The room tilted slightly, or maybe that was just me. I reached for my glass — when had I refilled it? — and found it empty. So, hadn’t refilled it at all. Probably for the best.
“You good, man?” Brett’s voice cut through the fog.
I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. The leather of the booth was sticking to my forearm, and the bass from whatever track was playing felt like it was coming from inside my skull instead of the speakers.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Owen was passed out in the corner of the booth, drooling onto his own shoulder. Pathetic. I wanted to tell him to get his shit together, but who was I to talk? I was sitting here like a wounded animal, licking my wounds with whiskey.
Shit. I probably just needed to go home and sleep.
“Maybe you should call it a night, brother,” Kill said, his voice low enough that it was just between us. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow everything will look different.”
Funny how he voiced myexactthoughts. Meant we’d spent too much fucking time together.
“Yeah, probably,” I agreed and reached for my phone in my pocket. “Anyone know how to order a fucking Uber?”
Brett grabbed my phone before I could unlock it. “Dude, you can’t even see straight. I’ll do it.”
“I can see just fine,” I protested, but the way the table seemed to be breathing in front of me suggested otherwise.
Killian exchanged a look with Dahlia, who slid off his lap. “I’ll walk him out when the car gets here,” she said, and her hand landed on my shoulder.
“I’ll take him home,” I heard a voice suddenly say, and when I turned my head, I saw Baby Doll there.
“You… sure?” Dahlia asked.
“Yeah, you sure?” I found myself echoing, because given how our interactions had gone, it did feel oddly out of character for her.
“Yeah,” she said. “He’s too drunk to do anything.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain,” I muttered, but Ireallycouldn’t see straight anymore.
“Maybe someone should go with them,” Brett said, but his voice was already fading into the background noise.
“I’ll be fine,” Baby Doll said, and there was something in her tone that made everyone shut up.
Killian’s eyebrows went up, then his hands lifted in surrender.
Dahlia studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “Alright. But you call me if anything happens, yeah?”
“I will.”
The next few minutes were a blur. I remember standing up — or trying to. The floor wasn’t where I expected it to be, and I would’ve face-planted into the table if Baby Doll hadn’t grabbed my arm. For such a tiny thing, she had a surprisingly strong grip.
“Come on, rockstar,” she muttered, slinging my arm over her shoulders.
“I can walk,” I protested, even though the evidence clearly suggested otherwise.
“Sure you can.”
We made it to the door somehow. The cool night air hit me like a slap, and I sucked in a breath that tasted like cigarette smoke and wet, rotting magnolia.
“Where do you live?” she asked.
I rattled off an address that might’ve been correct. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure anymore. Something Bourbon 99… In theory, it should’ve been just around the corner. Or a few.
We stopped before a car, and even in my god-awful state, I realized there was something off with it. It hadlashes.Right there, glued just above the headlights. Not to mention it was pink. Or rather oddly purple-ish in the dim light of the parking lot.
