Page 31 of On the Rocks

“I’m sorry,” Jennifer said, clearly lost in her own world. “I just can’t get that image of him walking into the bar out of my head.” She groaned. “It’s beensooolong since I’ve had sex. Too long.”

I snorted, plucking at her pilled Pooh-bear pajama bottoms. “Well, maybe if you didn’t spend your days off becoming one with the couch and K-dramas…”

She laughed, and the tension in me eased at the sound. “Fair point,” she said. “But seriously, Cora, don’t let the convo get you down. I say good riddance to Levi. And good riddance to Aiden as soon as you finish this contract. Right?”

I nodded, feeling a flicker of resolve. “I hate feeling like I was fooled again. I really did think Dominic was a decent guy. But you’re right, I need to focus on getting Elixir Free off the ground and making the most of the time I have to use the lab for my Masked Mixer videos.”

“Yes, exactly. You are a successful, badass mixologist. Screw all these guys.” She handed me a slice of pizza. “And screw the way they think it’s fine to just dump women they’ve made commitments to.”

I leaned my head against her shoulder. “You’re really the best.”

“Damn right I am.” She picked up the tube of cookie dough and the remote. “Now would you like to watch some so-bad-it’s-good K-drama with me?”

“Obviously,” I said as Jennifer pressed play on the melodrama hijinks. Dominic and Aiden’s conversation had torn open old wounds, but Jennifer’s pep talk had given me some perspectiveand reminded me to keep my guard up around them—around Aiden especially. He’d already put me through hell once. I wasn’t about to let him do it again.

Jennifer shoved a glob of cookie dough into her mouth followed by two pieces of pepperoni.

I snorted. “I can’t help but notice that this is your second pizza this week.”

“Yes,” she said, leaving room for my follow-up question.

“Is everything okay? With work, I mean.”

She sighed, staring at the ceiling. “If by ‘okay,’ you mean is it the same old bullshit? Then yes.”

“You never used to call it the same old bullshit,” I pointed out.

“I know. Or, I guess, Idon’tknow. It’s just what it is currently.”

I hummed. I didn’t like how flat she sounded, like she was resigned to being unhappy, but I didn’t know what else to suggest. Would taking a break or doing something completely different for a while help? Cooking was what Jennifer did. It’s who shewas. Jennifer was to cooking what I was to mixology. Was it that easy for someone to fall out of love with something?Or someone, I thought miserably.

“Oh!” Jennifer said, whacking my arm. “This part is so good. Look!” The smoke detector wailed on the screen. Honestly, if this was what work was like for Jennifer on a daily basis, I couldn’t blame her for being disillusioned with her job.

My phone buzzed, and I fished it out of my pocket, glancing at the screen. “Huh?” I said, sitting up.

“Who is it?” Jennifer asked, not really paying attention.

“I don’t know. Looks like a New Jersey number.”

“Probably spam. Don’t answer it.”

I did answer it. “Hello?”

“Cora?”

“Yes?”

“Hey, girl! It’s Trish Baxter. Well, technically Armitage now,” she said, bubbling with too much enthusiasm. Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader, apparently. “Long time no chat.”

“Hey, Trish,” I said. I hadn’t spoken to her since high school. She was a year ahead of me, and we hadn’t talked at all since her graduation. I was surprised she even had my number. “Yeah, it’s been a hot minute.”

“I totally had to track your mom down so I could ask her for your number.”

Ah, there it was.

“Anyhoo, I’m obviously calling about the high school reunion. Reaching out to a fellow class prez.”

“Right.” I leaned back against the couch. I’d gotten the notice that our reunion was coming up for those of us who’d graduated fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years ago. The high school in our tiny New Jersey town was so small someone had decided individual class reunions were a waste of time, so they’d opted to combine reunions for three graduating years at each event. Technically, that meant Aiden and I were in the same reunion group even though I was two years younger than him. “You know I’mnot local anymore, right? Or else I would have offered more assistance.”

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