Page 67 of The Very First Night

“Jeez—” Jenna breaks into a coughing fit. She’s never been great at taking shots, and yet she always insists on them. Once her breathing is back to normal, she reaches for the tall glass of water the bartender swiftly set in front of her.

Once we’re back on the dance floor, the music shifts to “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain and we both squeal in delight. Everyone on the dance floor flows together in an all-too-familiar dance, Jenna and I among them, each move like muscle memory.

After the third song, we decide to take a break from dancing and grab another drink, at which point Jenna insists we each order another shot alongside our mixed drinks. I still wince as I swallow the fiery liquid, but it’s nowhere as bad as the first shot.

By the fifth shot an hour and a half later, I barely feel it coating my throat, and by the looks of Jenna, she’s just as drunk as I am.

“Should we call an Uber?” Jenna yells over the loud music as the clock on my phone reads 1:30 AM.

“Probably,” I respond. I pull up the app, but there are no Ubers available. Our pick-up estimate is over forty-five minutes out and I might actually keel over from exhaustion if we wait that long.

Jenna groans as she looks down at my phone, then says, “You should text Tanner.”

“Why?”

“So he can pick us up?” she responds.

“What about Marcus?” I ask.

“Marcus has an early class, and Tanner is always up late.”

She’s not wrong, and I realize with startling clarity there are a few things I’d like to do beyond just seeing Tanner. Ever since he suggested I get over Elijah by quite literally getting under him, it’s all I can think about.

It makes it rather inconvenient when I’m trying to get my footing with a new schedule of classes.

“Fine,” I mutter, attempting to appear more irritated than I am.

Kat

Tannnnerrrrrr :)

Tanner

What do you want? Lol

Any chance you can come get us from the dusty?

I watch with bated breath as three dots appear, then disappear, then reappear again.

Pleeeeeease

Im grabbing my keys, I will be there in ten

A sigh of relief falls past my lips as I turn to Jenna. “He’s on his way.”

Ten minutes later, Tanner’s black SUV pulls up to the Dusty Armadillo, its tires crunching over gravel. He parks in the first available spot and jumps out of the driver’s seat, his black T-shirt hugging his muscular frame. His dark gray basketball shorts are wrinkled and his tousled hair suggests he was sleeping. I feel a pang of guilt for inconveniencing him as he approaches us with a yawn.

“Thank you!” Jenna yells. She darts toward the vehicle, then all but throws herself into the back seat face-first.

“Heyyyy,” I say, grinning and stumbling slightly as I approach him.

Tanner smiles down at me, not a hint of irritation in his expression. “Hey, you. Did you have fun?”

“Loads.”

“Good.”

I lean toward him and my fingers tingle as they trace the defined ridges of his abs through the thin fabric of his T-shirt. I can’t resist the urge to wrap my arms around his waist. It’s like I’m noticing his muscles for the first time, even though I’ve always known deep down that he’s attractive. But now, he’s more than just hot—he’s James Lafferty as Nathan Scott in One Tree Hill hot.

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