Page 94 of Lyrical

“Are you sure your stupid ends at drinking too much?” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m leaving, Chase. If you see my uncle, tell him I’ll talk to him later.”

Fuck. I nodded, letting him go. There was zero sense trying to accomplish anything with him right then. He’d never understand how much restraint I’d just showed. He’d only view me as one of the many drunk-ass idiots in the room.

I went to find the bathroom so I could splash some cold water on my face, passing the card table. I could only assume the women were under it because the guys looked pretty frickin’ happy.

I heard Stephen’s slur at the back of the hall, so I headed that way instead. I’d been wondering what he’d been up to. I poked my head into what I guessed was Alex’s bedroom. There was a little outdoor patio set off the room, and that’s where Stephen and Alex half sat/half lay with an open bottle of Jack between them.

“Chase, buddy,” Stephen waved. “Shut the door. Come on over. Join us for a drink.”

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me, and went over to the open glass door. The night air slapped me hard. Better than a splash of water. It was fucking glorious.

“Chase, here… this guy’s all right,” Stephen said to Alex.

He slid the bottle across the table, and I grabbed it. Why the fuck not? Daniel was gone, these guys were cool, and I’d already planned to take a cab home. From what I could tell of Alex so far, he was nothing like his asshole brother.

I took a swig. “Daniel left. Said he’d catch up with you later.”

“Yeah, he already stuck around longer than I thought,” Stephen said.

“The whatever the fuck they are still out there?” Alex asked.

“They weren’t sitting at the table, so yeah, I’m figuring they’re still here.”

Alex chuckled. “Fucking Tommy.” He looked at Stephen. “Man, I’m sorry your party got all fucked up.”

Stephen swung his glass around. “No worries. Fuck this night. Didn’t even need a party. Got everything I need already. Chase gets it. Don’t you, buddy?”

Every word Stephen spoke I swore would be his last for the night. Any second he was going down hard. I was floored he’d made it that long.

“Yeah, I sure do,” I said.

“Yeah, I know it. Gotta admit, wasn’t so sure about you at first, didn’t think you were good enough for my sister, but hey”—he lifted his glass—“you proved me wrong. You’re all right, Chase.”

I nodded, tipping the bottle. “Appreciate that.” Because I did. I fucking appreciated it a hell of a lot. As far as I could tell, Daniel was the only one left close to Jillian who wasn’t fully on board with our relationship. He’d proved that tonight.

The only one and the most important one. But I couldn’t let that mess with my head right then. Not when my head was already messed enough.

“A toast,” Stephen said. Alex raised his glass, and I lifted the bottle. “To everything we already have. Fuck this night.”

Yeah.The glass clinked three ways.

Fuck. This. Night.

“Ihope Stephen’s having a better night than me.”

Perry crossed her arms over her stomach and made a face. It didn’t go well with her pink princess crown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “I think the night’s going pretty well so far.”

There were twelve of us at the table; eleven were wanted. We’d arrived at the hotel over an hour before and were settled in with drinks and appetizers, waiting for the show to continue. We’d already witnessed the dramatic demise. She’d been shot five times before stumbling into the middle of the room, falling down, getting back up, then collapsing inside the chalk line predrawn on the floor.

“I think it was that onion I accidently ate on the bruschetta. It made me sick. And now it’s trying to gnaw its way out of my stomach.” She shivered, sipping her ice water.

I laughed. “I don’t think one little onion’s going to be that vicious.”

“Actually, Perry, you’ve been a little quiet all night,” Sam said. “Do you not like this place?”

“Oh no. I think you did a great job planning everything. Thank you. I’m just a little out of it, I guess.”

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