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I scoffed, looking away from the stares in my direction. Who was he to judge me? “He takes good care of me. I’d be lucky to date him.” After I said it, I cringed, realizing too late how desperate it made me sound. My neck warmed with evidence that the blush from my cheeks was spreading.
“Does he? You don’t look very satisfied.”
Was I satisfied? I thought about Dallas. He was handsome, rich, successful. It should check all of the boxes for me, but when the unresolved ache grew between my legs, I sighed.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
Chapter nine
Drake
Apparently, I didn’t have anything better to do on a Friday night than watch a bunch of drunk people trip over themselves. When another barely legal girl in heels she couldn’t walk in bumped into me on her way to the counter, I debated leaving. I grumbled, biting back the urge to tell her to watch where she was stumbling.
“What’s wrong, you grumpy fuck?” Bryson asked with a loud laugh when he walked up to the bar. He nodded to the red-headed bartender behind him, silently telling him to take care of the group of girls beside me.
“I’m too old to be here,” I said. I looked around me at the crowd that was predominantly in their twenties and early thirties as if to prove my point.
Bryson rolled his eyes, planting his hands against the counter and leaning over it so he didn’t have to yell so loudly. “Dude, didn’t you just turn forty? Relax. You’re not old.”
“If you say so,” I said, grunting when the same girl tripped and bumped into me on her way back to the dance floor.
He lost his interest in our conversation as soon as Mackenzie settled onto the now empty stool next to me. She had a way of doing that—the man was head over heels for his fiancée. “So have you gotten your suit yet?” she asked me with a smile that was much too wide to be joking.
“Since he asked me a few days ago to be his best man? No,” I said, forcing a slight chuckle when Bryson glared. “There’s plenty of time.” I smiled, hoping it was reassuring, but judging by the way she furrowed her brow, it was the opposite.
“He’ll get it done soon, sweetheart. I’ll make sure of it.” Bryson stretched farther over the counter, planting a kiss on Mackenzie’s lips.
She gleamed; their eyes locked in a drowsy staring contest. I took a long gulp of the soda water I hadn’t seen Bryson set in front of me, imagining it settled my nerves. For a second it worked. I was able to forget about the annoyances of the younger crowd or the sudden to-do list I had been gifted with when I was given the title of best man.
It was short-lived when her voice came from behind me. “Hey, girl!” Amanda jumped on Mackenzie, wrapping her arms around her from behind and kissing her cheek. “Hi, Brys.” He rolled his eyes, pretending to be irritated by his being listed second.
I cleared my throat, drawing her attention to me. “I don’t get a hello?”
“You just saw me like three hours ago, Drake. Don’t be so dramatic,” she said with an award-winning eye roll of her own.
“Me? Dramatic?” I cocked my head and smirked.
She scrunched her nose like she had smelled something sour, dropping the feigned look of disgust when she giggled. When she glanced over my shoulder, her smile fell until she looked at me. The smile she forced didn’t light up her face the same way.
When her date joined us and put his arm around her, he grinned at the group but didn’t say anything. I reached out, grabbing his hand but making eye contact with Amanda while I did. “Austin, right?”
“Dallas, actually,” the man said, squeezing my hand and giving it a quick shake.
I clicked my tongue. “Ah, that’s right. Sorry, man,” I said.
Next to him, Amanda scowled. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a drink,” she said, turning her attention to her date and looping her arm through his.
Dallas nodded, joined by Mackenzie, and without waiting for their order, Bryson grabbed a short stack of glasses. “First round is on me,” Dallas said, pointing to me. “What’ll you have?”
“I’m good, thanks,” I said.
He reached over and clapped my shoulder. “Oh, come on. I insist!” He grinned as if I couldn’t say no to the smile.
“No thank you, really. I’m good.” I held up my half-finished drink as an explanation.
Dallas nodded in sudden understanding. “Ah, not drinking tonight? Early morning?”
“I don’t drink any night.” I shrugged. It wasn’t something I was ashamed to admit. It was the truth. “Not anymore.”
