The limo pulls up to Annalise’s apartment and I shoot her a text to let her know we’re outside. We defeated Seattle after six games and have advanced to the Western Conference Finals. I can’t believe we arethatmuch closer to the championship.
The limo door opens, and Annalise slides in with Mazikeenand their friend Serena. Annalise has brought her up before in conversation, but we haven’t officially met.
“Hey, Dimples.” Annalise pops a kiss on my lips, and my stomach immediately flip-flops. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Serena. She passed her boards and is officially a registered nurse!”
I pull Annalise onto my lap and wrap my arms around her. “I don’t mind at all.” My mouth curves into a smile and I extend a hand to Serena. “Nice to meet you. And congrats on passing your boards! That’s incredible.”
“Thank you so much!” She beams. “And congrats on advancing to the next round! I’m glad I’m able to fully enjoy the games now.”
Elijah sets down his drink and scoots next to Serena. “Nice to meet you. I’m Elijah.”
“You don’t have to introduce yourself—I know who you are.” She chuckles. “But it’s nice to meet you, too.”
Andrés waves from his seat. “It’s nice to meet you, Serena. This is my wife, Katie.”
Katie smiles at her warmly and gives a wave.
“Wow. I never thought I’d be partying with the San Francisco Dragons. This is definitely a treat after busting my ass in nursing school.”
“If I ever become hospitalized, I want you as my nurse,” Elijah says, flashing her a cocky smile.
“Dude, can you stop hitting on everything that moves?” Andrés lets out a groan.
“Leave her alone. She’s taken,” Annalise chimes in.
“Yeah, to a sorry excuse of a man,” Mazikeen mumbles.
Serena scratches the back of her neck. “He said he was too tired to come out and celebrate with me. He sent me a total of five texts telling me I better not dance with other guys.” She rolls her eyes. “I’ve never given him a reason not to trust me, yet he still acts like this.”
“Sounds like he has a lot of insecurities,” I say.
“Oh, he for sure does.” Mazikeen sits up straight. “She iswayout of his league. He’s as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside.”
“Mazi…” Annalise hisses, giving her alook.
Mazi clears her throat. “Sorry. That was mean. But I can’t stand how he treats you, Serena.”
“Part of me wants to leave him, but part of me wants to stay and see if he’ll change,” she says, her voice laced with an unspoken sadness. “We’ve been together for almost four years now, and I’d hate to start over.”
“We just want you to have the love you deserve,” Annalise says softly.
“Have fun tonight, and celebrate your accomplishments!” I say. “Elijah, pour us some shots.”
“You got it!” Elijah grabs a bottle of tequila and pours it into shot glasses, passing them around. “To us moving on to the next round, and to Serena becoming a nurse!”
We all let out cheers, clinking our glasses and downing the warm liquid.
He pours another round of shots, but Serena holds up her hand when he passes one to her. “Oh no—I’m good with one. I’m a super lightweight.”
I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. “There’s no way one shot is enough to get you drunk.”
Turns out, one shot was all she needed, because Serena is currently dancing on top of a table, waving her hands in the air.
“And this is why we call her One-Shot Wonder,” Annalise says with a laugh.
“That’s impressive.” I let out a chuckle. “I would save a fuck-ton of money if my tolerance was that low.”
Santiago walks in the club—we've rented Blackout again—and greets me with a hug. “Hey, man! Sorry I couldn’t make it to the game, but congratulations!”
