Page 14 of Whatever You Want

Kara took her phone out and snapped a picture as he bent over to retrieve a few glasses. “I’m captioning this, photo of the day.”

He looked over his shoulder with a raised brow. “Would you like a front view too?”

“I’m not going to object if you want to lift up your whole shirt.” She smirked, not the least bit embarrassed that he overheard us talking about him.

He chuckled while placing the chilled shot glasses in front of us. “So, what are we celebrating tonight, ladies?”

I stood back so he could see the ridiculous pink sash the girls made me wear tonight that said ‘BIRTHDAY BABE’ in gold letters.

“Well, happy fucking birthday.” He grabbed the bottle of Maker’s Mark off the top shelf and poured his own shot. He threw it back with ease and grinned. His eyes locked on my lips, and I had no clue what he was thinking, but I didn’t want to be the center of his attention. I took a step back as the girls made small talk with a group of men next to us.

We placed our drink order and waited for him to finish up and cash us out.

“Why don’t we see if we can find a table.” I picked up my glass, searching for a place to sit. The five-inch heels I thought would look cute with my outfit were killing my feet. They were not meant to be worn for more than a few hours.

“You ladies holler if you need anything,” the flirty bartender yelled out as we walked away with a freshly poured martini in each of our hands.

The girls and I found a table right smack in the center of all the action. It was the perfect spot to watch all the dumb men make fools of themselves while the women they were trying to impress acted like they were unaffected.

“God, I feel old.” Amelia took a sip of her drink. “I’m so glad I’m not single anymore.”

A feeling of sadness washed over me. I didn’t want to be single forever, but judging by the scene in this bar, dating wasn’t as much fun as it used to be. If this was what I had to look forward to, I think I’d rather be alone.

The table went quiet, despite the rowdy group of men next to us. My fingers toyed with the stem of the martini glass. I lifted my head to see my friends staring at me as if they could read my mind. Drew always told me I was transparent, and sucked at hiding my feelings.

“I’m sorry.” Amelia placed her hand on my knee, her eyes were filled with concern. “That was insensitive.”

“Amelia, it’s fine.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Seriously, I’m okay.”

“So, Karen and David leave tomorrow, right?" she asked, switching topics. My friends had no idea how on edge I’ve been lately.

“Yep.” I picked up my drink and threw it back in one gulp.

She eyed me warily. “I’m sure dealing with Karen twenty-four seven hasn’t helped.”

I pushed my empty glass across the table, ready for another refill. “No, it hasn’t. I’d rather have my eyelashes plucked out with chopsticks than endure another week with my mother-in-law. Thank God they’re leaving tomorrow, although David’s been fine. Karen has, without a doubt, overstayed her welcome.”

Their visit was nothing but stressful, and I was sick of screaming into my pillow every night. Amelia had no idea how lucky she was to have a mother-in-law like Marietta.

“I didn’t realize you didn’t get along.” Charlotte frowned.

“It’s not usually this bad.” I sighed in frustration. “I’ve tried to be the bigger person and kill Karen with kindness, but my patience is wearing off.” I filled them in on how my mother-in-law had spent the entire week telling endless stories about Drew when he was little. “When we weren’t talking about my dead husband, she was commenting on my parenting skills and giving me helpful advice on how to raise my daughter.” I rolled my eyes and continued. “And poor Madison would stare off into space while bouncing her legs under the dinner table each night. I almost lost it when she went through my photo albums and helped herself to pictures that she felt were hers, but I did finally put my foot down when she tried to tell me how to fold my laundry.”

They all stared at me with a mixture of pity and disbelief.

“You know what?” Kara said a little too loudly and stood on shaky legs. “We are switching things up.”

She strutted across the bar in a ridiculous pair of high heels. It was entertaining watching her flirt with all the guys lined up to place their drink order. Kara had no problem putting herself out there and drawing attention. I wish I had her confidence.

The bartender squinted at us from across the room when she finally made her way up to the front. The crowd was picking up, but he didn’t seem in a hurry to tend to his other customers.

A few minutes later, Kara carefully maneuvered her way through the crowd, balancing a tray of tequila shots.

She set the drinks on the table and passed out the tiny glasses. “On the house, girls.”

Amelia groaned while Kara lowered herself into her seat. “The last time I did shots of tequila, I ended up handcuffed to a bedpost.”

The entire table erupted in laughter at that memory. I bumped my leg with hers under the table. “Yeah, but you met your husband that night so I think it all worked out for you.”

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