“Debbie, Lor, you coming to the bar?” Kitty asked. “First round’s on me.”
Lori groaned. “Oh, Deb, I don’t know if I can do two nights in a row. We’ve gotta be at the airport so early tomorrow.”
Debbie chuckled. “I wish we could hang like we used to, but I think we’re going to turn in early. We’re still on Eastern Time.”
“And hung over,” Lori added.
“We’ll take you home, then,” Ben offered.
“No, we’ll catch a ride. Y’all go have fun. Dad’s been waiting on my call anyway.”
Ben’s body tensed under my hand, so I gave him a reassuring squeeze. We bid Debbie and Aunt Lori goodnight, and made our moves to a dive bar by the arena, aptly named The Stadium.
“What are you drinking?” Kitty demanded when we walked in.
“Oh, I’d better not,” I said.
“Come on, babe. You can cut loose. I’m driving,” Mikey said, his thumb stroking absently over my ribs. “You girls can have your fun. Stelle and I’ll make sure you get home safe.”
I leaned closer to Kitty and lowered my voice. “I’m afraid if I drink too much I’ll give away our little secret to the others.”
Kitty waved a hand like it was nothing and threw her arm around my shoulder. “I’ll keep you safe. Come on. Let’s be stupid for a night.”
Kitty and I split off to a high-top table in the corner by the bar, and an hour later, I was blissfully buzzed. Okay, probably more than buzzed. We talked shit about office politics, and Kitty agreed that I was doing more work than my boss, Irina. I rarely let myself go like that, but I had a lot on my mind.
I actually kinda liked Mikey. Like not as my friend. Watching him across the room talking to his teammates, sipping a single beer because he was driving, he just looked perfect. And I knew he looked just as perfect clothed as he did with almost nothing on. All those veins—
“Earth to Jessie,” Kitty laughed, waving her hand in front of my face as I twisted the straw from my water glass between my fingers. “You watching your boyfriend over there?”
“I mean, he is kinda cute, right? Like he’s a good-looking guy.” He looked up at that moment and held my gaze, his dimples framing his smile.
“Well, yeah,” Kitty said, like it was a simple matter of fact.
My stomach dropped. “You didn’t used to have a thing with him, did you?” I blurted it out so quickly, I didn’t have time to think about how desperate it made me sound.
“Relax. He’s always just been a friend. There have been times I thought he was hitting on me, but I think that’s just how he relates to women.”
“So, he liked you?”
Kitty cocked her head to the side, narrowing her dark eyes. “Oh my God, you really like him, don’t you?”
My face warmed. “Shut up. No, I don’t.”
“Oh, Jessie!” Kitty shrieked, grasping my hand. “It’s all like I planned!”
“You planned for my boyfriend to cheat on me and throw me out?” I sniped, trying to get her to lower her voice.
Kitty blew right past that. “Jessie, oh my God. He’s so into you, babe. I mean, just look at him right now! Look!” She grabbed my cheeks to turn my face toward Mikey. He stood chatting with the team’s goalie and Guy. “He’s looking at you like you’re made out of fucking gold.”
And he was. His mouth was in a little simper, his dimples popping, eyes shining, just at me. He looked back to the guys like he was trying to get out of the conversation.
“Ooh! Dance time! Come on, I love this song!” Kitty said, pulling me off my stool toward a circle of WAGs in the middle of the bar. There was no dance floor as it was just a dive bar, but they danced on the chipped hardwood like it was one. I wavered as I stood, grabbing the table for balance. No more drinks for Jessie.
I joined the group, singing along to the girly hit like it was my karaoke jam. I shook and swirled my hips, feeling just loose enough to have a good time. Gone was the nastiness from the Wives Room, all women uniting under the force of Dua Lipa.
A corded arm snaked around my waist from behind, a cool beer bottle on the back of my arm. I knew from his scent that it was Ben. He followed my lead, then twirled me around and hooked my arm around his neck. We were front to front, our thighs interlocked, his forehead lowering to mine as he sang a few of the words to me.
“Didn’t know you were a Dua Lipa fan, boyfriend,” I said.
