AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hated it here sometimes.
“Excuse me,” a voice said behind my shoulder. Linley looked up and then her fork clattered on her plate.
Slowly, I swiveled around and found myself looking up at Esme, who had a drink in one hand. What the hell was happening.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned down so no one would overhear her. “Hey, sorry to bother you, but Wyatt sent this over. I can absolutely take it back if you don’t want it. I know what he did to you.” Her bartender smile slipped for a moment. I could barely breathe as I stared at lips that glistened with a dark lipstick in the light of the fake candles on the table.
“He asked me to just send you a Jaeger bomb, but I made something a little more special. It’s called a paloma. Seemed more your speed.” She set the slightly pink drink down in front of me.
“Thank you,” I finally said, after looking back and forth at the drink and at Linley, who was similarly stunned. Esme stood up and gave me a wink before doing a little spin.
“Let me know how you like it,” she said over her shoulder.
I gaped as she walked back to the bar, her heels making an audible click on the floor, even through the rest of the noise around us.
“Help,” I said, after I finally tore my eyes away from her.
“I don’t even like women, but holy shit. If she formed a cult, I would join it,” Linley said, her face a little red.
“Can you believe Wyatt had the gall to send this over?” I said, pointing to it. Esme hadn’t said what was in it, but I was going to drink it anyway. “What if Wyatt didn’t really send it? What if she’s just pretending he did so she could come over and talk to me?” I should have said more to her. I should have flirted, but I’d been so caught off guard.
Linley glanced over my shoulder once and then back at me. “I don’t think so. Wyatt just mouthed ‘you’re welcome’ at me. So I’m guessing he did send it. Fucker.”
I sighed. “This is a conundrum. On one hand, Wyatt is involved in the existence of this drink. On the other, Esme made it for me, and I need to get in good with her. Fuck it.” I picked up the drink and stood up, turning to the side so Wyatt would be sure to see me, but not facing him directly.
My plan to chug the drink was hampered by the amount of ice in the glass, so I succeeded at dumping a lot of it on myself, but whatever. The point was made. I slammed the glass on the table and then sat down.
“You have a little something,” Linley said, waving to her chest area.
“Yes, I’m aware. It didn’t go as smoothly as I planned.” I wiped myself off as best I could.
“Was it good, at least?”
“Yeah, tasted like grapefruit.” I licked my lips and grinned. “I feel like I should have another one.”
Linley sniffed the empty glass. “I feel like you shouldn’t do that, because you’re my ride.”
Good point.
“Fine, but I’m definitely getting one of those again sometime.”
Linley looked at her phone. “If we want to get anywhere, we should head out now. Let’s go, Designated Driver.” She made a sound like the crack of a whip.
I grumbled, but she was picking up the tab for tonight. I was more than happy to take one for the team in service of Linley having a night out where she didn’t have to bake anything.
* * *
We endedup at an Irish pub about an hour away from Castleton. It was Linley’s idea.
“We’re here for the culture,” she yelled over the speakers blasting Dropkick Murphys. Classic.
“Right,” I said, as she sipped her beer and looked around. I’d just gotten a soda, but we’d ordered a basket of hot wings and fries. This wasn’t just a night out. I was on a mission to get my friend a man. Or at least a number so she could get her mom off her back for a little while.
“There are just so many dudes in here,” I said, leaning close to her. There was some sort of sporting event blasting on the massive TV screens. I couldn’t get distracted. It was time to focus.
“Is there something wrong with that?” Linley asked. “My mom would be thrilled.”
We both laughed about that.
