Tomorrow I’ll be back to the Ivy I know.It’s okay to change the rulebook every now and then.
Erin certainly would approve of me being more spontaneous. She’d probably go into cardiac arrest knowing what I’m doing right now.
The waitress makes her way over to our table. I order another strawberry daiquiri, and when JJ orders, he asks for two sambuca shots along with an espresso martini. I don’t complain. I could do with a good whiplash.
“So, this guy you went on a date with.” He clears his throat, and I internally grimace at the memory. “You’re not giving him a second chance, are you?”
I gawk at him as he swipes his thumb across his bottom lip. “Did you completely ignore the part where he told the entire bar I was boring and no one would ever want me?”
“Mm.” His eye twitches. “He’s an asshole.”
“Glad we’re on the same page,” I murmur as the waitress drops our drinks off. Two cocktails. Two sambuca shots. Just on time. “Let’s not talk about my disaster of a night. What’s going on with you?”
He glances down at the table, pushing the sambuca shot over to me. I sip on my cocktail, waiting for a response, but maybe he’s in the same boat as me and wants to ignore the situation entirely.
“You don’t have?—”
“My mum is sick,” he says as he crosses his arms. My brows furrow as I watch him, but he doesn’t look me directly in the eye, and suddenly I feel disgustingly guilty. “She’s with my dad in Germany trialling this new treatment they can’t get in this country.”
I press my lips together as tightly as possible, ignoring the ball in my throat.
“They left yesterday, and I couldn’t deal with everything going on right now. It’s too much. My dad is losing his shit. I needed a night out to distract myself from everything, but my friends decided to make it about them instead.” He sighs, and my heart softens a little.
I lick my bottom lip. “I’m sorry you’ve been going through that.”
Slowly, he drags his eyes back to mine. Those blue eyes that were once full of mischief are now filled with fear, and I wish I never pushed him to speak. I take my sambuca shot between my fingers and raise it between us.
His brows furrow as I clear my throat. “To your mother,” I say as he eventually picks up his own and clinks it against mine. “May the treatment work and bless your family.”
JJ flicks his eyes between mine for a moment, as if my toast was completely unexpected. “Thank you,” he says gratefully.
Then we both throw back the tangy liquid. At first, it stings my throat. I can’t remember the last time I had a shot. JJ’s expression twists to pure disgust as he shudders and drinks down half of his cocktail after.
I laugh softly. “I thought you liked shots?”
“Not sambuca,” he grimaces.
I tilt my head. “What?” I blink. “Then why did you get it?”
“Because you wanted it.”
I narrow my eyes into slits. “You didn’t have to get it because I wanted it.”
My fingers wrap around the paper straw in my daiquiri as I take a sip. JJ’s eyes watch my mouth carefully.
“No…” he trails off. “But I promised you sambuca and I wouldn’t be a team player if I backed out after all of this.”
The corner of my mouth twitches but I push away the intrusive smile. “Well, aren’t you a gentleman,” I tease.
He scoffs. “Not perfect, but I try.”
I quirk a brow at him. “You don’t think what you did for me earlier was gentlemanly?”
He raises one shoulder. “I can definitely do better.”
When he locks his eyes on mine, there is a sparkle that makes my stomach flip.
I swallow around my clammy mouth. “Like what?”
