AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time it was a splatter painted piece of art, I dropped the brush in the box and collapsed on the grass.
I was exhausted, my chest ached, and I was all out of tears. What I needed was a large field and my horse running free for a few hours.
“Can I do anything?” Grace asked as he sat next to me.
“I’m strong, remember? And you already did, I needed that,” I admitted, knocking my shoulder against hers.
“I’m here!” Mackenzie yelled out as she ran across the grass toward us, bags in each hand. “I brought tacos!”
“My heroes,” I said as she sat next to us. She was out of breath and wide-eyed as she took in my destruction.
“I kind of like it better this way,” she joked.
“There’s more,” Grace admitted, pulling a can of glitter spray out of her pocket. “I know you well enough that you’d want to stand tall and proud, and this will have all eyes on you.”
“Oh my god, yes,” I laughed, snatching it from her hand and rushing over to coat the dress in iridescent glitter. It complimented the white and yellow, catching in the afternoon sun. “Alright. Did someone say tacos?”
“You have to eat or that blackout will happen way sooner than you want,” Mackenzie huffed out a laugh.
“She always has to mother hen us,” Grace complained. We liked to tease her about it but honestly, it was nice to have someone looking out for me. They’d been my only family since my parents died in high school and even having them here now made me feel a little less broken.
“Well, she is a hen shifter,” I snorted. We both earned a glare from our bestie. She hated when we teased her for it. “Don’t be upset, Kenzie, I’d be lost without you.” My words rang with sincerity and gratitude. She’d already handled one of the wedding cancellation jobs, so I didn’t have to suffer through hours of phone calls and pitying looks. Nothing cut a horse down more than fucking pity.
“You’re lucky, assholes, I’m the best,” she said playfully as she started opening boxes. “We’ve got black bean, spicy tofu, and steak for our carnivore.”
My phone chimed and I tossed it over to Grace to hold. I didn’t want to talk to anyone tonight. I wanted to lose myself in drinks and fun.
* * *
The rustic barwas off of the beaten path. Nestled on the edge of downtown and surrounded by a law firm and a yoga studio, both of which are closed before the night really begins. Which meant that the sidewalk was currently packed with drunk patrons and the music spilled out of the open doors.
I wanted something out of the way so we didn’t happen by any of the guests who expected a party and open bar that night. We had several people flying in from out of state and now they were stuck here with nothing to do. I wasn’t taking any chances.
“This is… quaint,” Mackenzie noted as we flashed our IDs at the bouncer. But her criticism died the moment we stepped inside.
They’d kept an industrial look to everything with exposed ceilings painted black. The bar and tables were a mix of polished wood and rustic metal. The display behind the drinks was glass and the lights glowed behind them so they were like a beacon to lonely bitches like me.
I didn’t bother to hesitate as I ran up to the bar and claimed a seat. It was busy enough the bartender couldn’t make it to me for about ten minutes but when he did, I got the look I expected.
“Left at the altar today. What can you give me that will ensure that I don’t have to think about himeveragain?”
He let out a low whistle but turned around without any explanation. My eyes went wide as I watched him mix more than one liquor into the shaker. Part of me was afraid to try it but when he slid it over there was a fruity scent to it.
“Here, first one’s on the house,” he said, tapping the bar and giving me a wink before moving down the line.
“Man, I thought my ex was bad.” I turned to look at the guy next to me who was taking a swig of his beer. “She decided she liked my brother more and they hid it from me until they got pregnant. Guess I’m an uncle. Surprise.” He held up jazz hands and a fake smile that earned a laugh from me.
“That’s fucked up,” I said as I held up my glass. “Cheers to us for knowing how to pick them.”
His smile was at full force and he was definitely my type. In any other situation, I might have flirted, but this time, I just waited for him to tap his drink to mine before draining the entire thing.
The mix of fiery liquor was not at all covered by the juice he’d added and I choked as it burned its way into my body. Tears ran down my face for a very different reason and it took a few moments before I regained my composure. Grace came up and patted my back, not so subtly giving me a water that I knew Mackenzie forced her to bring me.
Already, my head was swimming pleasantly and I flagged down the bartender. “Give me something a little less strong this time since I’m starting off with a bang?”
“Will do,” he agreed, making another drink for me and starting a tab.
“Drink some water,” Mackenzie called over the music. Clearly, they didn’t understand the end goal here. Sure I didn’t want to get insanely drunk in minutes, but water was definitely not on the menu. “Then we can dance the night away.”
