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“It never occurred to me before that being an asshole was a choice.”
“Everything is a choice.” I looked for the bartender I ordered from and wondered where the hell our drinks were.
“I don’t think you’re an asshole,” Maddy admitted. “Not anymore, anyway.”
“Wait—what?” My head whipped around. “You thought I was an asshole?”
“You never said more than two words to me.”
“Good point.”
She laughed. “Good point? Is that really all you have to say in your defense?”
Our drinks arrived just in time to take the heat off me, and I was grateful for the bartender’s suave timing. After all, how could I possibly explain why I’d kept my distance from her all those years? I slid the pink shots within reach and raised the one closest to me.
“Answer the question first,” she said, drumming her delicate fingertips on the bar.
So much for thinking I got away with that. I set my shot down and studied her focused expression. “If I answer, can we take the shots?”
“Oh we’re going to take the shots,” she said. “As soon as you explain why you never used to talk to me.”
I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath. “Because you’re my best friend’s little sister, Maddy. Which means you’ve always been off-limits.”
Her eyes searched mine. “So it wasn’t that you didn’t like me?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like you.”
She parted her lips to speak but stopped herself and raised her shot glass instead. I clinked mine against hers, and we kept our eyes on each other as we knocked them back. Finally, when my attention became too much, she blushed and looked back towards the bar.
I watched her slide her drink and coaster closer before realizing she was biting back a smile. “What are you smirking about?” I asked, dropping my head to get a better view of her face. “Did the shot warm you up?”
“Yeah,” she said, glancing at me out of the corner of her smiling eyes. “Something like that.”
