I flicked at one of her unicorn earrings. “Are you sure you want to fight about wearing something too often?”
Nina cupped the earrings in her hands. “These are different. One, they’re accessories. And two, they’re my signature item. It’s impossible to overwear a signature item.”
“This is my signature item!” I said, gesturing to the dress.
Nina sighed. “You’re impossible, Josephine.”
All week, me, Nina, and the girls had practiced songs by looking up the karaoke versions on YouTube and singing them in the condo activities room. I’d even chosen a song and practiced it a few times: “What Is Love?” Easy, accurate, no talent needed. But the lyrics fell out of my head at the sight of the stage looming before me. Not great, considering most of the lyrics were in the title.
I sat at the table, which was three tables pushed together. “Nina, I don’t think we need this many seats. There’s only six of us, right?” I looked up at her, but she examined her nails and pretended she hadn’t heard me. “Nina!”
“What? I can’t let your performance go unappreciated by those who love you!”
Oh God, I thought, wondering who she’d invited to this shindig. “You should’ve asked me!”
She pulled me to my feet. “We need to get a drink in you. Mia, Kitty, you watch the table.”
At the bar, Nina ordered us each a rum and Coke. “Drink it!” she demanded, and shoved the glass into my hands.
“How many people did you invite?”
“Just a few friends.”
“Define ‘a few.’ ”
Nina stirred her drink with her straw. “Only us, Alex and Greyson, which you knew about. And Ollie—”
“Youinvited Ollie?”
Nina ignored the comment. “And Captain Xav... and maybe RJ.”
“RJ? Since when are we friends with deckhands?”
“Speaking of.” Nina waved toward the entrance, where Captain Xav and RJ walked through the door. Why hadn’t I pushed harder for Applebee’s?
Nina flicked at my rum and Coke with a finger. “Hurry up and finish that. You’ll need it to get on that stage.”
I finished my rum and Coke and set the glass on the bar top. I had no intention of getting onstage until well into the night. I needed all the time I could get to find my courage (and for everyone else to get a little drunk). When the DJ announced that karaoke would begin in half an hour, I turned back to the bar and ordered two tequila shots.
“Make that three,” Nina said.
“Three?”
She booped my nose. “One for you, and two for me.”
By the time we returned to the table, Ollie had arrived. I circled the table to greet everyone and took my seat beside Nina. Alex and Greyson were still missing, which was a relief. I didn’t need to keep embarrassing myself in front of him. But as soon as we ordered appetizers, Greyson appeared at the table. I didn’t recognize her at first. Not because her looks had changed, but because she seemed totally unlike herself. She kept her eyes on the floor and trudged past us before sitting beside Kitty, all without uttering a single word.
Nina and I gave each other a look that said,Has Greyson been replaced by a reptilian?
“Sorry we’re late.” Alex took the empty chair beside me, and though he wore a smile, a line of worry creased his forehead when he glanced down the table at Greyson.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“Huh?” Alex looked at me, seeming more anxious than when Greyson had gotten sick in the parking lot of Coral Castle.
“You seem... stressed,” I said, wondering if this had something to do with the woman I’d seen at his apartment the night before.
Alex flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Oh, nothing. Tired.”
