“I could help, you know,” she said to Alicia.
“Help with what?” Alicia sipped her beer, watching her.
“I could give you some tips if you want to improve your flirting game.”
“Well, I don’t.” Alicia’s tone was flat.
Clare shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She took another sip of her daiquiri, then grimaced as she gave herself a brain freeze.
“I bet you’re good at it.” Alicia’s gaze darted over to meet Clare’s.
“At flirting? I mean, yeah, I’m pretty good at picking up women in bars.”
Alicia frowned, and then she took another drink from her beer. “I’m not sure I’ve ever successfully picked someone up in a bar.”
“Want to try?” Clare asked. “Let me be your wingwoman. I’ll pick someone out for you and give you pointers. This could be the perfect place to practice because you’re on vacation. You don’t ever have to see any of these people again.”
“I’d still fail,” Alicia told her.
“I bet you won’t,” Clare said, not sure why she was pressing this. Maybe it bothered her that Alicia was so certain she couldn’t flirt when Clare found her so captivating. “Who should I look for? What’s your type?”
Alicia shrugged as her gaze swept the bar. “We might be the only two queer women in the room, but I’m bi, so my options are open, gender-wise.”
“Noted,” Clare said. “Give me a minute to observe and find the right person.”
“Whatever,” Alicia said, but beneath her bored expression, she looked wary, like in her mind she’d already failed. That only made Clare more determined for her to succeed. “It’s nice here, though. Kind of quiet for a bachelorette party, but maybe that’s what they like.”
“I don’t know the client, but if they’re considering a bachelorette weekend on Driftwood Island, I’m guessing they aren’t big partiers,” Clare said. “The whole island is pretty low-key.”
“True,” Alicia agreed. “No night clubs here.”
“Thank goodness.” Clare’s attention focused on a man about their age sitting at the bar. “Okay, what do you think of the guy over there? The one in the blue shirt.”
Alicia followed her gaze, her lips twisting to the side as she studied him. “He’s okay, I guess.”
Clare laughed. “Such enthusiasm. You don’t have to go home with him, but how do you feel about practicing your flirting skills on him? He’s handsome and seems approachable. I’m not getting a cocky vibe off him at all.”
Alicia sighed, giving Clare a “do I have to?” look.
“I’m just trying to help,” Clare said. “Leave your beer here and take the empty stool to his left. Actually, take the one beside that, leaving an empty stool between you. Ignore him at first and ask the bartender for another beer, so it doesn’t look like you went over just to talk to him. Then you can glance over, catch his eye, and smile. Maybe ask him what he’s drinking or if he’s here on vacation. While you’re talking to him, make sure to angle your body toward his, and smile and seem interested in his conversation, even if you find him boring, okay? Remember, you’re just practicing a skill. Talk to him for a minute and then you can come back over here…unless you want to keep flirting with him, of course.”
“I won’t.” Alicia sounded awfully sure of that, and Clare was surprised how relieved she felt to hear it. Somewhere over the course of this weekend, she’d become rather fixated on Alicia. Behind that prickly exterior was a woman Clare would really like to get to know better.
“Just play it by ear and see what happens,” Clare told her. “Okay?”
Alicia sighed, then polished off the rest of her beer. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.” She reached out and gave Alicia’s hand a quick squeeze. “You’re going to be great.”
“I doubt it.” With a face like a woman walking into a room full of her biggest enemies, Alicia headed toward the bar.
5
“Another Blue Moon, please,” Alicia told the bartender. Her fingers tapped restlessly against the bar top in front of her. She stood between two empty stools to the left of the man Clare had sent her to flirt with. He was looking at his phone, a half-empty beer in front of him. He had short brown hair and a few days of stubble on his cheeks, and he was cute enough, although she didn’t feel any particular interest in talking to him.
He looked over and caught her staring, and she yanked her gaze back to the bartender, simultaneously attempting to slide onto the stool beside her. In her haste, she’d misjudged its height, and her hip pushed it sideways with a loud squeak, causing her to stumble and miss.Real smooth, Alicia.
She pressed her hands against the bar as she climbed carefully onto the stool, staring at them for several long seconds before she darted another glance at the man beside her. His beer had left a ring of condensation on the bar top. There was her opening.
