Page 14 of About That Pact

He grinned. “To learning more about the beautiful ladies at this table.”

“To this night ending sooner rather than later,” Charlotte interjected dryly.

They clanked their glasses and drank to their silly declarations. About two minutes later, their waitress came back over, standing tucked against Rafe this time. He got closer to her and said something in her ear no one else could hear. She nodded and whispered something back to him, and he readily agreed.

Their waitress was quick and brought over a round of fruity shots. She gave him a wink before heading over to her other tables.

“Let’s toast to having a good night,” Rafe declared, a shot in hand.

Charlotte eyed him suspiciously. “This shouldn’t count as your second round because we didn’t ask for the shots.”

He showed off his dimples. “It doesn’t count as a round because it was free. Emilia said these shots were on the house.”

“You’re as bad as Jason.” Rachel shook her head in disbelief.

Jada took her shot. “We were warned he was trouble.”

TURNED OUT, DESPITE Rafe being there, Charlotte was actually enjoying herself. Maybe, possibly, even because Rafe was there. He did add a little excitement to her girl tribe of three. Their table was filled with laughter as they shared funny stories.

“I swear, my professor couldn’t look me in the eye after I pointed out his abbreviation of CX for customer experience actually said COX,” Rachel concluded. “He did apologize to me after class, though, saying he would double check his notes before posting them on the projector.”

A few hours had passed, and they were four drinks in. Jason had joined them around drink number three, making them a party of five.

Her brother was still chuckling at Rachel’s story. “Part of me thinks you only corrected him because you got to say cox in class.”

She pretended to gasp and put her hand on her chest. A little ole me gesture at its finest. “I’ll never admit to such a thing.”

“You don’t have to admit it, we already know. You always speak up,” Jada said, turning her attention to Charlotte. “You know this is true.”

“I didn’t deny it. I don’t own yellow capri pants because of her.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Rachel grinned. “They were linen, loose, had a drawstring, and looked like something from an AARP catalog.”

“A real fashion nightmare,” Rafe teased.

Jason hooked his arm around Rachel. “Who knew AARP had a fashion catalog.”

Rachel kept going. “I’m not the only one who speaks her mind, we just do it differently. Jada told Char the same thing about those wretched pants, she had just been nicer about it.”

Jada shrugged sweetly. “My grandmother wouldn’t even wear those capris because they made her look old and she’s eighty-seven. I was only trying to help.”

“They were cute,” Charlotte really had loved those pants. “And yellow.”

“They were hideous.” Rachel was on a roll. “And Char is also notorious for speaking her mind, especially at work. However, there was once a wild Charlotte. Remember when she was the judge of American Idol – Strip Tease Edition in college.”

“What?” Rafe couldn’t believe this one about the always poised Charlotte.

Charlotte groaned. “I am not commenting on that. Just like I still don’t know stories from when you and Jason went to Cancun on spring break. Some things are better left unsaid.”

“I agree. Rachel made her point, let’s discuss something else.” Jada glanced around the bar, spotting a group playing Head’s Up on their phones. “Let’s play a game.”

Rafe turned his grassy green eyes on Charlotte. “How about we play Never Have I Ever? Winner gets five bucks from each of us.”

This did not sound like a good idea. Before Charlotte could protest, everyone had their hand up, ready to play the game. Well, except Charlotte. She crossed her arms in protest.

“We are in our thirties, isn’t it silly to play some adolescent game from college for twenty dollars?”

Jason grabbed her hand and raised it, ignoring her complaint. “It’s a change of pace. Have some fun, little sis.”