Page 13 of Drunk Girl

I pull up my latest audiobook and turn on my shower speaker. With the words and sexy timbre of one of my favorite narrators filling the bathroom, I take one of the fastest showers I can, yet still taking the time to run a razor over all the necessary places.

After drying off, I head into my room, closing the door behind me and opening the closet. I stand in front of it, my towel wrapped around my body, as I stare at my options. I have no idea what to wear for this lunch date.

I grab a sundress but put it back. I pull out a tank top and some shorts and toss them over to my bed as an option, then pull out a pair of capris and another tank top, tossing it to join the pile on my bed. I snag a bra and one of my favorite pairs of panties from my bin in the closet and start getting dressed.

Standing in front of my closed door that has a full-length mirror hanging off the back, I hold up the first option in front of me, then swap it for the other option as I compare the two.

I finally settle on the shorts, but with the second tank top. Shows off just enough skin and cleavage, but not too much to be inappropriate.

With my outfit settled on, I head back into the bathroom and brush my hair, then quickly braid it to keep it out of my face. After brushing my teeth, I swipe on some mascara and lip gloss and check myself over in the mirror. Approving of my look, I head back into my room and slip on some cute sandals, then grab my purse just as I hear a knock on the door.

“Hey!” I greet Nick as I open the door. My eyes rake over his body, taking in his casual look of a tighter t-shirt and some jeans.

“Hey, yourself,” he says, as he looks me up and down, then notices my purse. “You ready?”

“Yep, perfect timing. I just finished getting ready.”

“Then, let’s get out of here, I’m starving.”

“I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting then,” I joke as we walk out the door. I stop briefly to lock up, before Nick escorts me down the hall and out the door.

“Any requests or suggestions on where to go for lunch?” he asks as he opens his truck door for me and offers a hand for me to climb up.

“Nope, I’m pretty open,” I tell him before he closes the door. I click my seat belt into place while I watch him round the front and then climb in himself.

“Do you like wings and beer?” he asks as he backs out of the parking spot.

“Isn’t it un-American tonotlike wings and beer?” I ask jokingly.

“Sure is.” He chuckles from the driver seat. “I’m about to blow your socks off then. This place might be the smallest dive restaurant in the city, but damn, do they have the best wings known to man.”

“Sounds perfect, just no judging me if I use my fingers to eat.”

“I’d judge you if youdidn’teat with your fingers. It’s wings. No other proper way to do so.”

“So, tell me about yourself, Nick,” I say, changing the subject from eating.

“Basics are, I’m twenty-eight, and my brother, Kaiden, and I opened The Tap House a few years back. He’s a couple years older than me and just got married earlier this year to Katie. She was the server running around the bar when you’ve been in. Pretty low-key guy. Just trying to make a living and enjoy life. The bar keeps me pretty busy, but it’s successful, and we’ve been able to slowly add in more and more staff as the demand of customers require it. How about you?” he asks as we pull into a parking spot.

“Well, you already know about my shitty week. I’m twenty-five, live with my mom in her rundown apartment, am currently jobless, and don’t really know where or what I’m doing with my life right now. I’m sure if you looked up the wordshot messin the dictionary, you’d find my name and picture right next to it.”

“Hey, life hands us all a shitty hand or two. It’s how we learn from it and move on that helps us grow and figure things out. Trust me, life hasn’t always been sunshine and roses for me, either. The bar gave me something to focus on and be proud of when I needed direction in life,” he tells me, then jumps out of the truck and comes around to open my door.

He leads me into a dive of a restaurant, one I would have never known was tucked into this little back corner of the building it’s located in. The spices hit me as soon as we walk in the door and my mouth starts to water at the incredible smells.

“They have every level of spice you can imagine, so pick wisely,” he tells me as we approach the counter to order.

“What do you normally get?” I ask as I read over the menu.

“A bucket of the medium, with blue cheese dipping sauce and a pitcher of beer.”

“How spicy is the medium?”

“Eh.” He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s got a good kick to it, but I guess it really depends on what you consider spicy.”

“And you can eat an entire bucket?”

“Yeah, sometimes I have leftovers to take home, but I usually finish off the bucket.”

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