Page 22 of One Timer With A Wingman

“Maybe,” I say to appease her but the truth is I’m considering her words. Being on vacation for the first time is making me want to take some risks.

We head out for dinner to one of the restaurants at the resort. Everyone is looking sun-kissed and happy. They are also talking about plans for Christmas Eve. There aren’t many options but we will all be having dinner together again.

Tonight’s dinner is eclectic Asian cuisine. It’s pretty fancy, considering the amount of money this trip cost. After dinner, everyone is planning to hit up another club. I’m planning to stay in. I need to catch up with Annie and find out what is going on with her and Cade.

After dinner, everyone is hyped and walking toward the entrance of the hotel to catch Ubers. I follow them until we reach the door. “’Kay, have a good night.” I wave, getting ready to walk away. I know if I would have mentioned not joining them earlier, they would have tried to convince me to go clubbing with them.

“Hell to the no,” Lennon states. “You’re coming dancing tonight. I saw you dancing by the pool that first day. You need to let loose, girl.”

“She isn’t wrong,” Taylor agrees.

“You’re coming out with us and it’s final,” Ivy states.

“Fine,” I agree.

We get into Ubers. I’m with Taylor, Hawk, Nolan, and Levi.

“I hope you guys are cool with changing up rooms tonight,” Taylor says. I see that Hawk winks at her.

The comment was directed at me. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine.”

The Uber stops at the curb outside the club and we all get out.

“We should hit the bar first,” Taylor suggests. Since I’m not keen on spending money, I opt out of drinking. Everyone orders tequila. When Aaron sees me standing off to the side he asks, “Do you want a shot?”

“I’m good, thanks,” I reply. I’ve wrapped my arms around my front, feeling a little out of my element.

“Briar, this one is on me,” Sofia says.

“It’s okay. I’m still feeling the wine from dinner anyway,” I assure my friend.

Aaron frowns. “I’d like to buy you a drink.”

“I’d rather not,” I tell him.

“I’m going to go buy a bottle of alcohol at the corner store,” Lennon announces. “You want to join me, Briar?”

“Sure,” I reply, feeling like getting out of here would be a relief.

We head out. “I don’t want to spend a boatload on drinks either.” She grins. Lennon knows I like to budget. We’ve shared a lot of quiet shifts together at Black Jack’s. My mom pays for the lease on my SUV and I have my scholarship and stipend for food and living arrangements, so I am always mindful of spending.

We head into the corner store. There are all kinds of alcohol bottles lined up on shelves.

“What are you in the mood for? Maybe we can share one of these.” She points to the smaller bottles.

“I’ll let you pick,” I say to Lennon since I’m not much of a drinker.

“How about the Malibu rum? We can get this mix to wash it down,” she says picking up a tall bottle of pina colada mix. It’s only four dollars for the mix, which is a score. We each spend ten dollars and head out of the store.

Lennon opens the bottle and gulps some rum. She makes a sour face and passes it to me before she downs the pina colada mix.

“Hmm, it’s actually really good,” she says.

We sit on the curb for a while and drink. “What are you going to do about Aaron?”

“What do you mean?” I ask her.

“He clearly wants you,” she states.

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