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Beth nodded. She wasn’t about to argue. This fuzzy feeling wasn’t fun.
Fuzzy feeling. Fuzzy feeling.
The more she said the words over and over in her head, the less they sounded like actual words.
“Bethy.”
Beth jolted to attention, eyes locked on Delaney’s.
“Yes, ma’am!” She gave her sister a salute.
Delaney climbed out of the booth. “Okay, honey. I think it’s time to go. Where’s Eli? I need to make sure he’s okay to drive you home.”
Beth sighed. “He’s outside because the slow song reminded him of Tess, so he didn’t want to dance with me.”
“He’s out there already? Shoot. We’d better hurry.” Delaney pulled Beth’s sweater over her head, and after a minor struggle with the sleeves that had her slowly spinning like a cat chasing its tail, Delaney guided each of Beth’s hands into its respective armhole in the garment.
Then Beth’s sister grabbed her by the shoulders and gave each a firm squeeze.
“Whadaryoudoing?” Beth’s question came out as one long word. “Sorry…whadareyoudoing?” She’d meant to separate the words this time, but all she managed to do was string them closer together.
“I’m trying to stand you up straight.” Delaney groaned. “Oh, Bethy. This is what your twenty-first birthday should have been like, not your thirtieth.”
Beth’s eyes widened, and then her lips pursed into a pout. “You haven’t wished me a happy birthday yet.” She poked her sister in the shoulder with her index finger.
This time, her sister rolled her eyes.
“Wud?” Beth asked. “I mean wud? Wud? Wud? Omigod, why can’t I say wud?”
“Because you’re buzzing, honey. Hard.” Delaney threw her hands in the air. “You pounded my beer after downing three of your own. As for the big three-oh, it’s only 10:30. You have to wait another hour and twenty-eight minutes for my birthday wish, but if you want to stay conscious until then, you need to say bye-bye to the brewskies. Eli, however, didn’t want to wait.”
Beth blinked, and her brain decided to take a break from spinning and swimming around her head.
“Eli knows? He didn’t say… I mean, I didn’t tell him.”
Delaney cupped Beth’s cheeks in her palms. “He wanted to surprise you.”
Beth’s expression fell. “But I don’t like surprises.”
Her sister pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t remind me. I still have nightmares about getting pepper sprayed in my actual face.” Delaney opened her eyes and looked at Beth again. “You won’t need pepper spray for this one, okay? But how about a quick glass of water?”
She reached for one of two water glasses on their table.
Beth had the wherewithal to regret not having downed one of those before instead of her sister’s pint.
“Thank you,” Beth told her and grabbed the glass with two hands.
The water was delicious. How was she thirsty after so much imbibing already? Water leaked out of the corners of her mouth as she guzzled until there was nothing left to swallow.
Delaney grabbed the glass back from her and set it down on the table. “Here’s hoping that was evidence of you sweating off some of the alcohol on the dance floor.”
Beth winced. “I overdid it, huh?” Her tongue felt funny, as if it perhaps no longer fit in her mouth like it was supposed to, but her words sort of sounded like words again, and she took that as a good sign.
“Understatement of the century,” her sister replied. “Think you can get it together before I take you outside to Eli?”
Beth squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tavern to stop tilting and right itself. She let out a long, measured exhale before opening her eyes again. Her head still felt fuzzy, but the room stilled. She tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled.
“How do I look?”
