Page 11 of When the Smoke Clears

Will looked at me as if the glow-up was a believable success.

Before Victoria abandoned me at the bar, she said, “Order white wine and drink half the glass. There are so many hot guys here tonight. And remember your ID says you’re twenty-five.”

I smiled stiffly under Will’s appreciative gaze. No man had ever looked at me like . . . a delectable meal.

“Can I get a red wine?” I said to the bartender, then I quickly shook my head. “White. White wine. Here.” I slapped my ID onto the bar.

The bartender with a long black ponytail glanced at it and slid it back to me.

“Everleigh. That’s a unique name,” Will said, scraping his teeth across his lower lip, which made me perspire more than usual.

In fact, I rarely sweated in stressful situations because I’d become accustomed to being the smartest one in the room, which meant there was no need to feel stressed. At least, that’s what my mom had always told me.

But my IQ did nothing for my confidence in a bar filled with intoxicated, rowdy people, and unfairly handsome guys like William Landry.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll tell my parents you approve. My dad wanted to name me Shabnam after his mother, Shabby for short, but my mom vetoed it in favor of Everleigh.”

Will paused his beer at his lips, then he smirked just before taking another drink.

The bartender set my wineglass in front of me, and I sipped it, unsure what to expect with my first taste of alcohol. A bitter taste and burning sensation. Yuck!

“Not a fan of white wine?” Will asked.

“I should have gone with my gut and ordered red.” I shrugged.

“So are you in your second year like Victoria?”

I nodded. “Yes. Second year, just like her.”

“Tyler said Victoria spends an ungodly amount of time studying. I can’t imagine that level of dedication,” he said.

“Yeah, I’m sure she does.” I glanced around the bar because Will was too sexy for lengthy stares.

“I’m sure you do too.”

My gaze returned to him. “Study?”

He nodded.

“Of course. But I’m uh . . .” I twisted my lips. I couldn’t tell him I was a genius. That seemed like an arrogant confession so early in a meeting. And the point was to fit in and gain experience, not to list my academic accolades. “I’m a quick study.”

“Is that a humble way of saying you’re smart?” He turned on the barstool, and his knee touched my thigh.

There was no wiggle room in the crowded bar, so I had to deal with our legs touching.

“I suppose everyone who gets into medical school at Stanford is smart.” I mentally patted myself on the back for navigating that answer in the most humble way possible.

“Well, smart women are very sexy.” His grin reached his ears before he set his empty glass aside and leaned in closer. “It’s loud in here. Want to take a walk?”

My head swiveled, searching in all directions for Victoria like she was my mom. But my mom was in New York, and my mom’s best friend, Maya, who I lived with, was in Salt Lake City for a business trip. I couldn’t wait to turn eighteen so I could live by myself.

Maya was cool. She trusted me because I had never given her any reason not to. Hence, feeling confident about leaving me alone for a week.

When I spotted Victoria and Tyler across the bar, talking to friends, I hopped off the barstool. “I’ll tell Victoria I’m taking a walk.”

“Cool. Maybe I should tell Tyler too.”

Was he making fun of me? His smile was hard to decipher.