“No, no,” I said, turning to face Jake, already shaking my head. “We’re not talking about that.”
“Come on,” someone behind him groaned. “Now wehaveto see it.”
I narrowed my eyes at Jake, regretting more than ever the night I’d had too many shots of tequila and tried to teach the whole gang how to do it.
“That was years ago,” I argued. “And tequila was involved.”
“Perfect!” someone shouted, and a bowl of cherries and a bottle of Patron appeared out of nowhere, as if this was all part of the plan.
By the door, Katie doubled over laughing. “You brought this on yourself.”
Dean still hadn’t said a word—but he hadn’t looked away from me, either. Not once.
“You’ve got ten seconds,” Jake said, tossing a cherry into my drink with an exaggerated bow. “Show us your skills, Em.”
The crowd began to cheer, and I gave them my best withering stare. But my fingers were already reaching for the stem out of my drink, knowing I wasn’t about to get through this night without giving them what they wanted.
I popped the stem into my mouth, as the group, led by Jake, began to count.
“Ten.”
“Nine.”
“Eight.”
“Seven…”
“Six.”
I pulled the knotted stem out of my mouth and held it up in the air.
The group roared, and Jake lifted me off my feet like I’d just won some imaginary contest I never wanted to enter.
I curtsied when he set me down, rolled my eyes, and handed him the stem. “Happy now?”
But Dean still hadn’t moved.
He was still by the railing, still watching. He’d seen the whole thing. The stupid, embarrassing thing… but he didn’t look like he was judging me at all. In fact, he looked intrigued. Amused.
When I walked past him to refill my drink, I felt him lean in—just close enough for his voice to find me.
“Impressive,” he murmured, his breath warm near my ear.
I didn’t look at him, and didn’t stop walking either.
But for some reason my pulse stuttered in a way I hadn’t felt since I was a teenager.
And for the first time all night, I stopped pretending that I didn’t want him to notice me.
It wasclose to midnight when I slipped into the living room to grab my bag. Katie and Tuesday had disappeared long ago, off to settle crying babies and collapse into sleep.
I had lingered for a while—gathering empty bottles, straightening the kitchen, pretending I had a reason to still be there—other than the one I wasn’t admitting to anyone.
But eventually, I couldn’t justify it anymore, so I slipped out the front door quietly, without a word, hoping to leave unnoticed.
I felt his presence before I heard his voice.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?”
