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Aly frowns. “Did you drink my beer, Caro?”
“Nope,” she says, tapping her nose.
“You drank my beer, didn’t you?”
“Nope,” Caro says again, winking this time. Aly shakes her head, tucking her foam finger under her arm.
“I really thought I’d beaten this thing,” Aly says.
“You thought you beatalcohol?” I ask. Caro snorts and the force of it nearly topples her over. I nudge her back against the wall as Zeke conceals his laughter with his fist.
“Caroshki,” Pasha says.
“Pasha… penis-ki,” Caro says. And hiccups.
“Ah, drunk Caroshki. We meet again.”
“You’re drunk,” she says, batting at the air in his general direction.
“This will be fun. Did I hear you cheering for me earlier?”
“You wish you did. I was cheering for the other forty-six.”
“You know my number? I’m blushing.” Pasha flashes a shit-eating grin.
“‘You’d blush for your blow-up doll,’” Caro says in her caveman-Zeke voice.
“My blow-up doll? Did you get me a present?” Pasha claps his hands.
“Oh, no—I was talking about your old one? Remember? She sat on a pin to put herself out of her misery?”
Pasha throws his head back, roaring with laughter as someone bumps into my back and I lose my balance. Zeke catches my arm, pressing his other hand to my back. The press of his hand is almost too much to take. I can only stay on the friend side of this line we’ve drawn as long as I don’t lose my head. He doesn’t let me pull away though.
“You okay?” he asks, keeping his hand on my back.
I nod, looking up at his blue eyes, liking the feel of his hands on me far too much.
“‘She’s gonna be more than okay when you slap your shot into her,’” drunk Caro-Zeke says as Pasha howls in laughter. “Oh, come on,” she says in her normal drunk voice. “We all see it!”
Aly blanches as my stomach clenches to stone. Zeke tenses, and then lets go of me, leaving me feeling untethered and my cheeks flushing with hot mortification. I cross my arms over my chest, as if that will hold me together.
“We need to get her some coffee,” Aly mumbles. “Or a table full of pancakes with peanut butter.”
“Ooh, I love those!” she squeals.
Pasha and Zeke help us out the players’ exit as I call an Uber. Pasha keeps pushing Caro’s buttons, as Aly keeps pushing her upright. When the car arrives, the guys help us get her in the car and then I slip in awkwardly without saying goodbye. I don’t think Caro notices how awkward she made it, but Aly squeezes my hand.
“It’s okay, Fayebug,” she says.
“Of course it’s okay,” Caro says, grinning. “We’re getting pancakes!”
My phone buzzes as the car drives away.
ZEKE: Thanks for coming. Let me know you get back okay?
ME: Sure.
ME: Sorry about all that… I’m sure you didn’t want to deal with that.
