Page 28 of Keeper
So I backed off.
Still, I wanted to help.
“Look, I feel bad. Let me give you a ride.” She still didn’t trust me. I couldn’t blame her. “I’m not trying to hookup with a girl in a crisis, Ainsley. I just want to make sure you get home safe. Hell, I’ll give you money for a cab if you’d rather do that instead. Honestly, I just want to help you out, okay?”
“Thank you, Tanner,” she said. “I appreciate that. But the problem is, I can’t even take a cab because I don’t know her address. And I don’t have it written down because she told me how to get there over the phone. All I know is it’s a high-rise downtown somewhere. Kinda somewhat close to that ridiculous building that looks like a giant golf ball.”
“That’s Reunion Tower,” I said. “I know the area. Do you think you’d recognize her building if you saw it?”
“Um, I don’t know … maybe?”
“I can drive you around if you want to look for it.”
Her eyebrows met. “You’d really do that?”
“Of course.”
“But I can’t ride with you,” she said, her eyes darting away from me.
“Why not?”
“You’ve been drinking.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t had a drop tonight.”
“You’re at the club and you’re not drinking?” she asked with surprise.
“I’ve got work tomorrow,” I said.
“Oh. I see.” Her resistance was melting. “But what if we can’t find her building?”
“We’ll find it,” I said confidently. “But if we can’t, then I’ll put you up in a hotel.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah, really. I don’t want you to worry.”
“No weird stuff, though,” she said. “Promise me?”
“I promise. No weird stuff.”
She bit her lip and thought it over.
“You’re sweet, Tanner,” she said as she began to gather up her things. “Thank you so much.”
9
Ainsley
The hot guy in the expensive suit offered me his arm so we wouldn’t get separated.
If someone from the future had told me I’d be leaving the club with a random guy at the end of the night, I would’ve laughed in their face and said,not a chance.But that was before Marta had left me.
Marta!
I was so mad at her. I had amilliontext messages but not a single one was from her. Yeah, I should’ve had my phone on, but she’d specificallytoldme to stay right there and she’d be right back.
What choice did I have now? It was either accept Tanner’s help or wander the city streets in heels until Marta finally answered her phone, which seemedwaymore sketchy and dangerous than accepting a ride from the guy who said he only wanted to make sure I got home safely.
