Page 8 of Recon Rendezvous

Feigning innocence, I flutter my eyelashes. “Who, me?” I say, lifting a hand to my chest. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Don't play me. You told me you'd meet me in the restroom in five minutes and give me a blowy. That didn't mean I wanted someone else to.” He pouts.

My eyes practically fall out of their sockets as I gasp at his words. “Did I, though? Did I sayIwould blow you? If I recall, you said we had unfinished business and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I could say now you owe me for wasting my time. Either way, it looks like we’re even.” I shrug.

His eyes narrow as they study my face. “Fine. If this is how you want to play it. I have no problem allowing you to rack up IOUs and I will fucking cash in. And just so you know, your little prank backfired. He told me what was up as soon as he walked in. Dicks before chicks.”

With those parting words, he stalks away, and my eyes follow him until he’s swallowed up by the crowd.Crap. That is not how I intended my little jokey joke to go. Minutes later, a hand lands on my arm, snapping me back to the now.

“Hey.” Gem’s concerned face greets me as I turn to her and the girls. “Are you alright?”

Frowning, I nod. “Yes, you girls haven’t killed me yet.”

She laughs. “That’s not what I meant.” Her eyes flicker to Mia. “What did Xander say?”

Mia smirks, stepping closer as she looks down at her phone. “He said he saw you running to the restroom with the shits, and you texted him we should go ahead without you.”

“Actually, he said that you were having, and I quote, ‘a shitastrophe,’” Sasha adds.

My gaze ping pongs between Gem and Sasha's concerned gazes, to Mia’s wide smile, and before I know it, a peal of laughter bursts from my lips.

“Whaa… shitastrophe?In public?!” I shudder. “My worst nightmare! I need to wash that thought away. Next round on me,” I yell, heading toward the bar. “To the shits!”

Their ringing laughter doesn’t ease the thoughts running through my mind. Where is that little jerk? I'm going to kill him.

Alexander is avoiding me. After his little retaliation, he and Drew wandered off without us and they’ve been holding court at the center bar since we arrived at our next stop. Flocked by a large group of girls, he laughs and jokes, passing out shots and having a grand ole time.Good.Maybe now he’ll stop pestering me for that blow job that he’ll never get from me. It’s not happening.

Turning back to the girls, Mia is lining up a row of shots for us and I have a feeling I’m not walking out of here on my own.

“Where’s Ty?” I ask Sasha.

“He and Elijah are back in the arcade. They’re done drinking. They said they’re on babysitting duty.”

“What little bores!” I say as we fall into each other. Well, maybe they aren’t wrong. This place is loose with the liquor and we’re enjoying some generous pours.

“We only have three more stops on our crawl, but this is always my favorite bar. Then I get to take that gorgeous man home,” she says dreamily. And as if on cue, Ty looks up, eyes zeroing in on his wife, and I notice the lift of his lips as he watches her. His eyes move to me, eyebrows raised, and I give him a big smile and a thumbs up.

“Alright, ladies!” Mia claps her hands and yells over the chaos. “I have two new shots for your tongues’ delight. Let’s get Shamrocked andsipour Green Tea!”

Gem and Sasha start a drumroll, tapping their fingertips on the table and I join in, loving the spectacle of today. This is so unlike me, but these charming girls bring out a side of me I long said goodbye to. The real London, the serious London, is back home, lonely but comfy in her pajamas, feet up with a glass ofwine and a book. Nothing wrong with that, but this is so much fun.

“One, two, three!” I count down and taking my cue, we all get shamrocked.Fuck.I hold in my belch. I’m not a fan of dairy based drinks and I believe I have just made a fatal error. I laugh to myself. Maybe Alexander is clairvoyant, and the shits are coming.

“It’s not piping hot but sip your tea!” Mia yells, and I follow their lead, throwing back my shot glass.

Lowering my glass slowly, I focus on no sudden movements. I want to make sure everything stays where it’s supposed to, in my belly and not all over the floor, when something whips across my face. Pretending I’ve been slapped, my hands come up to my face and I yelp.

“Oh, sorry, London.” Gem giggles, offering me a squeeze as she bops to the music, that ponytail on the move again.

“It’s fine. I think I’m going to sit down for a second. I’ll be safe down here.”

She nods before she and Sasha start screaming when a new song begins playing. I wave them off as they try to pull me to the dance floor. No, I can dance just as well right here, in my chair, that’s not moving.

Mia sits beside me. “You guys go. I’ll stay here.”

Turning to her, I try for a smile. “You don’t have to. I’m fine.”

“No, no. At this stage of the game, it’s a buddy system. You’re stuck with at least one of us for the rest of the night.”

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