I needed the drink to soothe my nerves. There was just one little problem. “I can’t drink and drive the scooter.” I mentally kicked myself for being so stubborn. “I should have left the scooter at home. You were right.”
“As much as I like being right, I actually enjoyed the scooter ride.” He was guileless as he delivered the news.
I made a face. “You said you hated it.”
“I was just saving face.”
“And now you’re not because you’re afraid I’m going to melt down thanks to Joey?” I jerked my thumb in that direction.
He didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he considered it. “I…”
“I appreciate you,” I blurted out of nowhere. “Somebody else might have left me out here just to prove a point.”
His scowl was instantaneous. “Stop it. I hate it when you give me props for doing the bare minimum. You know that.”
“It’s not the bare minimum when you do things other people wouldn’t do.”
“I would prefer believing that’s because most people are oblivious, not because people are inherently evil.”
I shrugged. “I still appreciate you. I can’t drink if I want to get us home, though.”
He ran his tongue over his lips, his mind clearly churning. “You could leave the scooter here, just take home the helmets, and we can come get it tomorrow. Lesson learned. We’ll Uber home and then retrieve it in the morning.”
“We? You don’t have to come back. I can Uber on my own.”
He shook his head. “We’ll get breakfast and do something while we’re down here. We’ve been talking about visiting one of the cemeteries or taking that hearse-tour thing. We can make a day of it.”
Tomorrow was a writing day. I didn’t like messing up our routine. But I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the offer. This would be the first purposeful outing we engaged in as friends, outside of the Landings. It felt somehow important.
“I…” There was no reason to say no. We were friends. We’d proven that over the past two weeks. There was nobody I felt more comfortable with than Brody. I had friends—Paisley and Hayley mostly—but Brody had quickly supplanted them as my go-to conversation partner. “Are you sure?” I asked finally.
He nodded. “You need a drink.” He shot a dark look toward Joey, who we were fast approaching. “I definitely need a drink. How about we focus on relaxing and worry about picking up the scooter tomorrow?”
“This isn’t your elaborate way of telling me you’re never getting on the scooter again, right?”
He smirked. “I’m going to regret telling you this.” His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. “I actually enjoyed riding on the scooter. I wasn’t lying when I said that.”
“I knew it.” I had to refrain from pumping my fist.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t think this place has food. Just drinks. We’ll have a few, grab Chinese when we’re done.” He nodded at Flock to the Wok. “Then we’ll catch an Uber home. Tomorrow morning, we’ll Uber back out here, pick up the scooter, and then spend the day on this side of town. I need some new inspiration.”
He was making up the last part. He’d been writing like a maniac. I was so grateful he was acting as a shield against Joey, however, that I merely nodded.
“I’ll be buying the Chinese and breakfast,” I said. “And paying for the Uber.”
“We’ll argue about that later.”
“No argument. It’s a condition that has to be met.”
He sighed. “Fine. I’m buying the drinks when we get inside, though.”
I frowned, realizing he’d tricked me. The drinks would be expensive at a place like this. “Um…”
“Nope. It’s a done deal.” Brody flashed a flat smile at Joey as we passed but didn’t acknowledge him otherwise. “Just relax,” he whispered, his lips close to the ridge of my ear, causing goose bumps to pebble my skin. “We have a plan. It’s going to be fine.”
JOEY EVENTUALLY FOLLOWED US INTOthe bar, but he was sullen and maintained his distance. That could have been because Brody never allowed himself to get more than ten feetfrom me the entire night. There might have been a different reason too. I honestly couldn’t decide.
Either way, after more than an hour of sulking near the bar and glaring in our direction, Joey disappeared. Only then could I breathe easily. Since I was already on my third blood orange martini, Brody and I opted to stick to our original plan.
