Page 14 of Rum and Rendezvous

“If he’s Carly, then you’d make a perfect Cary. Carly and Cary. It has a nice ring to it.”

He grumbled as he turned his broad back on me and poured a drink for another customer. I smiled as I realized that with Carson, I never buried my personality in deference to his, a habit I tended to repeat with dominant men. There was no watered-down version of Ryan when he was around. I was one-hundred percent me—fun and flirty. The only other guy who brought out the best in me was my best friend, Reid. It was an a-ha moment. Even though Carson invoked different feelings in me than Reid did, I felt the same peace and safety with him—the same familiarity. It was something to consider while I sat and sipped my drink as I watched him work the bar, sparkling like a diamond, completely in his element.

* * *

My phone rang,and I paused my show to answer it, smiling, when I saw Reid’s name flash across the screen. “Save me!”

“From what?” He wasn’t usually so dramatic.

“Boredom. Loneliness. Laundry!”

“Where’s Riley?”

“Ugh! He had a date tonight. Probably won’t be home until late. Wanna hang out?”

“Am I your consolation prize?” I was only teasing. It thrilled me when Reid called to hang out, considering he was just about my only friend.

“No! It’s the other way around. I’m hoping to be yours. What are you up to?”

I only meant to tease him, but Reid was panicked that he might have hurt my feelings, which was so like him.

“Just watching my show, The Great British Bake Off, and snacking on kettle corn.”

“Oh great! So then I’m doing you a favor,” he joked, sounding much less worried. “Let’s grab milkshakes and play mini golf.”

He sounded so excited, I didn’t have the heart to say no, even though I would rather have stayed home and finished my show.

“Alright. I’m on my way,” I conceded.

“I’ll call Griffin and see if he wants to join us! Bye.”

He hung up before I could respond. With great reluctance, I grabbed the remote and switched off my show, found my keys, and headed downstairs to the parking lot.

When I pulled up in Reid’s driveway, he was already standing outside, waiting for me, and jumped in the car with a squeal.

“Griffin is meeting us there. Are you excited? I’m excited. Can you tell?” I laughed, my smile softening. Reid’s happiness was contagious. “I’m being annoying, aren’t I?” He blushed, his head dipping down.

“No, not at all. I’m super excited,” I lied. “But you’re going to be less so when you realize I’m a better golfer than you.”

“Oh, it’s not about who wins. It’s just about having fun with my best friends.” He lifted his head, smiling again, and I was reminded for the hundredth time that I had the best friend in the whole world.

As he promised, Griffin was waiting for us when we arrived. The golf course also had an arcade, go-karts, and a shake shack, which was where we headed first. We ordered three double-chocolate espresso ice cream shakes and dared each other to see how fast we could drink them. Griffin won, and his prize was a painful bout of brain freeze.

The dares got dumber as the night wore on, and the caffeine and sugar kicked in.

Reid lined up his shot. “If I make this between the flower petals, Griffin has to tell us about his trip to a certain adult movie theater with Cyan last week.”

Griffin palmed his face. “Calling it a movie theater is a stretch. More like a booth in the back of a sketchy sex toy shop. The place was filthy. I was afraid to touch anything or even sit down.”

I snickered when Reid’s green golf ball sliced cleanly through the giant metal flower petals. “Spill it, Griff.”

Next up was my turn. Thanks to my friends’ outrageous stories, I was feeling giddy. “If I make this in two shots, Reid has to promise to try the reverse cowboy position he read about in one of his silly sex manuals.”

He blanched, his pretty face turning bright red. “I can promise, but it’s not like I’m gonna tell you about it. And don’t knock those manuals, they’re very informative.” He smirked. “I’ve learned a lot.”

Griffin stepped up to the line, dropped his ball on the tee-plate and lined up his shot. “If I make this through the pirate’s eye, Ryan has to tell us about the hot bartender who came to his rescue and drove him home.”

I gasped, shoving Reid playfully. “You swore you wouldn’t tell!”

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