“Cruel prank?”
“I would never.”
He chuckles. “Good.”
Peter clears his throat. “Like, no pressure or anything, but do you think we could get to drinking? Very parched over here. Um, chef boss man, sir.”
Alexander sets everything down and takes a seat next to Eden. He’s treated the guys to some pretty high-quality beer, and he’s got a glass of rosé for Rina, along with a gin and tonic for himself. There’s one last drink remaining, a tall and narrow glass full of bubbly golden liquid. There are sliced strawberries submerged beneath a topping of vanilla ice cream. Alexander hands it to her.
“What is it?” she asks.
“A strawberry prosecco float. Who says vanilla ice cream can’t be fancy?”
Eden smiles, very aware of how warm her cheeks feel. She chooses not to drink only because she knows how expensive cocktails can be. Five bucks per beer? Hell no. But since Alexander’s treated her…
She takes a sip. It’s utterly divine.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Thought you might.”
Rina claps her hands. “Okay, team. Here’s the plan.” She rises from her seat, taking charge of the situation. “We were this close to winning last week, but then someone decided to be a showoff and start calling out answers before they had a chance to think about it.”
Freddie raises his hands in mock surrender. “Look, booze makes me overconfident.”
“Overconfident, or stupid?” Peter chides.
“Shut up.”
“Today’s theme is film and television,” Rina continues. “So, we better ace it this week or so help me God, I’ll nag your ear off about it at work. Got it, Freddie?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What’s the prize?” Eden asks.
“A whole pitcher of beer and a basket of hot wings.”
“We could just buy it, you know,” Alexander says, ever the logical stick in the mud.
Rina, already a little tipsy and that much braver as a result, points an accusatory finger at Alexander. “That’s no fun. Besides, victory makes it taste that much better. Capisce?”
Alexander puts his hands up in mock surrender, too, unwilling to piss Rina off. He gives Eden a side-eye, as if to sayyeesh.
It makes Eden laugh.
* * *
Liquor has a fantastic way of making everyone friends. It’s after the third round of drinks—that Alexander so graciously purchases for the table—that her other friends begin to warm up to him. Eden’s immensely grateful. They were all so tense at first. Now, they look like they’ve been drinking buddies for ages.
As it turns out, Alexander and Peter get ridiculously loud when they’ve thrown back a few. They team up to relentlessly yell at the trivia night’s host when he dares to contest one of their answers.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Peter roars.
“What he fucking said!” Alexander adds, booming so much louder than the rest of the pub.
The trivia host winces, clearly no match. “Would you two please calm down?”
