Logan nudges me and whispers in my ear, “is it wrong that I have secondhand embarrassment for some of them? I see all those cell phones out recording and I guarantee this town will make someone TikTok famous before the end of the night.” Leaning into his solid body, I suppress a giggle. My poor traumatized man, he’s forgotten what it’s like to live in a small town.
“You will be old news by tomorrow once a new karaoke star has been crowned.” Turning my head, I gently place my lips on his. He takes that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. It only lasts a moment before the table erupts with a collective “AWWWE!” Smiling into his lips, I whisper, “To be continued later at home.”
“I’m counting on it,” he murmurs as he tries to discretely adjust himself before sitting back in his chair, his arm draped over my shoulder.
Clearing his throat, Logan asks his friend, “So, Carson, when are you going to let me tattoo that virgin skin? I have the perfect design ready.”
“No way, man. Drunk Carson agreed to that. Sober Carson is not responsible for any of the decisions drunk Carson makes. I fucking hate needles.” It’s amusing to watch a large, muscled man shiver at the thought of tiny needles.
“Besides, I’m not the only one with virgin skin,” Carson says dramatically as he points at Ryan. “Why don’t you hound him to get one, he doesn’t have any.”
Beck snorts, before her head snaps up wide eyed as she meets Ryan’s glare. They exchange an intense look before she looks away.
“Wait! What?” Carson narrows his eyes as he looks back and forth between them. “You have a tattoo? Are you holding out on me, Ryan? I thought we were friends, man?”
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t do it,” Beck mumbles. Biting the inside of her lip, she looks down at the beer bottle in her hand and starts picking off the label.
“Sometimes, drunk Ryan makes bad decisions as well.” Standing, he excuses himself and walks towards the bar. I look over at Claire and Meg and they both shrug. Riot’s face is giving absolutely nothing away, but I’m sure he knows something. He is everyone’s secret keeper.
Turning to Beck, I ask, “how do you know Ryan has a tattoo? You can’t stop bickering long enough with him lately to have an actual civilized conversation.” It may be my imagination, but I feel like their arguing has gotten worse over the past month.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember. Someone must have told me.” She waves her hand in the air dismissively before jumping up from her chair and pointing across the room. “I’m…I’m just going to go pick out a song for us, okay?”
“I’m sure you will pick something amazing.” Smiling, I watch her flounce away through the crowd.
“They have history,” Logan murmurs. “I clocked it the last time we were here.”
“You think so?” I scrunch up my nose. “She hasn’t said anything to me.”
Winking, he threads his fingers through mine and kisses the back of my hand. “Watch them. She intentionally pushes his buttons to get a rise out of him, and it works. There’s something there.”
“So, love birds, how is it going? I haven’t seen much of either of you lately,” Claire interrupts with glassy eyes, leaning forward with her elbow on the table, chin resting in her palm as she watches us intently.
For the past week, Logan and I have been living in isolation. When we aren’t working, we divide our time between his house and my cabin. I tried to bring Penelope to his once, but she protested loudly about going into her carrier. She’s become accustomed to the cat paradise I have created for her and will tolerate nothing less. Whereas Morgan is completely adaptable and has even claimed a favourite chair by the window at my place where he can laze around and watch the chipmunks outside. The cat and dog aren’t exactly friends yet, but Pen tolerates Morgan in her space, so I consider that a win.
“It’s been a really good week.” Smiling up at Logan, he returns my gaze and repeats, “Really good,” in a low rumble that hints of a promise of more good things to come when we get home. Yes, please.
“Sorry to interrupt this private moment, but someone is trying really hard to get your attention.” Riot snickers and points towards Beck jumping up and down, waving her arms. Squinting my eyes in question, she mimes singing into a microphone and motions to come to her.
Standing, I lean over and give Logan a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’m being summoned. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, baby. You will be great.” Laughing, he smacks my ass as I walk towards my very enthusiastic friend.
When I reach her, she is scowling as she rapidly texts.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, nodding towards her phone.
“Yep.” She pockets it quickly and plasters a giant fake smile across her face. What is going on with my friends? Everyone seems to have something, except Carson. His biggest problem is a goat.
“Do we need to talk about what’s happening with you and Ryan?”
“Nope. There is nothing going on. That’s ridiculous.” Scrunching up her nose, she shakes her head vigorously. Beck has always been there for me when I need her. I hope she knows she can tell me anything.
Raising my eyebrow, I say, “are you sure about that?”
“Leave it,” she says quietly, her pleading blue eyes meet mine. “Please.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes it.
“Okay. When you are ready to talk, I’ll be here,” assuring her, I squeeze her hand back. “So, what song did you pick?”
