Page 15 of Whatever You Want

Amelia glared at me while holding the liquid away from her face. She looked like she was debating on drinking it.

“At least your husband will be the one doing the handcuffing tonight,” I said with a cheeky smile on my face. Teasing her was one of my favorite things to do.

Charlotte held her glass to her lips. “Maybe I can convince Quinn to do a little role play tonight too.”

I looked at both of them and wondered if they realized how lucky they were. I never appreciated what I had until it was gone. I missed the simple moments that I took for granted. Words I’d never hear again and so much wasted time that I’d never get back. God, just when I convinced myself that I had a handle on things, I’d get sucker-punched in the gut with innocent memories out of the blue.

Amelia gave me a puzzled look, as if she could read my mind. Enough time has passed where things like this shouldn’t bother me, but they did.

I brought my shot glass to my lips, knowing I would probably regret this in the morning.

Two hours later, my eyes blinked at all the empty glasses scattered along the table. Whatever troubles I had earlier were long forgotten. I was happy and relaxed. I even got up a few times to dance, something I rarely did. Whenever a nineties song that I recognized would blare from the jukebox, I would grab the girls, and we would twirl, dip, and spin around like idiots. The crowd went nuts when Kara pulled me up on the bar. Jake, our friendly bartender, graciously volunteered to lie flat on the wood counter so we could do body shots off his abs. The man clearly spent a reasonable amount of time at the gym. He was fun, entertaining, and knew how to work for those tips.

I squinted my eyes, watching Amelia lick the rim of her martini glass. “Are you thirsty or are you just practicing something with your tongue?”

“Neither, I’m starving. I want pizza,” she whined, “with extra cheese.”

“Do you think Uber Eats would deliver here?” Charlotte asked, picking up her phone.

Kara slammed her glass down with a loud thud, causing some of the liquid from our drinks to spill on the table. “Maybe we should just hit a drive thru on the way home.”

“Oh my God.” Charlotte’s voice was a little louder than necessary. “I could kill for some Taco Bell right now.”

“Food sounds good to me. I’m going to the bathroom while you guys decide.” I stood up to release my bladder when I stumbled back a bit. Thankfully, my friendly bartender was there to catch me.

“Whoa,” he said, probably thinking he should have predicted this, considering he was the one who kept the endless supply coming.

“Shit. Sorry,” I slurred, trying to walk around him. I was dizzy and a little unsteady on my feet. It’s a good thing I wasn’t driving tonight. There wasn’t a chance in hell I could pass a sobriety test.

Amelia’s chair scraped across the floor. “I’ll go with you.” Her movements weren’t much better than mine, but it was better than having tattoo boy help me go to the bathroom. We bypassed the men’s restroom, which, of course, had no line, and waited for ours to become available. As soon as we made it inside, I rushed to the open stall and pushed up my skirt while hovering over the toilet. Once I finished, I blew out a sigh of relief and stumbled over to the sink to wash my hands.

Amelia was leaning up against the wall, talking on the phone. “Okay, babe. See you soon.”

She hung up as I searched for the paper towels to dry off my hands. “Are you leaving me?” I asked, bending over to pick up my purse that had fallen on the floor. I bumped my head on the vanity on my way up. “Ow.” I slung my hand to the back of my head. “Son of a bitch that hurt.”

“I’m surprised you can even feel anything at all.” She laughed, handing me a clean paper towel.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as she slid her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

“Marco is having Logan drop him off so he can drive my car home.”

My entire body froze. There wasn’t enough alcohol in this bar to prepare me to face him right now. I was drunk, and although it was unintentional, he unnerved me. It was like he could see everything inside that I kept hidden. Glancing in the mirror, I smoothed a hand down my shirt. Regardless of how nervous he made me feel, I was smiling like an idiot at the thought of seeing him tonight. He’s all I’ve been able to think about lately.

Cautiously, I grabbed my lip gloss out of my purse and focused on not dropping it. “Come on. Let’s go have one more drink before they get here.”

I tore my sash off, crumbled it up, and threw it in the trash can.

The hall was dimly lit with dark oak paneling on either side of the wall, making it hard to see. Amelia walked ahead of me while I pulled my phone out to check my messages. I groaned when I noticed my battery was running low.

Tucking my phone into my purse, I turned around, only to bump into a wall of muscle. My head tipped back, and my eyes landed on a pair of familiar hazel green ones.

“How the hell did you get here so quickly?” I blinked, wondering if he was real or if my drunk mind was just conjuring him up as a fantasy.

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and my body tightened in awareness. Being so close, I could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes. His lashes were long, and his jaw was covered with just the right amount of scruff. For a moment, I just stood there and stared, unable to look away.

“We were at the pub across the street.” He finally smiled, causing his dimples to pop out of nowhere.

My body swayed to the side; it was a logical answer, I guess. I just couldn’t believe they were here already. Logan brought his hand out and wrapped it around my waist. I should have been embarrassed by how heavy my chest moved up and down. You would have thought I just ran five miles with how winded I was.

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