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She smiled at me, and my heartthump, thump, thumpedagain.
Alec leaned in. “I talked to my girlfriend, and she said no problem. You’re welcome at our place. I’ll close up here in a few hours, and we can head there. Meantime, drinks are going on your boyfriend’s tab.” Alec waggled his eyebrows. “He never closed it out.”
“Ex-boyfriend’s tab. And thank you, Alec. So much. For everything. And in that case, bring me a double margarita. Extra strong.”
He winked. “You got it.”
She was staying with Alec? Now I really wanted to know the story, and I couldn’t wait to get him alone to hear it. Before I walked away, I lifted my beer toward Ivy. “Nice to meet you. And again, if you change your mind and want company, just give me a wave.”
“I will. Thank you...” She furrowed her brow and tipped her head. “I don’t know your name.”
“Ethan.”
“Thank you, Ethan.”
Her soft smile warmed my insides, and even though I wanted nothing more than to sit back down and ask her every little detail about herself and her life, I respected her desire to be alone, and I walked away.
Normally, I would have gone home after my second beer, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the bar while Ivy remained there. I knew Alec was keeping an eye on her, but something nagging inside of me demanded I stay close to make sure she was safe. She looked so sad sitting by herself, and it took everything I had not to ignore her pleas for solitude and march back over to sit beside her.
An hour passed, and I sipped my beers slowly and watched her sitting alone at the bar, deep in thought, while she downed margaritas like they were a huge canteen of water and she’d been dying of dehydration in the desert. With each cocktail, her speech to Alec slurred a little more, and when she started begging for shots, I knew her hangover the next morning would be one of mythic proportions.
“She okay?” I asked Alec as he walked by with the bottle.
He nodded. “Oh, yeah. She’s fine. I’m taking her back to my place tonight, so I’m not worried about what happens to her getting this hammered. She needs this. I’ve got her back.”
“Good,” I said. “She’s getting super drunk.”
Alec laughed. “Yup. Totally wasted. But I would be too if I just found out my boyfriend was married.”
I cringed. “Oh, shit. Ouch. So, that’s what happened?”
My heart clenched in my chest thinking about how hurt she must be. I didn’t know her, but she seemed like a sweet girl who didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
“Yeah. I legit watched the wife storm up here and bust him out. Poor Ivy had no idea he was married. So, she’s stuck here at the bar because she can’t go back to her hotel room since they shared one. That’s why she’s staying at my place tonight. Her sister is booking her out on a flight tomorrow, but tonight, she has nowhere to go.”
“That seriously sucks. Poor girl.”
“Yeah. Guess she has kinda shitty luck with men cheating. She’s now thinking she must be bad in bed since they all seem to run out on her.”
Like a lightbulb going off inside my head, it all clicked together. “Ah. I get it. So that’s where the whole ‘sleep with me and tell me if I’m bad in bed’ came from.”
“Yup.” Alec grinned. “I mean, the sister isn’t wrong. What’s one night in paradise having a night of wild sex with a stranger to get some feedback on your sexy time style while also giving a big fuck you to the dude that just smashed your heart.”
“Valid,” I agreed.
He arched an accusatory eyebrow. “But not anymore. She’s way too drunk to be making decisions about sleeping with people.”
Lifting up my hands, I shook my head. “Oh no. That’s not what I was getting at. I would never take advantage of a drunk girl.”
He smiled. “I know, man. I was just kidding.”
“Alec! I’m thirsty!” Ivy called, shaking her empty margarita glass.
“Gotta go. And don’t worry, I’m making her drinks with like a drop of alcohol now. Don’t need her puking on my floor tonight or getting her stomach pumped.”
“Good man.” I glanced over at her, and she gave me a floppy wave that matched the crooked smile pulling her full lips into an awkward shape.
Alec wandered back to Ivy and stood by her, leaning on the bar until a group of overdressed socialites dripping in bling click-clacked in on their sky-high stilettos. I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling back in my head. Didn’t they know we were on an island? Flip-flops and sundresses fit the Paradise Isles far better than those skin-tight dresses and thousand-dollar shoes that belonged back in New York or L.A., where they were likely from. Outfits more like what sweet Ivy was wearing, I thought as I looked back toward her... sweet Ivy, who was now stumbling toward me.
