Casey raises her eyebrows and fidgets with the glass in her hand, tapping it with her nail. “Uh.” She lifts a shoulder. “He seemed like someone who would be cool to talk to.” Even in the dim lighting, I can tell she’s blushing. “Plus, it helps that he’s really cute.” She looks at me from underneath her lashes.
Riley’s smile is tight, and I think her eye twitches.
“Here’s your daiquiri,” the bartender says.
Riley doesn’t look at him. She forces herself to show her teeth before grabbing her drink. Her voice squeaks when she says, “How nice. Well, you two have fun.”
As she turns, she collides with someone. It plays out in slow motion in my head. Riley slams into a man’s chest, her mouth and eyes wide in horror. The red daiquiri pours onto her chest and down her dress.
Casey gasps, scrabbling to grab napkins from the counter. I force myself to move and grab the glass from Riley’s hand, our fingers brushing with a quick touch, and I set it down on the bar.
Her arms are splayed out, and she looks down at the mess she’s covered in. Casey walks up to her, repeatedly cooing, “It’s okay, we’ll get this cleaned up. It’s not that bad.”
“Shit, Riley, are you okay?” I ask.
“I amso sorry.” The guy she bumped into says. “That was my fault. Shit.” He hisses under his breath. He grabs napkins and carefully dabs at her arms.
Riley’s still planted in the same spot, the same position, not knowing what to do. She’s completely mortified, and I know I need to step in.
“Let’s go.” I grab her hand, locking her fingers between mine, and gently guide her away from everyone.
She doesn’t say anything, and she doesn’t fight me when I walk away with her. I feel like a dick for not saying sorry or goodbye to Casey, but that wasn’t my priority. The woman drenched in sugary alcohol with glassy eyes is my priority.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” I swing open the door that goes into a hallway.
Our shoes hitting against the marble floor echoes around us.
We approach the gold elevator doors, and I hit the button before looking around, hoping there aren’t many people that notice her.
Leaning in toward Riley, I place my hand on her lower back and whisper, “You’re okay. We’ll get you cleaned up in a minute.”
She doesn’t say anything, not even a nod or a glance my way. Finally, the doors open.
“Let’s go,” I whisper.
I jam my finger on button number ten, and the doors close. The sound of a small sniffle comes from my right when I realize Riley’s crying.
“Hey,” I murmur, turning her toward me.
Her bottom lip wobbles. “I’m sorry for being such an asshole.”
A strand of her hair falls over her eye, and I push it back, both hands cradling her face. “Don’t say that. You did nothing wrong.”
I’ve kept my eye on Riley all night, watching her order drink after drink. Bouncing from wine to hard liquor. She hasn’t been this vulnerable with me in years, and I can’t stand the sight of it.
One by one, my heart falls into pieces seeing her like this.
“Come here.” I wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer.
It takes her a second to finally melt into me. She digs her face into the crook of my neck.
“I’m sorry.” Her lips graze my skin, and I close my eyes, trying to remember what her lips feel like on me before she pulls away.
There’s a moment I can feel her heart beating at the same rhythm as mine as our chests press together. Or maybe I’m so delusional, so in love with this woman, that I want to believe our hearts beat together in sync.
I continue to hold her and stroke her hair. “It was an accident. The guy wasn’t mad. Don’t apologize.”
“No.” She shakes her head against my chest. “Not that.”
