AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That good, huh?” Lauren tugged the bottle from her grasp and brought it to her mouth. Fire burned her throat as the liquid traveled downward, her body lurching at the warm sensation.
With a swipe of her hand, Casey brushed away the sweat forming on her brow, tugging the bottle back from Lauren. Two swigs later, her eyes swam with tears. “Oh, my God, it hurts! How do people drink this stuff?” She stared at the bottle and eyed the label.
Lauren shrugged. “Mitch loves it... just sips it over ice. I don’t get it.” She brought the bottle back to her lips with a grimace. And like the steam over the mushroom ravioli in the kitchen, her stress evaporated into thin air as the bourbon filtered through her bloodstream.
“Oh!” Casey giggled as she stumbled over the door jam. “We should take a picture and send it to the boys!” Pushing a stray curl away from her face, she staggered closer to Lauren.
“Ha! Yes! Let’s do it!”
Casey patted her hips and pulled her phone from the waistband of her skirt.
Lauren roared with laughter. “You did not just pull that phone out of your underwear!” Tears clouded her eyes.
“Well, where else am I supposed to put it in this outfit?” Casey dissolved into her own fit of drunken giggles, moving closer to Lauren to snap a photo in front of the shelves of liquor. Opening a text, Casey tapped in,Not one can of Old Style in this fancy place!
“Old Style?” Lauren wrinkled her nose and clogged the cork back into the bottle, discreetly hiding it inside her jean jacket.
Casey snickered. “It’s kind of a dumb joke between us.” She smiled and tucked the phone back into her waistband. “Austin hates it!”
Lauren snorted and tugged the door open. She led the way back through the kitchen, passing Miguel with a wink and another squeeze on the elbow before re-entering the party.
“There you are!” Mavis sighed, folding her body over an empty cocktail table in the center of the room.
Casey cackled and stumbled forward. “How long have we been gone?”
Lauren dropped the bottle of bourbon onto the table and released a roar of drunken laughter. “Sorry, Mavs. World’s worst bridesmaids right here!” She wrapped her arm around Casey’s shoulders and pushed the bottle toward the bride. “But come on, catch up. Therealparty is about to start!”
Mavis smiled and yanked the cork from the bottle, her green eyes blazing with excitement.
Chapter SEVENTEEN
Casey
Casey stumbled up thesteps, her eyes drooping with exhaustion. The ringing in her ears competed, and won, with the quiet 4 AM hour. Gripping the doorknob of the heavy oak front door of Austin’s home, she pushed it open as the cab pulled out of the driveway.
Fuck, I’m tired...
