Page 41 of Under My Skin
Toni leans back with her arms crossed. “This should be good.”
Troy tosses back the rest of his beer. “I won’t let you down.” He lifts his glass and looks around the table. “Another round?”
“I’m down,” Simon finishes his beer, too.
“I’m heading out, but you can keep my tab open. Just close out before you leave.” Everett gets to his feet.
“Can I come with you?” I blurt.
All eyes turn to me, and my cheeks warm.
“What? It’s not like I’m going to let this lunatic drive me anywhere else tonight.” I gesture toward my brother and the two empty glasses in front of him as opposed to the one in front of Everett. I haven’t seen him drink anything since we first got here.
Everett rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, sure.” His eyes jump to Simon like he’s not sure if this is okay.
Simon’s brows furrow as he looks at me. “You want to leave now? I can just take you home later.”
Troy chimes in. “I have my car, too. If you don’t want to be someone’s backpack.”
As tempting as it is to ride home in a car, I don’t know Troy.The thought of being alone with him has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up even though he seems like a nice enough guy.
“That’s okay. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.” Not to mention the thought of wrapping my arms around Everett again has my entire body tingling.
Simon’s eyes jump between Everett and me, but eventually he just shrugs. “Suit yourself. I’ll see you when I get back.”
Getting up from my stool, I point a finger at him and give him a leveling look. “Drive safe.” My eyes dart to the empty glasses in front of him again, and I add, “Order a pretzel or something.”
His eyes widen. “Oh, yeah. I need to get that girl’s number.”
He cranes his neck to get a good view of the bar, and I wave a hand in front of his face. “Did you hear me? Order food.”
Simon swats me away, still trying to get a good look at the girl who took his order hours ago. “Yeah, yeah. I will.”
Everett pulls his jacket over his shoulders, and I sigh before giving up on my brother and saying goodbye to everyone.
“You’re sure about riding on the back of a bike?” Troy asks, and a flicker of annoyance flashes in Everett’s eyes.
“Quit trying to cage her, Troy. She’ll be fine.” Everett mutters.
My eyes linger on Everett, but only for a moment before turning back to Troy and echoing Everett’s last words with a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Everett heads for the exit, and I pick up my pace to catch up with him. “What did you mean? Cage me?”
“The car,” he answers without looking at me. “It’s like a cage.”
I nod even though I still don’t fully understand. As I follow him through the crowded bar, I tug on the sleeve of my sweater, the guilt of asking for a ride tickling the back of my mind. “I’m sorry,” I say, even though I’m not sure why the words spill out of me.
Everett slows so we can walk side by side. Glancing at me, he cocks an eyebrow. “For?”
“Inviting myself to ride home with you?” I ask, assuming this is another small burden for him.
A faint smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t be. I take it as a compliment.”
Something eases inside me. Maybe the air between us isn’t awkward. Maybe it was just the vodka trying to pull one over on me.
Everett pushes the door open, and the crisp night air chills me through the tiny holes of my sweater. My arms instinctively cross, and I hug myself as we walk to where his dark bike waits for us.
As soon as we reach it, he shrugs off his jacket and hands it to me. “Here.”
