Page 34 of Lovingly Restored

I’ve been the designated driver for her countless times, and you can bet she’s way sloppier than I am.

“What are you doing? I told you the line was busy.”

The phone rings in my ear. Once, twice, three times.

Shit, what if he’s sleeping?

“Ashlyn?” His voice is deep and clear. Not groggy at all.

“Hey, Isaac. Anna, it’s Isaac!” I wink at her.

“For fuck’s sake.” Anna’s eyes roll to the back of her head.

“Ashlyn, are you there? You okay?”

“I’m fine! I danced with Jason! He was super sweaty and kissed me.” I pop a hand over my mouth.

“That’s nice.” His tone of voice tells me he doesn’t think it’s nice at all.

“Maybe I’ll bring him home tonight, whaddya think?”

Anna groans, palming her forehead.

There’s a pause before he answers. “Not to my fucking house.”

I squeeze my bare thighs together at the timbre in his voice.

“Okay, Ashlyn.” Anna attempts to pry my fingers off the phone.

“Hey, I’m talking!”

“Give. It. Up.”

Her grip is freakishly strong, and she wins the tug of war.

“Hey, it’s Anna...sorry about that...she doesn’t get out much.”

I cross my arms over my chest, irritated that I can’t hear what he says on the other end.

“That would be good… I wouldn’t say she’stotallydrunk, but–“ She turns away from me.

“I resent that!”

Anna turns to shush me. “We’re at Infinity. I know, I just called, and it was busy. Okay, we’ll be out front.”

She shoves my phone towards me. “Put this in your bag. Unless you’d like to drunk dial someone else. Your mom?”

I wrap her up in a bear hug. “I’m sorry, Anna! I’m no fun.”

She wriggles her arms out from under mine and hugs me back, resting her chin on top of my head and patting my hair. “You’re good, babe. I had lots of fun tonight.”

“So, what’s the plan? Are we heading back in?”

“Definitely not. Isaac is coming to get you. I’m meeting friends from the salon.”

“What? Nooo. Let me come, too!”

“Next time.” She side hugs me, and we lean against each other, seeking relief from our throbbing feet. “We had fun while it lasted. Next time, dinner and a drink. No more mojitos for you.”

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