Flowers and her friend would get home safely. Then drop off Mr. Club-rat and drive home alone. It made sense.
“Fine,” I answered.
“Am I okay to get the keys out of your pocket?” he asked me.
I blinked at him. “Absolutely not.”
“Right.”
“Flowers,” I barked. “Keys. Now.”
“Are we sure-”
“Flowers! Now, before I drop What’s-her-face on her damn ass.”
“Heeeyyy,” Claire groaned, her head flopping around like her neck was broken.
Then I felt them. Anna’s fingers, dipping into the back pocket of my pants. I didn’t think about them sliding along my ass.I didn’t think about how little material there was between her fingers and my skin. I’d been wearing sweats when I got her text. I’d dropped them and pulled on jeans without even thinking about briefs. There had been no time.
What if she’d been in trouble?
Her fingers did this wiggle thing that made me grit my teeth, but then she was pulling the fob out of the pocket and I heard the beep which signaled all the doors unlocking. Mr. Club-rat opened the back door and together we maneuvered Claire, yes, I knew her name, inside.
Anna rounded the car and got in beside her. I took shotgun and Mr. Club-rat got behind the wheel.
It was all utterly humiliating.
“Careful,” I muttered, as he reversed the car and drove us into the traffic of the night.
“Trust me, I’m not going to be responsible for getting a scratch onthiscar.”
“Flowers?” I called out. “She going to puke in my car?”
“I hope not,” Anna said from the backseat, with absolutely no confidence.
“I’m going to need an address,” Club-rat said.
I paused then. That hadn’t occurred to me. If he was some sick, stalking bastard, handing out both Claire’s and Flower’s addresses would be a mistake. That wasn’t going to happen. Not with Flower’s address.
“Oh my God! My name is Derek. I work at Capital Bank. I have a dog named Weiner and there is a picture in my wallet if you don’t believe me. I was just out having a good time. I’m not some freak who gets girls drunk on purpose.”
“If I’m being honest, E.G.,” Flowers offered, poking her head in between the front seats. “Claire was already mostly there when we started the night.”
“See?” Derek said. “Not my fault.”
“Give him Claire’s address, Flowers.”
While she rattled that off, I considered the next steps.
Ten minutes later we arrived at Claire’s large apartment complex. Which was a series of four-story buildings as opposed to a high-rise. Thankfully, her apartment was on the second floor.
Derek and I managed to get her up the stairs, which led to a landing with a row of apartments exposed to the outside, similar to Flower’s apartment complex, although this was on the other side of town.
Flowers had gotten Claire’s keys out of her pocket and was opening the apartment door just as we reached it.
Derek and I did a quick assessment of the space and we both said simultaneously, “Couch.”
I was far less gentle dumping her weight onto the furniture, while Derek was considerate enough to take her shoes off and put a blanket over her. Anna was in the kitchen filling a glass of water and left it on the coffee table adjacent to the couch, within easy reach.
