Page 84 of The Other Room

“You’re in Door County not Chicago. We don’t have cabs, but we do have a few Ubers. DJ,” I called to him as he ran by. “Can you get these girls an Uber? They need to go. Like now.” I nodded to Nikki as she swayed back and forth.

DJ stopped and arched a brow and jutted a finger at her. “Yikes. I didn’t do that to her.” He shook his head, pursing his lips while he raked her up and down. “I can try an Uber, but it may be awhile. They’ll need at least two for that many people, and it’s busy as hell up here tonight. You should probably just run her home. That girl needs to be far, far away from anywhere serving booze.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll figure something out.”

I didn’t want to deal with this. Jo took priority over everyone, especially this selfish pain in the ass. But when I saw Nikki start toppling over, and her entourage did nothing to stop her fall, I caught her in my arms again and groaned.

“Nikki, where is your hotel? Where are you staying?” I asked her.

“At your place,” she cooed with a crooked smile.

“Seriously, Nikki. Where are you staying?”

“Your bed.” Biting her lip, she winked at me with one glassy eye.

“For fuck’s sake,” I growled. “And you girls really don’t know the name of your hotel?”

The ones still paying attention shook their blonde heads. Nikki dragged a finger across my chest, and I had to stop myself from dropping her on her ass and leaving her to deal with her own mess. But I forced myself to continue propping her up. I may hate her guts, but I wasn’t going to leave her out here so drunk she couldn’t even find her way home. I needed to get these girls home... if I could even figure out where they were staying.

Aaron leaned against the bar just down the way, and I saw his disdainful glare as he glanced in my direction.

“Aaron! Get over here!” I waved, but he just shook his head and looked away, taking a sip of his beer.

I knew that look. It was the same one Aaron and the entire town of Baileys Harbor had given me for months after I’d kissed Nikki last year.

But this time I didn’t deserve it.

“Aaron! Seriously! Get your ass over here!”

With a heavy sigh, he grabbed his beer and sauntered over. “What?”

“Dude. This is not what it looks like. But Nikki is wasted, and we need to get these girls all back to their hotel. Nikki can’t even walk.”

He scoffed. “So not my problem. You can figure out how to get your little girlfriend and her friends home.”

“She is not my girlfriend. Jo is my girlfriend. Or was. Since she saw this shitshow in my arms, she’s probably halfway to Canada by now. I need your help to get Nikki back to her hotel safe so I can go find Jo and explain. Okay? Please, man. I’m in a world of hurt here.”

“Wait?” He lifted a finger. “Jo is your secret girlfriend?”

“Yes. I’m not dating Nikki, I’m dating Jo. Nikki just showed up here wasted and threw herself at me. Apparently, she found out Jake is engaged, and this is all typical Nikki trying to get back at him. I’m not with her. I swear to God.”

His eyes lit up, and he stuck a finger in my face. “Ha! I knew there was something up with you at the Sister Bay Bowl the other night! That was it, wasn’t it? You and Jo? Really?”

“Busted. But right now she’s hella pissed at me because she thinks I’m cheating on her with Nikki.”

With widening eyes, he sucked the air through his teeth. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I thought you were dating Nikki, too. The whole secrecy around the girlfriend, and then she showed up.”

“Yeah. I get it. But I’m not, and I really need to get her the hell out of here.”

He sucked more air through his teeth.

“What?” I asked while Nikki hiccupped in my arms.

“I may have seen Jo running out of here and told her to talk some sense into you because you were dating Nikki.”