’re taking the Jet Skis out!” one of the three guys said. “Come on.”

Kai frowned at him. “Isn’t that illegal after dark?”

“Brayden plays golf with the chief of police; I think we’re fine,” replied a guy in flag shorts. “And we’re all sober, right?”

He looked around the group and they laughed.

Kai glanced at me expectantly as he stood up. “You in?”

I ran through a split-second decision tree, with one path leading to being wet and half naked pressed up against Kai and the

other ending up with someone in the hospital because drunk Jet Skiing in the dark had to be about the dumbest idea ever.

“C’mon,” he teased. “It’ll be fun.”

The smile he gave me made me seriously consider stripping down to my underwear at a party filled with influencers.

“Darn it, wish I could but I didn’t pack a bathing suit,” I said, sounding convincingly disappointed.

“Suits optional,” a floppy-haired guy said as he backed away. “Let’s do this.”

Kai paused. “Last chance...”

The pull to join them was almost impossible to resist despite the risks. Jet Ski hijinks in the dark felt like a sexy, dangerous

plot point I’d never considered.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll come down in a minute,” I replied.

“Promise?” Kai pointed at me as he backed away with the terrier triplets.

I smiled prettily and nodded. “Yup!”

They disappeared into the darkness, full of golden retriever energy. I finally exhaled and leaned back to stare at the night

sky, filled to the brim with warm, fuzzy, delicious hope .

The noise level was increasing now that it was fully dark and the crowd was lubricated.

After rehashing every second of the interaction with Kai, I finally collected myself and set off to find Meredith again.

I glanced to the dance floor, fully expecting her to be throwing her ass in a circle in the middle of it, but I only spotted Colton jumping around with his friends.

I stood next to a hydrangea bush that was almost as tall as me, scanning the crowd.

“Mission accomplished?”

I spun to find Owen peering at me in the darkness.