Page 23 of Full Send

I notice Tanner momentarily tensing before feigning a laugh and leaning against our high top table. “Very funny, Lizzy. I’m flattered. But I think my night is pretty booked with work after I leave here.”

Lizzy leans closer to him, running her finger over the salted rim of her margarita before bringing her finger to her lips. “Alright. Your loss.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder and turns back to me. “Oh and V. Collin said he was getting a twenty-one special or something at the bar, whatever that is.”

I groan and palm my face. “Oh no. Not again.” I mutter. “Why did you leave him unsupervised, Tanner?”

Tanner’s smile is back as he laughs at my reaction. “I figured it’d be fun. He rarely gets to let his hair down and let loose like he does here.”

“Fair enough. But you’re carrying him home if he gets too wild.” I point my finger at him. “I know I don’t have to remind you aboutthat night.”

“Oh god. I hope he’s better behaved than that tonight,” Tanner says laughing, showing off his dimples and that perfect smile. He certainly is handsome.

And I’m clearly not the only one to notice. Lizzy has inched closer to Tanner, angling towards him.

“So, Chap. Nice moves out there on Tower Three today.” Lizzy’s words bring us back from the memory of our wild nights here before. “Have you skied that line like that before?”

I watch as Lizzy eyes Tanner a bit more mischievously than last night. Clearly she wants to take her shot at him after our earlier conversation on the lift.

Tanner has a bewildered look on his face. Or maybe it’s more mild irritation? I watch, almost giggling as he seems to struggle to answer Lizzy’s question.

“Oh. Tower Three. Yeah. I’ve done that before.” he says, putting on a less than enthusiastic smile.

I can see she’s intrigued by this hunk of a man in front of us. Oh, Lizzy. I thought she was only looking for a cowboy to have a fling with right now? Tanner isn’t her cowboy, but maybe he’s rugged enough for her after all.

But Tanner isn’t having any of it. She keeps trying to get his attention back, batting her long lashes, hunting for a topic he’s interested in. But he keeps changing the topic or checking in on me with that deep, lingering stare from the night before, as he politely shows just enough interest in Lizzy’s conversation.

Hmm. What’s up with that?

Better dive back into the fray and save Lizzy from herself.

“So yeah, uhhh, first chair tomorrow, right?” I try to diffuse the brewing tension, looking at Tanner and then Lizzy, already knowing the answer.

Where is Collin? He’s left me alone with these two way too long.

“We know you wouldn’t have it any other way, Ronni. So 8:30 AM outside the tram center?” Tanner looks at Lizzy briefly before returning back to me.

“Sure, Tanner. That’ll work,” I say.

As we talk more about the plan for first chair tomorrow, Collin has reappeared bearing gifts. I groan when I see what he’s holding.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to reintroduce you to our old friends or maybe frenemies, tequila shots. Let’s fucking go!” Collin passes them around the table. We each grab our glass and raise them for a toast.

“To old friends in new places and to new friends in old places!” Collin is always a great toast maker.

We all down our shots, grimacing over the cheap tequila. Oh yeah, the memories of prior nights here are coming back now.

“Oh and I forgot, they brought friends!” Collin reveals a tray with another round of shots on the table behind him. He’s on a roll. It’s good to see him this happy and back with his best friend though.

I love seeing Collin in his element like this. He’s always been a social butterfly. Actually, more like a social chameleon, able to blend in with different groups and mingle as if he belonged anywhere and everywhere at once. He was a great high school athlete and was good friends with a lot of the jocks back then, laughing at teenage boy jokes like they were the greatest thing ever. But at the same time, he’d come hang with my girlfriends and me after getting home from practice, sitting down and instantly entering our debate over who Blair is going to end up with after the latest episode ofGossip Girl.Here though in Wyoming, with us, it feels like the real honest Collin. No blending in, just authentic, relaxed Collin.

This routine of shots and margs goes on for another hour and a half. Lizzy is surprisingly holding her own with Collin, maybe even outdoing him. Collin is a mess as usual. Lizzy and him are on the other side of the table now, gossiping away about some nonsense they saw on social media, scrolling through their phones, comparing feeds. I’m thrilled, yet somehow equallyterrified, that they’re becoming fast friends. I’m not sure I can handle that much snark and sass in my life.

I check in on Tanner. He’s still been uncharacteristically quiet compared to the brash boy from my childhood. And last night everyone was so tired and hungry, we still didn’t get the chance to talk much.

“So what else is new, Tanner? No girlfriend, as usual. Still hitting big lines when you aren’t taking care of rich people’s houses I see.”

“Well, Ronni,” he’s entirely focused on me now. “Looks like you can see right through me as always. Single, yes. Big lines, sure if you say so.”

When he doesn’t add any more, I move to a friendlier topic.

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