She’d always been a cute drunk. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, I kept my eyes on her even more than usual.
“I’m sticking to beers tonight. I want you to have a good time.” I held up my beer bottle, and she just had a goofy smile on her face.
“Who’s being overbearing now?” Cannon asked, leaning in close to me so no one else could hear him.
I just laughed him off.
Call it protective. Call it overbearing.
I didn’t really give a shit.
Dirk made his way over to the table for the third time tonight, and I’d noticed the way Gracie always shut him down. He seemed to have moved on, and now he was hitting on Tatum.
A local named Justin Loosh walked over to Gracie and pulled up a barstool, and they sat directly across from me. She waslaughing and chatting with him, and I turned my attention to Sydney, who’d just wrapped her arms around my neck from behind.
“Hey, Syd,” I said as she moved to stand so she was facing me now. “How you doing?”
“I’m good. I was hoping I’d run into you here tonight.”
We’d always had a very flirty relationship, though it had been innocent. Nothing had ever happened. And a few months ago, she’d let me know that she’d ended things with her long-distance boyfriend.
I hadn’t pursued anything, because I just didn’t feel it was a good line to cross.
We were good friends, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“And here we are,” I said, my voice teasing.
Our group had grown, with a few more people pulling up barstools at our table.
“Here we are.” She placed a hand on my shoulder, stepping closer, and my gaze moved to Gracie as she and the girls headed back out to the dance floor, with a few guys right behind them.
Her cheeks were pink and eyes glassy, as she’d clearly had a lot to drink. She was having a good time.
I watched as Gracie’s legs moved from side to side to the music, and the way her hair fell over her shoulders, framing her pretty face. Her laughter was loud and messy and fucking adorable, and I lingered there longer than I should.
I blinked a few times before forcing myself to focus on Sydney.
“How have you been? Can I get you a drink?” I asked as I eyed the barstool beside me, hoping she’d take a seat, as she kept inching closer, and I wasn’t feeling it. But I also didn’t want to be an asshole.
“Are you going to get me a drink, Cutler Heart?” she purred, and I could tell she’d also had a lot to drink.
“Sure. What would you like?” I asked, just as Brody walked over and set a water down for me, and I motioned for him to take her order.
“I’ll take a shot of bourbon and a piña colada.”
I tried not to laugh when I saw the confused look on Brody’s face.
“Interesting order,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll be right back.”
He moved around the table asking if anyone else wanted anything, and Bass told him to stop serving his sister. Brody nodded in agreement.
“Dude. She’s an adult,” Cannon said from the barstool beside me as Bree giggled where she stood between his legs. She was a local who’d been after him for a while. Cannon was a playboy and everyone knew it, and he never hurt for female attention, not that any of us did.
“Hey. She’s living on my houseboat this summer, and we’ve got one bathroom. I know her limits. So, unless you want to babysit her and clean up vomit, I suggest you stay in your lane.” Bass shot him a warning look.
Bass was serious about two things, and two things only.
His baby sister, whom he’d practically raised, and his restaurant.
