Page 30 of Purity

Maybe he isn’t so bad.

“Do you know where Mari is?” I ask.

“I think she’s still on the dance floor.” He sets his hand on my shoulder and guides me to the bar stool next to his. “I just ordered something for you. I think you’re going to like it.”

I glance at the wooden counter. “What happened to my drink?”

“I downed it after you left with Cole.”

“Oh…”

“I could tell you didn’t like it but were too nice to tell me.”

I lick my lips, lifting a hand and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “It was just a little strong.”

The bartender appears and places three small glasses in front of Travis. My eyes widen. “Shots? Is one of these for me?”

Travis grins. “They’re all for you. It’s the perfect solution. You can get drunk without having to taste the alcohol.”

“All for me? That’s a lot to drink.”

“You’ll be fine.” He leans in close, his breath brushing over my face as he says, “I don’t know why Cole’s being so weird about you drinking when he passed out in my bathroom the last time we went out drinking. He’s freaking you out for no reason. Even if you get drunk fast, you’ll be fine. Trust me.”

I take a deep breath and glance down at the shots. Even if I do get sick, who cares? Both Cole and Mari have gotten so drunk that they’ve puked, and that didn’t stop them from going out and partying again. Besides, this is supposed to be an adventure. I should be going all out.

When I reach out and grab one of the shots, Travis pats my back. “Yes!”

I clench my fingers around the glass and lift it to my mouth. Nervousness flutters through me, but with it is a mixture of exhilaration. I throw the shot back into my mouth the same way I’ve seen other people do it, and thankfully, only a slight burn trails down my throat.

“That’s my girl!” Travis claps.

“Livvy!” I twist around and see Mari and Zac making their way through the crowd. “Did you really just take a shot?”

I smile widely. “It burned, and I loved it!”

“Isn’t she so cute?” Travis wraps his arms around me and pulls my back against his chest. “It was a Lemon Drop too. A Lemon Drop burned her throat.”

I don’t know what a Lemon Drop is, but I can tell he’s making fun of me, and I don’t care. For the first time, I’m living like a regular college student.

He presses a kiss against my cheek. “You should hurry up and get another shot down before your nanny comes back.”

I wince. “Another one? I don’t even feel this one yet.”

He laughs. “You’ll be fine.”

My gaze darts to Mari. “Do you think I should take another one?”

“It’s up to you. You said you wanted to go all out, and you have plenty of people here to take care of you.” Her smile grows cheeky. “You have one person who will take extra good care of you if you get too drunk.”

“Yeah, but he’ll be mad.” I glance around the area. “He told me I should only have one drink an hour.”

“I think you should do it while he’s not looking,” Zac says. “But don’t tell him I said that.”

“Dude!” Travis shouts. “Cole needs to chill the fuck out. Why is he like this with her? She shouldn’t be scared to take shots.” He looks at me. “Don’t let him get into your head. Do what you want to do.”

Mari leans forward, raising her voice over the noise of the crowd. “I agree with him. I love Cole to death, but sometimes he acts like if he touches you too hard, you’ll shatter. And the whole problem is that you’re scared you might shatter.”

She’s right. She’s absolutely right. And the biggest problem of all is that I let Cole treat me like I might shatter because I was trained to let men take care of me.

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