Gracie snapped her head back just before his mouth crashed into hers, and relief flooded me.
Why was I relieved?
I can’t have her, so now I’m a jealous asshole?
She said something to him, and he looked slightly put off as he nodded and said something back to her. She patted him on the shoulder before turning to her friends.
Atta girl.
She was moving in my direction, with Tatum and Jovi right beside her, both looking concerned.
“I think our girl has had a little too much to drink,” Tatum said.
“I think you’ve also had too much to drink,” Phoenix said, giving Tatum a pointed look. They’d always been very close, and she was one of the few people on the planet who didn’t annoy him.
“And I think you’ve got me mixed up with someone who needs your opinion on how much I can drink.” She shot him a glare, which made everyone laugh.
But I’d already moved from my barstool and made my way over to Gracie. “You all right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course. I think the booze just caught up with me.” She smiled up at me, and her body swayed a little to the left, so I placed a hand on each of her shoulders to steady her. She hiccupped four times, and then her head fell back in a fit of laughter. “Oh my gosh. I had such a good time. I’m going to head home. But you stay and have fun. I’m fine.”
Not on a fucking bet.
“Nice try.” I reached into my back pocket and tossed more than enough cash on the table to cover our bill before catching Sydney’s eyes on me. “I’m going to get her home. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah. Of course. Thanks for the drinks. I’ll see you soon,” she said before turning her attention to Bass, and I was relieved I hadn’t been forced to let her down.
“Come on, Jeege. Let’s get you home.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into me.
“Do you need a ride, Gracie?” Justin asked as he stepped closer.
“We walked here, buddy, but thanks.” My gaze locked with his.
No fucking way was he taking her home when she was drunk. And the fact that he’d offered her a ride when he was clearly intoxicated himself did not sit well with me either.
“Thanks, Justin. It’s been funnnnnn.” Gracie patted him on the chest. “But Bear’s got me.”
I sure as shit do.
“All right. I’ve got your number, I’ll give you a call this week.” He held up a hand and waved goodbye.
Lose her number, asshole.
I was fucking losing it. I’d never been a jealous guy. But here I was losing my shit over a dude she might actually like.
“That was great, wasn’t it?” she asked, leaning most of her weight against me as her legs moved more sideways than forward.
After a block of her swaying even more, I turned and picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder as laughter rang out around me.
“What are you doing?” she squealed.
“We’re never going to get home with you moving sideways and forcing me to go in that direction.”
“Fine.” She smacked my ass, which had me howling out in laughter. “I’ve got a nice view over here anyway.”
I turned at the next street, my house coming into view.
“You like my ass, Gracie?” I smirked, even though she couldn’t see me.
