“Gator, this is Aspen. She’s never had a real drink before, so be gentle.” Maddie gave him a look, then added, “And can you stash our bags behind the bar? I don’t want anyone snatching ‘em.”
He nodded, took our purses, and slid them behind the bar. “First one’s on me, bakery girl. What’ll it be?”
I looked at Maddie for help.
“She’ll have a Shiner Bock, and I’ll take a whiskey sour,” she declared.
Gator poured, slid the dark bottle to me, and I took a sip before thinking. The taste was awful—bitter, with a weird syrupy finish—but I forced myself to swallow and pretend it was fine.
Maddie saw right through me. “Not a fan?”
I made a face. “Tastes like bread and regret.”
She snorted. “You’ll like the next one better. Beer’s just tradition.”
We found a table wedged between the jukebox and the pool tables. Maddie took the seat facing the room and left me the wall. “Safer this way,” she said. “If anyone starts trouble, you’ve got an escape route.”
I took another sip of beer and tried to look casual. Maddie chatted, introducing me to two girls she knew from the salon, both wearing more eyeliner than I’d thought possible without permanent marker. They were nice, though, and we talked aboutmovies and music and who had the best pancakes in town. I started to relax. By the time the band set up for their first set, I’d even managed to finish half my beer.
Gator brought another drink, pink, in a martini glass, and winked. “Cosmo. You’ll like it.”
He was right. It tasted like lime and cranberry and sugar, and I downed half of it before I realized I should probably pace myself.
Maddie watched me, amused. “Careful, Georgia girl. These sneak up on you.”
I was feeling freer already. “You said I should dance,” I reminded her, finishing my drink. “So let’s do that.”
The dance floor was packed, but the music was loud and bouncy, and nobody seemed to care if you knew what you were doing. Maddie shimmied and stomped and made me laugh until I forgot to be embarrassed. I let the music buzz through my veins, let the lights and the crowd and the wildness of it all lift me up. I even sang along, yelling the words when I didn’t know them.
After a while, more drinks appeared. Sometimes I didn’t even see who brought them; Maddie just grabbed a glass from a passing hand and checked it for me before I took a sip.
“Never drink something you didn’t see poured,” she warned. “Even here.”
“Even in a bar full of wolves?” I asked, giggling.
She looked at me suddenly serious. “Especially in a bar full of wolves. Some of them don’t take ‘no’ so well.”
I nodded, but the warning was hard to hold on to in the blur of music and laughter. The drinks made everything loose, all the sharp edges dulled down.
It was on my third Cosmo that I realized I somehow missed Big Papa. I wanted him to see me like this—alive, happy, not just the bakery girl.
I leaned into Maddie, trying to whisper but probably just yelling, “I wish he were here. Papa, I mean. He’s so big and beautiful. He makes me feel…safe.”
Maddie grinned, wicked. “You got it bad, girl.”
I pouted. “You don’t even know. I love his face. I love his hands. I love his hair, even the way it goes messy when he’s being all grumpy.” I giggled again. “He has a good beard. Like, a really good beard.”
Maddie doubled over with laughter. “Wait, say that again? The last part.”
I repeated all the things I adored about Papa. I took another sip, steadied myself, and declared, “Big Papa has the best beard in Texas. In the world. I want to—” But then a hand landed on my shoulder, heavy and hot even through my sweater.
I whipped around, expecting Papa, but instead it was a man I’d never seen before. He was tall, broad, with black hair pulled into a tight braid and skin like river clay. His eyes were dark, almost black, and he grinned at me in a way that made all my good feelings shrivel.
He didn’t say hello. Just leaned in and said, “Hey beautiful. Why don’t you dance with me?”
I tried to pull back, but his grip tightened, just enough to warn me he wasn’t asking.
Maddie was instantly between us, sharp as a switchblade. “She’s with me, asshole. Move along.”
