Page 32 of A Taste of Whiskey
“But it’snotyou, Kellan,” Bobbie said, giving him a playful shove. “Go drool on customers at the other end of the bar.”
He chuckled and made acall mesign with his hand as he walked away.
“Want your usual drinks?” Bobbie asked.
“Nope. Tonight I don’t want my usual anything,” Sasha said, getting into the spirit of the night. “How about a round of tequila shots?”
Birdie and Quinn cheered, and Bobbie filled their order.
Quinn held up her shot glass. “To girls’ night.”
“To anamazinggirls’ night,” Sasha said hopefully.
“To Sasha getting some D,” Birdie added, earning a laugh from Quinn and a deadpan stare from Sasha. They clinked glasses and drank their shots.
Two shots later, Bobbie was back to serving drinks on the floor, and Sasha was feeling good as they scoped out the crowd for her first flirtation victim. Birdie nudged her, motioning to the entrance, where Flame was walking in with Taz and Hyde.
“Flame lookshot,” Birdie said.
He did, all big and brawny, with short dark hair and blue eyes that Sasha knew left a trail of melted panties in their wake. Flame was funny and sexy, but when his eyes locked on Sasha, she didn’t get butterflies or feel that tug of desire low in her belly like she did with Ezra. She sighed inwardly, feeling pathetic for comparing him to Ezra. That one-way train had already left the station, and she was standing on the platform alone.
Stop being a fool, and get your head together.Just as the thought hit, the door to the bar opened again, and Ezra walked in, sending Sasha’s heart into a tailspin. She’d counted on Tina blowing off Gus this weekend and Ezra needing to stay home with him.Shitshitshit.
Ezra’s eyes found hers like homing devices. The edges of his lips curved into a devastating smile, bringing back the way those lips had felt on hers, the feel of his big, strong hands pawing at her, and the sexy sounds he’d made as they’d feverishly made out. In the space of a few short seconds, her body heated. In the next breath, his expression morphed to a more troubled one, as if he’d been happy to see her but then reality came rushing in. She told herself to look away, but she was still as entranced by him as ever.
“Be strong.” Birdie grabbed her wrist, reminding her of the way Ezra had done the same a few nights ago. “Stop staring at him.”
“Easier said than done,” she said absently.
Quinn stepped in front of her. “Stop it. You arenotgoing to let him toy with your emotions. Enough is enough.”
As if she could stop her heart from trying to claw its way out of her chest to reach him?
“Stick to the plan!” Birdie moved beside Quinn, making it impossible for Sasha to see around them. “If you don’t shift your attention to the hot smoke jumper in the next five seconds, I’m going to give you a titty twister.”
That jerked Sasha from her reverie. Birdie would totally do it. She took a few deep breaths and forced herself to look at Flame. He lifted his chin in her direction. She felt the heat of Ezra’s stare but didn’t allow herself the pleasure—or pain—of meeting it. Her heart was racing for all the wrong reasons. She had to get control or she was going to make a fool of herself.
“Flame’s looking at you like he wants to gobble you up. Go check out his fire hose,” Birdie urged.
“What?No,” Sasha said. “I’m here to flirt, not make a spectacle of myself.”
“You don’t want to touch that man’s equipment?” Quinn asked. “Ezra really has screwed with your head. Look at Flame. He’s all rock-hard man, and he’s hungry for a sexy snack.” She bit her lower lip. “I’d let him nibble on mea-ny-time.”
“As if Cutter wouldn’t hunt him down and tear him apart?” Sasha said. Cutter Long was a big, strapping cowboy and a longtime friend of theirs. He and Quinn had been dancing around the heat between them forever.
“I don’t belong to that possessive cowboy, and he’s not even here,” Quinn said. “But Flameis, and you’ve obviously friend-zoned him, so he’s fair game.”
Wasthatwhat the trouble was? Had she put him so deep in the friend zone that she felt nothing but appreciation for his good looks and friendship? Sasha mentally flipped through the times they’d hung out, texted, and casually flirted and realized with a painful twist in her belly that Quinn was right. She’d been so hung up on Ezra, she’d friend-zoned the entire male species.
Holy shit. How long had she been doing that? Maybe shedidneed to do more than flirt tonight. Maybe if she kissed Flame,reallykissed him like she meant it, she’d get butterflies and would shove Ezra deep into the friend zone, where he so clearly belonged. A stab of longing and guilt moved through her. She told herself she had no reason to feel guilty. Ezra had made no bones about where he stood.
Or how much he wants me.
No. She wasn’t going to do that to herself. She couldn’t wait in the wings forever. Before she could overthink it, she said, “He’s not fair game. I think you’re right and I inadvertently friend-zoned Flame. He’s tall and dark, and I’m going to find out if he’s delicious.” That was much harder to say than she thought it would be, but she was determined to get over Ezra once and for all, no matter how much it hurt.
“My job here is done.” Quinn tossed her hair over her shoulder with a little shimmy.
Birdie high-fived Quinn and said, “We’re such a good team.”
