And from beside them, a very handsome man adjusted his black hat as he smiled at me. "And one from me as well."
Damn, seeing Ty like that made my body try to react in two different ways simultaneously. First, my pulse picked up at the look of this man in that hat. That he was sitting by the bar was too similar to the way we'd first met. He had a beer resting before him, but this time his shirt was different.
And yet, I also wanted to turn right around and tell Jake to take me home. That was stupid. Just because I hadn't run into Ty at the bars since the blowup in Cheyenne didn't mean anything. We'd been civil with each other for weeks now. Friendly even.
But at these bars, he found the women.
Nope, I was not going to think about that. I was here to have a good time while my boyfriends did the same, alone, as an adorable couple. So, I marched my ass toward them, slapping a smile on my face and then convincing myself I was going to believe it.
"Ok," I said when I reached those three. "I want whiskey."
"Now that," Jake said from right behind me, "is my kind of woman."
"And you?" Ty asked Jake.
In reply, Jake lifted his keys. "I'll accept a non-alcoholic beer or a soda."
"Hey!" Ty barked at the bar tender. "Do you have beer with no alcohol?"
"Yep," they called out.
Ty just waved at Jake. "And a whiskey for the lady."
He was pouring those out when someone else called out my name. "Cody!" I turned in time to see Jackson Cloutier pushing through the press of bodies that were starting to fill this place. "Hey, I heard..." And he paused to smile at Jorge and Isaac. "Shit, you're here!"
"Yep," Isaac said.
Jackson looked back to me. "And Tanner?"
"Out doing his thing," I said.
Jackson nodded as if that made sense. "Well, I heard the B-team packed up and headed out yesterday."
"No shit?" Jorge asked. "Damn, that was fast."
"But does that mean anything?" Jackson pressed. "You two are here and they aren't?"
Jake reached over my shoulder to take his beer. "Buy them a drink and they might tell you," he taunted.
"Shit," Jackson muttered. "Guys, I would, but the strike..."
"We're good," Jorge assured him.
"Man, striking was more than enough - and completely unexpected," Isaac told him.
"It's why we came back," Jorge told him. Then he turned to me and offered a hand. "Dance with me, Cody? As the only safe woman here, let me have a little fun without getting in trouble with my wife?"
"Go," Jake encouraged.
So I tossed back my whiskey, then slapped my hand into Jorge's, letting him tow me to the back where a small section of hardwood was meant to be the dance floor. The music camefrom the speakers, not a live band, but that was fine. Even better, we weren't the only ones dancing.
There was only one problem with this plan: I still wasn't that great at dancing. I simply didn't have the experience, but I was more than willing to try. First, Jorge spun me around the floor. Then Isaac took his turn when the song changed, bribing me with one more whiskey. From Jake, he said.
After that came Jackson, then Kaleb. All of them came with a bribe, and while the drink changed, it was actually kinda nice. I sucked them back, then spun stupidly with yet another one of the men I now called friends.
Because for the first time, I wasn't hiding behind some guy. I was just me, accepted as a part of the PBR by these men who should've been my competition. And yeah, I was actually having fun. More than I'd expected.
But sadly, after a few drinks, I had to pee! Too much alcohol too fast did have that effect. Excusing myself - and telling Gustavo he had to wait his turn - I headed toward the blurry little sign that said "Restrooms." And yep, they proved this was really a dive bar. The girls in there were packing on their lipstick over filthy sinks, but it felt right.
