I drag my hand down my face. “Jesus, Laney.”
“Oh, please!” she retorts. “Like you weren’t out drinking in bars at eighteen.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Gramps would’ve kicked my ass if he’d caught me drinking.”
She crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows. “You let me drink at home. I don’t see what the difference is.”
“The difference is that I allow you to have one glass of wine occasionally with dinner, not vodka sodas in a packed bar where you need to be twenty-one. And not to mention the older guy all over you.”
She scoffs sarcastically. “Older guy? You can’t lecture me about dating an older guy when you’re with someone half your age.”
“She’s not half my age.” I shake my head. “This isn’t about me and Ash. It’s about you being underage in a bar.” I pause, then glance around before my eyes land back on her. “Where’s Chelsea?”
“What?”
“Chelsea. Where is she? You said back at the house that you were out tonight with Chelsea.”
She shrugs. “She couldn’t make it, so I came alone.”
I close my eyes and reach up, dragging my hand through my hair. I take a deep breath, trying not to completely lose it with her. “Surely, you know how dangerous that is.” I’m so mad at her I can barely see straight.
“Dangerous? What exactly do you think is going to happen to me? This town is dead. We’re in the ass fuck of nowhere.”
“Right. I’ve heard enough. We’re going home.”
She smirks. “Aren’t you on adate?” She spits the word ‘date,’ and I frown. I know she’s upset about her mom, as well as me and Ash, but right now, I barely recognize her.
“Fuck,” I mutter, realizing that Ash is probably back from speaking to Seb by now, and she’s going to wonder where I am.
Laney smiles. “Maybe you’re not as into this woman as I thought you were if you’ve forgotten you’re on a date.”
“That’s enough. You’re already in a world of trouble. Don’t make this worse.”
“How could this possibly get any worse?”
I ignore her comment and take her arm, guiding her through the crowd and back to the table where Ash and I were sitting. When the table comes into view, Ash is sitting in the booth alone.
“Hey. There you are,” she says. Her eyes go past me to Laney, and she stands. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m so sorry, Ash, but I’m going to have to cut our date short. I ran into Laney on the dancefloor.”
“Oh,” Ash says, her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “Is that a problem?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “She’s eighteen, Ash.”
“Almost nineteen,” Laney interjects.
“She’s just on a night out with her girlfriends, though, right?” Ash says. “I was in bars at eighteen.”
“Almost nineteen,” Laney says again.
“Enough, Laney,” I say, exasperated. “We all know how old you are.”
“It’s just one vodka soda, Dad. It’s not a big deal.”
Ash screws up her nose. “Why doesn’t Laney join us for a drink but stick to just the soda?”
“She’s going home. She wasn’t in here with her girlfriends, even though she told me she was. She was here alone with a guy she just met.”
