Because this encounter is all I need.
“I… Yeah,” she finally manages.
I chuckle. “I forgot how flustered you get when I do that,” I say. Movement catches my attention from the corner of my eye, and I turn to find the guy who was just flirting with her glaring my way.
“Oh, hey, what’s up?” I say casually, reaching for the drink she just took a sip from. “Bonnie,” I introduce myself. “Thanks for keeping my girl company. You know how fucking long the lines are at women’s restrooms. Took forever.”
“That was for her,” he says about the drink I sip from.
“Oh, this?” I try the drink again. “Vodka with a splash of grenadine. Sweet, but not bad. Don’t worry. I’ll get her usual for her.” I hold up my hand to the bartender, who jerks his chin my way to let me know he saw me before heading this way.
“Two gin and tonics,” I tell him. “Thanks.”
“Thank you, baby,” she says, toying with the hem of my jacket.
I smile at her, and the bartender sets our drinks down in front of us. “Anything for you—Just put it on the band’s tab,” I tell the bartender.
The man loudly scoffs. “Fucking ridiculous,” he mutters.
I turn toward him. “Something wrong?” I ask.
However, he pushes off the bar without another word, and I grin as I watch him leave. “Have the night you deserve,” I call after him.
The brunette laughs a soft little giggle, and I take the seat next to her.
“So, now that that’s over… Bonnie,” I introduce myself.
She pushes one of the drinks toward me and lifts the other. “Abigail,” she says.
I take my drink, clink it against hers, and gulp a large swig.
“That’s a hell of a risky move. The kissing thing, I mean,” she says.
I huff amusedly and swallow the cold liquid. “It is… Sometimes creeps need a little extra incentive to move along. It works out one of two ways: he gets angry and storms off, or he becomesmoreof a creep by asking if he can join in.”
“How many times has the latter happened?” she asks.
“A few,” I answer. I lean over and reach for a thick piece of glitter in her hair. “I like this. It brings out the green in your eyes.”
“It’ll be a pain in the ass to get out,” she says. “But if it got your attention, maybe it’s worth it.”
I drag my gaze away from her hair to her face. “How else were you going to get my attention if the glitter didn’t work?”
“I’d have figured out something,” she says. “Improvised a fight. Cut off whomever you were dancing with.”
“A fight?” My brows lift. “For me? That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me. I—”
The noise of a breaking wooden stool sounds nearby.
It shatters my concentration, and I groan as I see Reed’s shaggy hair near the group suddenly arguing.
“Speaking of a fucking fight,” I grunt. I push off the stool and chug the rest of my drink. “Will you wait for me? I just need to take care of something,” I say to her.
“All night if you need me to,” she replies.
I lean over and kiss her jaw before heading into the crowd. I’ve already forgotten her name when I’m three steps away, my hazy gaze fixated on the commotion coming into view. I shove my way through a few bystanders toward where I can see Reed. Shit, I hope he’s just standing near it. I hope this isn’t about him—
Fuck.
