Well Played (Well Met #2)(21)

I’m off to a New Year’s Eve party at Jackson’s with a bunch of friends. It’s a cold night, but I don’t think we’re getting snow. I hope that you’re safe and warm this New Year’s Eve, and I hope that you have a very happy New Year. I’m glad I’ve gotten to know you better these past few months.



There. Friendly, but not too friendly. If he really was backing off our little online relationship, I didn’t want to look too clingy. I slipped my phone into my clutch on my way out the door, but once I got to Jackson’s I tried really hard to not check it. Which meant I tapped the email icon every five minutes or so. I frowned at my email inbox, empty of new messages, until Mitch took my phone out of my hand and put a shot glass in it instead.

“Hey, give that back.” I made a weak attempt to take my phone, but Mitch was something like twice my height and just held it over his head. I wasn’t getting it back until he was ready to give it.

“Nope. Not till you’ve done a shot with me. And then a shot with Park over there.” He nodded over to where Emily leaned against the bar. She saw us looking at her and waved, a grin spreading over her face.

“When did Emily get here?” I tossed back the shot—vodka, so there weren’t any accompaniments like salt or limes to contend with. I only coughed a little as it went down, warming me from the inside out.

“About three checks of your phone ago.” He took the empty shot glass away and handed me a bottle of beer as a chaser. His face darkened slightly, which was an odd look for the world’s most cheerful guy. “You getting stood up or something?”

“No. Nothing like that.” I wasn’t about to explain my odd online relationship in the middle of a crowded bar on what was supposed to be the most festive night of the year.

“Hmm.” Mitch looked me over critically and handed me back my phone. “Well, come on. That shot was just a warm-up. Come join the party. But let me know whose ass I need to kick later, okay?”

“You got it.” I turned off my phone and stuck it back in my purse. Screw it. Dex wasn’t writing me back tonight. He was probably out celebrating New Year’s Eve, just as I was. Except he wasn’t wasting the whole night staring at his phone.

Enough. I took a swig from my beer and clung to the back of Mitch’s shirt as he led us through the tight crowd. Funny how I’d had such a crush on Mitch when we were in high school. But now I was grateful that the crush had dissipated, replaced by a big-brotherly feeling. I truly believed that if someone hurt me, Mitch would hunt the guy down and make him regret it. And then get me drunk to help me forget. Of course, he’d do it with beer and tequila, never remembering that I liked wine better. It was the thought that counted.

Sure enough, when we got to Emily’s side of the bar, her sister April was there next to her, lining up shot glasses and lime wedges.

“Not too many,” Emily cautioned. “Tequila is not my friend.”

“Tequila is nobody’s friend,” April said as she handed each of us a lime wedge. “That’s the point.”

Mitch scoffed. “It’s one shot. That’s all.”

Emily squinted at him. “Since when is it only one shot with you?”

“She has a point.” Simon appeared on the other side of Emily, two longneck beers in his hand. He passed one over to Emily and kept the other for himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you stop at one.”

“It’s New Year’s Eve!” Mitch protested. “If you can’t let loose on New Year’s Eve, when can you?”

“I agree with Mitch,” I said, my usual bright smile back in place. I punctuated the statement by reaching for one of the shot glasses and the saltshaker and lime. Lick it, slam it, suck it. “Nothing wrong with saying goodbye to the old year.”

“I agree.” Emily followed suit, chasing the liquor with a swig of beer. “It’s been a pretty good year, after all. It deserves to go out in style.” She fiddled with the diamond ring on her left hand and stole a glance up at her fiancé. They exchanged a smile so intimate that I felt I was intruding by seeing it.

Bah. I nudged away my beer bottle and reached for another shot of tequila. So what if I didn’t have anyone to kiss at midnight. I wasn’t the only one. April and I clinked shot glasses and knocked them back together.

“I meant to say . . .” April leaned on the bar in my direction, and I leaned toward her in response, because it was getting kind of loud in here. “I’m so glad you joined book club. Sorry the books are so depressing, though.”

I waved a hand. “It’s okay. I’m one of those ‘history shouldn’t be forgotten’ kind of people.”

“Oh, me too.” April nodded earnestly, probably a little too earnestly, but we were both a couple shots in at this point. “Totally. But I’m also one of those ‘let’s read something fun after a long day of work’ kind of people.”

“Well, you should join Emily’s book club then.” I motioned between Emily and myself. “We’re reading fun books. Didn’t Emily tell you?”

April considered it, her head bobbing left and right on the end of her neck. Finally the bob became a nod, followed by a head shake. “I don’t know. You think this town is big enough for two book clubs?”