Heather’s lungs deflated. This was not healthy processing. She made a mental note to keep tabs on him tonight. Not that she expected he’d get in a fight or something equally as stupid, but her intuition flashed warning signals that he could use a wingman. Or wing-woman, in her case.
Brek caught her eye and gave her a wink, like he’d read her mind and was already on it. Her insides twisted uncomfortably. She’d love to hand her concerns over to Brek, but something told her Jase needed her.
“Don’t worry about Jase. Brek will handle whatever’s going on.” Velma came up beside her.
“I’m not sure that’ll be possible.” Heather bit at her lip and sent up a silent prayer that Brek really could handle his best friend.
“You’d be surprised what those boys manage.” Velma slipped her arm through Heather’s and pulled her to the table. “I’ve never seen him on a bottle-of-whiskey night, though.”
“So, you and Jase? Round two?” Claire asked, toying with the cherry in the fruity concoction she held in one hand.
Heather squirmed. What were she and Jase doing? Having fun. Yeah. Making out all over Denver. Check. But, really, she wanted to throw her hands in the air and ask the universe for some clarity. “Was there ever really a round one?” she asked.
“Depends on who you ask.” Velma giggle-snorted.
Three pairs of expectant eyes focused on Heather from around the booth.
“I have no idea what we’re doing. We’re just…going with it.” Whateveritwas.
“Uh-huh.” Velma clearly wasn’t drinking the Kool-Aid. “Dish.”
“We were going at it in an elevator earlier,” Heather supplied. She glanced around the table to her stunned friends. “I’m not one to kiss and tell, but I’m telling you that man can do things with his tongue that I didn’t know were possible.”
“Holy crap.” Claire leaned forward. “How far did you two get?”
“Top floor. Then we were interrupted. Then we gave up and came here.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Velma patted Heather’s back.
“What’s your poison?” Brek tossed a cocktail napkin down in front of her.
“Soda water. With lime.” She forced a smile. Jase needed a grown-up around tonight, and, unfortunately, her instincts said she should be that grown-up. Which meant…sobriety.
Brek glanced around the table, his gaze landing on Velma. “Everyone else good?”
“Yup. Just your standard girls’ night. Not talking about Heather and Jase,” Claire chimed.
“Way to be smooth,” Heather mumbled.
“What the hell happened tonight that has him drinking his way to the bottom of the bottle?” Brek asked.
“You do not want to know,” Heather replied. Hell, she’d give anything for herself not to know.
“Go see what you can dig out of Jase, we’ll keep working on her,” Claire said before sipping on whatever concoction she had over ice.
“We’ll dig it out of her. Now shoo, girls only.” Velma made a go-away motion with her hand. Brek chuckled and headed back to the bar. “If I can’t tease my husband, who can I tease?” Velma popped a cherry in her mouth.
“You can tease me.” Eli, the fourth friend in the Jase-Brek-Dean-Eli quartet, slid a plate of nachos on the table and took the seat beside Candy.
“I thought it was girls only tonight?” Velma went for a loaded chip. “I just made my husband leave.”
Claire shrugged. “Eh, Eli’s just one of the girls. He can stay.”
Brek returned and dropped Heather’s sad little soda water in front of her. “Something happened in Blackhawk. He said you were at the casino.”
“You don’t want to know.” She squeezed the lime into the fizzing water. “You don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. Jase doesn’t want to know. And now I have to move away. Far, far away.” She took a sip, the bubbles tickling her nose.
“Aw, c’mon, Jase can’t have scared you away that quickly.” Brek leaned against the side of the booth and crossed his arms so the muscles in his corded biceps bunched.
