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“What the hell, Naggie? Let me explain.”
She didn’t bother telling him there was nothing to explain. He had been caught, didn’t deny it, and had been doing it for months. But it wouldn’t have mattered if this was the only time he had done it, or if he had been doing this for their entire relationship. Cheating was cheating, and she was done. She moved past him, brushed him off when he tried to reach for her, and walked out of the room.
Once she had her keys and her other bag she had set on the floor by the front door, she headed to her Pilot, tossed her crap inside, and got in. Tally was lucky she had been smart enough to leave, because if she had still been standing outside, Naggie would have beaten her ass for real this time. She started her car and looked at Rob, who still stood on the porch.
With a grin, she lifted her hand and flipped him off. Yeah, that felt good, but what was going to feel even better was getting drunk and trying to forget about this shitty night and everything the last year had entailed.4Naggie lifted her empty shot glass to Ryan, the bartender at O’Henry’s, one of the only decent bars in Reckless. She needed a refill like last week, but for some reason, the bar was busy tonight, and that meant Ryan was slower than normal in keeping people hydrated. The bar was dimly lit, but who wanted to go to a place to get drunk with florescent lighting?
Hell, she wanted to feel like she was in a haze as she drowned her sorrows in a bottle of whiskey. There were guys off to the side playing pool, others sitting on overstuffed chairs in front of a big-screen TV watching sports, and even some scantily clad college-aged girls shaking their asses and tits on the makeshift dance floor.
“You sure you want to get trashed?” the woman beside her asked.
Naggie looked at Bennie, her friend for the last two years. Bennie had come in for some ink a couple years ago, and after Naggie had been the artist to give it to her, they clicked. Bennie was a gorgeous brunette who looked like one of those pin-up girls. She wore tight pencils skirts and baby doll shirts like she owned the damn world. Naggie wasn’t gay, but Bennie had curves that could make any straight girl want to see her naked.
But it wasn’t just her awesome attitude, her killer sense of style, or the fact that Naggie clicked with Bennie almost instantly. She also had some awesome ink, and Naggie was honored to have been able to work on her.
Bennie held up her hands in defense, but if she was about to say something, Ryan stopped her when he leaned on the counter and started talking.
“So, more Crown, or do you want to mix it up?”
Naggie shook her head. “No, I don’t want to mess with the buzz I got going on by mixing shit. How about you just bring the whole bottle over here?”
Ryan cocked a dark eyebrow.
“Fine, just send over a couple more shots, please?” She batted her eyelashes, feeling good and warm already.
“So, is this going to be an ‘I can’t walk straight’ night?” Bennie asked.
“This is a totally I can’t walk, talk, or think straight kind of night.”
Bennie nodded. “You want to talk more about it? You were kind of vague on the details over the phone.”
She nodded and rested her elbows on the counter then stared at Ryan. “He’s a cute guy, in that sort of vanilla way.”
“Naggie, stop diverting and spill it. You know you can talk to me.”
She looked over at Bennie. “I know. I guess I’m just humiliated and still furious over the whole thing.”
But her friend didn’t give her a sympathetic look, and she loved her even more for that.
“Hey, the important thing is that you are too good for that kind of bullshit, and you are still young, hot, and ready to rock.” She winked, and Naggie burst out laughing.
Ryan came over with a few shots and set them on the bar in front of them. “It’s a freaking madhouse in here tonight.”
Naggie looked around and agreed. It was packed, but mainly it was a bunch of douchey-looking college kids in their polo shirts and khaki shorts. Ryan left them to help the waitress with an order, and she turned and faced Bennie. They grabbed their shot glasses, lifted them up, and clinked them together. “Fuck them all.”
Bennie nodded, and they tossed back the shots. “If you want my honest opinion, I always thought Rob was a little asshole.”
“What? Really?” She only told Bennie that they’d broken up because she caught him in bed with another woman. Naggie hadn’t said what woman it’d been, how long it had been going on, or the physical altercation that happened. But in due time, she’d spill it all.
