Thorn straightened like I’d just confessed to a crime.“What happened to Drunk Jude?”
“Just don’t feel like drinking right now.”
That answer didn’t help.
Not even a little.
Penny and Thorn both went still for half a second, then slowly turned their heads toward each other like they were witnessing something unnatural in the wild.
“Get him,” Thorn said.
Penny didn’t hesitate.She leaned over the bar, closing the space between us, eyes locked on mine like she was about to interrogate me for information I didn’t even know I had.“What are you doing, Jude?”
I blinked at her.“Uh… sitting at the bar at the Social Club.”
She didn’t move.Didn’t blink and didn’t buy it.
“Mason said you guys need someone to cover the door tonight,” I added.
Thorn stopped polishing the glass.Penny didn’t move.They both just stared at me like I had grown a second head and it had started talking.
The back door opened, and Mason and Adley walked in mid-conversation, stopping short when they clocked the scene in front of them.
“What is going on?”Adley asked, voice dropping like she didn’t want to spook whatever situation she thought she’d just walked into.
“No fucking clue,” Mason said, looking between all of us.
Penny straightened, crossing her arms over her chest.“Jude is suddenly taking an interest in my Ever, but he’s acting like nothing is happening.I want to know what the hell is going on.”
I snorted.“Your Ever?”
She tipped her head to the side.“If she’s not mine, then whose is she?”
Thorn pointed at me.“Bingo.”
Mason frowned.“I don’t get the bingo.”
Adley patted his arm like he was a slow learner.“Thorn just bingoed too early for an unseasoned person.I’m picking up what he’s putting down, and the bingo was bingoing.”
Mason blinked.“That didn’t help.”
“Why are you giving attention to Ever suddenly?”Penny asked, cutting through the nonsense.
“Finally, a normal question,” Mason muttered.
I leaned back slightly on the stool, dragging my fingers along the edge of the bar.“I’m just being nice to her.”
Penny didn’t even hesitate.“Yeah, no.You’ve never been nice to Ever.”
That made me frown.“Have I been mean to her?”
She shook her head.“No.You’ve just been indifferent to her.”
That sounded… accurate.
“All while she has been—” Adley started.
Penny snapped her fingers at her.“Shh.”
