I glanced up occasionally at Ethan and Karson. It seemed a never-ending bevy of women would come and go. There was a lot of flicking of hair, eyelash batting, and seductive smiling. It was obvious Ethan reveled in the attention. Karson was a lot more reserved. His face often held an expression of annoyance more than anything.
One particular girl swaggered up beside Karson. She rested her on her elbow on the bar, head on her hand, and had dropped her chest forward more than would be normal, allowing both men a view down her cleavage. She twirled her brown hair between the fingers of her free hand, smiling, her eyes darting between both men. Neither seemed impressed.
“She needs some lessons.” Jodie followed my gaze. The girl flicked her hair like a bad actress.
“Yeah, do you think it’s going to work?”
Jodie shook her head. “Doubtful, she’s a five at best, and I give her a generous three for her flirting skills.” She swirled the straw in her drink and sat back.
Karson looked down at her, a gleam of something cold in his eyes, he said something. The girl blinked and moved away, a dazed look on her face.
“Come on, let’s dance!” Georgie shot down the last of her drink.
The girls danced with a wild abandon, which was kind of contagious, and I had more fun than I could remember having in a long time. We danced until it was getting late—for me anyway—and I was ready to head home. I glanced toward the end of the bar. I’d have to thank Karson for the drinks before I left.
Ethan was playing “Eeny Meeny” around the room. Eeny—his finger pointed at a tall blond; Meeny—over to the blond’s black-haired friend; Miney—to the brunette from last night; Moe—over to someone behind the pool table. Finally, his finger stopped. It was pointing at me. I couldn’t believe the nerve of that man, and I almost turned and walked out, but I thought he needed to be knocked down a peg or two. His eyes sparkled expectantly as I walked toward him. I popped a little hip swagger into my walk, trying my hardest to give him a sexy look—which, in all honesty, I’d never been that good at, but I prayed I wasn’t as bad as the girl from earlier. It appeared to be working. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Karson watching. He frowned, his eyes drilling holes into my skull.
When I reached Ethan, I leaned into his ear. He smelled good, too good. Sweet like cotton candy, and with a hint of something woody. I had to resist sniffing in his scent and lowering my lips to his flawless neck, just to see if he tasted as good as he smelt. I kept my teeth behind my lips and purred in a voice full of poison and honey, “Not even in your wildest dreams.”
Karson bit back laughter.
Surprise flickered across Ethan’s face, then he broke into a breathtaking smile.
“I take that as a challenge, and I love a challenge as much as I love a happy ending.”
What a cocky prick. I couldn’t believe I’d actually found him attractive. I folded my arms across my chest.
“Oh really? I heard there’s a new game of children’s trivial pursuit out—perhaps you should give that a go.” I glanced at Karson. “Thanks for the drinks, Karson.”
His lips still twitched as he nodded.
I turned and walked away, a little smile of satisfaction on my face at having rejected the ass. BJ, Georgie, and Jodie were all staring at me as I approached. They couldn’t have heard what was said, but they seemed to have worked it out, and they all wore huge grins on their faces.
“See? Mint chocolate chip,” Jodie said.
“Amy, I think I love you—it’s about time someone said no to him.” Georgie said, shooting him a hard glare.
“I think we should drink to that,” Jodie said. She had four shots lined up ready to go. I’d already had four drinks, including a shot about half an hour ago. One more and I couldn’t drive home.
I held up my hands in surrender. “No, sorry, I’m out. I’m going to head home. You guys enjoy, though. Thank you for inviting me—it’s been fun.”
BJ sat his drink down. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
I didn’t want him walking me out. Even though I didn’t get any impression that he wanted more than friendship, I didn’t want any awkward goodbyes to contend with.
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine, BJ. My car’s just down the road.”
“BJ, Amy will be safe. Nothing ever happens in Church Heights, seriously,” Jodie said, rolling her eyes. “Well, unless you count the missing hikers.”
“I think you probably should,” BJ said dryly, before turning his attention back to me. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you out?”
“I’m more than sure. See you later.” I waved and walked off, stepping out into the dark.
*
The dim glow of the streetlights fanned out, casting deep shadows in the hollow alleyways between the buildings. The breeze hit like a cold slap, biting through the fabric of my top. I shivered, rubbing my arms. I should have brought a jacket. I’d felt reasonably sober inside, although in retrospect my bold move with Ethan was undoubtedly boosted by alcohol. There was no way I would’ve done it stone-cold sober. I began to feel lightheaded, and my vision wasn’t quite focused. Maybe the rounds Karson had sent over were full-strength, not half?
As I neared my car, I looked down at the paver lines. If I could follow them in a straight line, I’d be alright to drive. It was what the cops did to test people, so I deduced it was a reasonable thing for me to do. I looked to make sure no one was watching—the streets were empty. I held my arms out to the side and concentrated like I was walking a beam in the gym. My legs landed along the lines as they should for the first two steps. I smiled; I was fine. The third step, however, landed to the right side of the line. I cursed and tried again, with the same result. It would have to be a cab home tonight. There was a rank outside the local supermarket a few blocks away.
