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Following behind his family, he ushers me to the seating area along the exposed brick wall all the way at the back. We have to drag three tables together so we’ll all fit.
Before long, a waitress takes our order and baskets of fried food are delivered to our table. The music is loud and the vibe is good, as we talk, laugh and share the meal.
When we’re all stuffed off of greasy finger foods, the guys ditch us to play a game of pool. The girls huddle closer as we chatter on.
“God, Masonreallylikes you,” Ruby says to me, sipping her bourbon lemonade.
“You think so?” My heart instantly starts to patter.
“For damn sure,” Emma says to me, nodding confidently and twirling her straw in her drink. “And you look pretty damn smitten with him yourself.”
Isoam. But I’m determined to keep a level head about myself. “Things are just casual between us,” I tell them. “He and I both know this is just a short-term thing.”
“Why’s that?” Alana asks with a pout. She takes a sip of her water.
I nervously lick my lips. “I’m still figuring out what I’ll be doing with myself in the fall. I’ll probably be moving away so…”
“So, a summer fling,” Maya fills in with a smile.
“Well, a summer fling isn’t bad. Mason deserves to have some fun after all he’s been through.” Meghan nods before chugging down some water. Now, that I think about it, neither she nor Alana have had a drop of alcohol tonight. Silently, I wonder if that means anything.
“Yeah, Zara was a piece of work.” Ruby frowns. “She made my poor brother miserable for years.”
“How?” I ask.
“She just complained abouteverything,” Maya says. “She made him work so hard for her. All he wanted was to make her happy but nothing he did was ever good enough. I think that, at the end of the day, all he was to her was a pretty face to star in her Instagram selfies and an open wallet to pay her bills.”
I flinch. “She sounds pretty awful.”
“She is,” Ruby says, “It was hard watching my brother go through that.”
Clearly tipsy, Nicky leans forward on her elbows from the other end of the table and catches my eyes. “Speaking of brothers, do you have any?”
“Five,” I spit out. “I’m the only girl.”
“Ooh!” Nicky rubs her hands together. “I totally consent to you giving them my number. Because the romantic prospects in this town are dead-ends.”
All the girls share looks among themselves. Nicky glares at them all in turn.
“You bitches better not even utter Simon’s name. I’m giving up hope that man will ever get his head out of his ass and step up.” Her eyes come back to me. “Anyway, Karli. Tell me about these brothers of yours.”
I laugh. “They’re all single. But I don’t know how I feel about hooking you up with any of them. They’re great guys. But they’re clueless when it comes to relationships. They’d drive you crazy.”
Nicky smirks. “I’m already crazy, honey. The real question is, can any of them handleme?”
Laughter rises up around our table as a new song starts up. It’s a crowd favorite judging by the way everybody in the establishment goes wild. Before I know what’s happening, Nicky comes around the table and grabs my hand. Then she’s dragging me to the dance floor. The rest of the girls hoot and holler, joining in.
We are absolutely killing it on the dance floor when I feel a pair of massive hands on my hips.
The old Karli would be ready to spin around and high kick any motherfucker dumb enough to come up from behind and put his grimy fingers on me.
The new Karli recognizes those big, strong hands in an instant and the touch sends a jolt of awareness straight to my ovaries.
Smiling from earlobe to earlobe, I turn around and wrap my arms around Mason’s neck. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, you.” His lips brush across my cheek. “You caught my eye from across the room and I couldn’t look away. I had to come over here and dance with you.”
My cheeks heat at his compliment and at the genuine interest glimmering in his eyes. “Are you sure I look okay?” I glance down at my wrinkled jeans and simple tank top. Then I peer around at all the mini dresses and high heels around the small tavern.
