Page 35 of Whiskey

Mark lost and took a shot, Mike won, and then it was Ivy’s turn. The penny began its round until stop was called. Cole had the penny. The only reason I knew was because Savannah tried hard not to look at him. Cole, on the other hand, had a face like stone.

“Umm,” she glanced around.

“Come on, now Ivy. You crawl inside people’s brains for a living,” Mark joked.

“That’s completely different, Mark.” She smiled, looking at each of us.

“Ty?” She tugged her lip in, and I slowly rolled each hand. “Oh, no!” She smacked her face.

“It’s Cole.” I nodded at him.

“How could you know that?” Savannah’s mouth dropped open.

“Don’t forget who we’re sitting with.” Cole tossed the penny in the middle of the table. “I’m impressed, Beckett.” I nodded at him with a grin and listened while everyone tried to get Ivy to share.

My phone buzzed on the table. I flipped it over and saw her name. I declined it and tuned back into Ivy’s story. She glanced at me and kept going.

“That’s about it, really.”

“Not near enough.” Catalina gave her a shot. “That’s not how this game works. You lost, so now you have to give us the goods.”

“All right.” She laughed and made a face at the shot before she downed it. “I’m going to hate you tomorrow.” She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “All right, worst dates. Well, I tend to attract real winners, so this isn’t that hard for me.” She ran a few fingers through her hair, and I found myself intrigued with her movements again. She was smooth and graceful. She looked put together, but somehow, I didn’t think she tried hard at it. Her navy silk tank top was cut low in the front, and I noticed she’d done up the button she had popped open earlier. She had a delicate silver necklace around her neck which she often played with. And the fact she wore heels made me realize just how much I’d missed the little things.

“Let’s see, there was Brian, who told me he was in a motorcycle gang, and later on I discovered what he really meant was more of a moped gang.” She shrugged and made a face, but I noticed the other women winked at each other. “Needless to say, the sexiness went out the window pretty fast on that one.” All the girls laughed, and the guys groaned and rolled their eyes, unimpressed.

“Wait,” I raised a hand, “what was with the looks between the ladies?”

Catalina went to say something, but Mark slapped a hand over her mouth.

“There’s a reason we don’t visit California,” Mark hissed at Catalina.

Mike rolled his eyes. “He’s not that bad!”

“He really isn’t.” Savi avoided a nasty glare from Cole and high-fived Mia. “Sorry, Ivy. Continue.”

“I’d like to circle back to this later.” She pointed at Savi. “Okay, then there was Dale, who talked with his mother on the phone almost the entire time.” She sipped her drink while everyone laughed. “Oh, then there was John, who decided to walk me home after dinner, and when a sketchy guy approached us to ask for money, he panicked and practically pushed me into the guy’s arms and ran away scared.”

“Thank you for not being that John,” Sloane said and laughed to her husband.

“Oh, then there was Billy, who couldn’t stop staring at the woman who sat at the next table long enough to notice I had called a cab to go home.” She shook her head. “Like I said, I pick the winners.”

“So, no mommas’ boys, no moped gangs, no chicken shits, and someone who will actually see you?” Savannah held up her fingers. “Anything else you’d like to add to the list?”

“I don’t know.” She played with the stem of her wine glass. “I just want to feel safe, be seen and heard, and have someone who’s witty and enjoys banter.”

Savannah caught my eye and wiggled her eyebrows, and I chuckled quietly. The ladies really had no shame when it came to people’s love lives.

“Sounds like you need to date a soldier,” Mark chimed in. “We check all those boxes.”

“Amen, brother.” Mike tapped his beer. “A woman should be cherished and loved.”

“But not in the bedroom.” Catalina made the entire table breakout in laughter.

“Certainly not.” Ivy shrugged when the girls high-fived her. I shifted in my seat and avoided Savannah’s knowing look.

“Well, this conversation just took an interesting turn.” John smirked at me. “Welcome to the family, Beckett, where nothing is too private to be talked about, even in public.”

“Love is a wonderful thing,” Mia held up a hand to speak, “and trust and respect always need to be there both ways, but in the bedroom…well,” she winked at Ivy, “there’s a reason we date soldiers. They are resourceful, strong, demanding—”

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