“He’s all yours,” I called.
She shot me a dirty look on the way out.
Zack snorted and handed me some napkins. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for a taxi.” I patted down my chest. “Do I still have to leave?”
He frowned and shifted to block me from everyone else’s view. That huge frame of his was good for some things. “How long is it going to be?” he asked.
I showed him my phone. “An hour.”
“Geez.” He tugged his ear and glanced at the other bouncers. “I’d tell you to call Shelby, but I think she’s at Harvey’s.”
“Yeah, well...” I shrugged. It wasn’t any surprise she was cuddled up and happy. Wait. So, he did recognize me as Shelby’s friend? Why didn’t he say anything at the door? Maybe our association was why he helped me get in.
He gestured to my phone. “What about your other friends? Family?”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Drinking, sleeping, and too far away.” Besides, my parents were less likely to answer their phones than roll back over once they saw it was me.
“We can’t let you stay. But I also can’t let you freeze.” Zack stuck his hands in his hoodie pockets and briefly flapped them at his sides. “Where do you live?”
“Cedar Street. The cream condo building.”
He nodded. “I know where that is. Go use the washroom and meet me back here ASAP.”
“Bossy,” I muttered and shuffled off. If they let me stay, I could sober up. Eat pretzels. Drink water. Dance it off or something. Rompers took forever to maneuver enough to do my business, especially while tipsy and tangled in straps, so by the time I got out, Zack was waiting for me outside the bathroom door. It was still surreal to know this huge, gruff bodyguard—er, bouncer—was there for me. Ready to throw me out. Or over his shoulder. Not that I was excited about that or anything. I tugged on my romper’s shorts. “H-hey. What’s up?”
He jerked his chin. “I got the okay to drive you home. Let’s go.”
“Together?” I screwed up my brow and tried not to laugh. “Aren’t you working?”
“Yes.” With a long-suffering sigh, he guided me out. “I’m using this as my break.”
He was giving it up for me? “You don’t need to do that.”
“I’m not leaving a tipsy girl alone in the cold, dark night for some hopefully not-shady taxi to pick her up. Come on.” He laid a hand on my mid-back, right above the cross-straps, and strodeacross the bar with disarming confidence. Once he said goodbye to the other bouncers, he led me across the parking lot.
I shivered and hugged myself, wobbling in the snow in my attempts to keep up. “Thanks for the ride, b-b-but you really don’t have to do this.” I sniffled.
“I know.” He frowned. “Are you frozen?”
“Yeah.” I clenched my chattering teeth in a tight smile. ”I already lost a boyfriend, but I’d rather not lose a toe.” Unusual feet were too niche a market for me.
Zack’s lip ticked up on one side. Oh, wow. Did I almost make him laugh? Tonight had definitely veered into bizarro-world.
He shed his hoodie and gave it to me. “Here. At least now you can save your upper body.”
“That’s something.” I slid into the sleeves. They enveloped me with a burst of soft, crawl-back-under-the-covers-in-the-morning kind of warmth. The cotton smelled more like old spice deodorant than my spring fresh detergent, but it was nice. Cozy.
His car, however, was a total beater. He opened the door for me, and I half expected fast food bags from our old open lunch period to tumble out.
I sat, the bottom of my thighs rubbing against the worn-down seat liners. “Is this the same car you had in high school?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said flatly, grabbing his car brush.
I didn’t mean to insult him. I ran my fingers along the inner door handle and eyed the guitar pick stashed in the cup holder. “I’m surprised it lasted this long.”
“I maintain it.” He closed the door, dusted his car, and got back inside, the outside of his arms red but not bumpy. He sniffed and rubbed his hands.
