Page 132 of The Sweetest Devotion

The pool area was in the back of the room and a few games were going, making me anxious and curious. I’d never been too active with sports, save for a few years playing tennis in high school.

“Hey, queen, can I buy you a drink?” some man at the bar shouted at Jadyn as we were just about to pass it.

Jadyn wrinkled her nose. “No thanks!”

The man made a face but backed down.

I couldn’t help but snicker. “Easy, girl.”

Jadyn was indignant. “First, they call you queen, and then they treat you like a peasant. You’ll know the right approach when you see it.”

I thought it didn’t matter for me. Men were off-limits.

Jadyn ticked up a finger. “First things first, Jell-O shots!”

I frowned. “Jay, I can’t.”

Jadyn waved me off. “They’re plant-based.”

Well, that solved that.

One drink wouldn’t hurt.

“One shot,” I conceded.

That was all Jadyn needed as she tugged me over to the bar. “One shot, baby kidneys. And then you can switch to Sprite.”

Being with my best friend after a month of stress was all I needed.

And yet, an ache singed in my chest. One I couldn’t shake along with a feeling of longing.

Jadyn approached the bartender with a cool confidence I’d always admired and respected. She held up two fingers and looked the man straight into his eyes. “Two vegan Jell-O shots. Make ’em cherry.”

The man slid his gaze over to me, briefly eyeing my cleavage in my lace top, before tipping his head and going to grab our shots.

A nervous chill danced down my spine when he returned with two shot glasses filled with vegan cherry-flavored jel topped with whipped cream and a cherry for garnish.

My hand shook as I accepted a glass while Jadyn paid for them. One whiff of the shot and I realized it wascoconutwhipped cream. At least it smelled good.

Jadyn gathered her shot and held it in the air to signal a toast. “To women only, fuck these men.”

I cracked a grin, feeling that message through and through. I clinked my shot glass against hers. “Hell yeah!”

We knocked back our shots after eating the cherries and I was elated to find that the alcohol in them wasn’t strong or overpowering. I could almost go for another.

Jadyn set her glass on the bar and scanned the room. “We gotta touch the pool table, at least once. And I’m getting you a basket of beer battered shrimp. Be right back.”

Jadyn took off to check the availability on the pool tables while I sat back at the bar and faced the room. Groups of men were scattered around in tables and booths, some women were here and there, either with a man or with other women. Most were caught up in their own worlds, enjoying food and drinks, while I looked on curiously.

A man with a sleeve of impressive tattoos could be seen seated on the right side of the room with a young woman who was practically up under him. He was in a T-shirt with jeans, and she was too. Her natural hair was up in a single puff and by the way he was staring at her face as they sat close, I could tell he was in love. When he reached out and caressed her cheek and she smiled at him, a knot formed in my stomach.

I whirled around on my stool and dug my phone out of my purse. “Hey, can I have another shot?” I asked the bartender as my hand trembled around my phone. I’d need liquid courage to do what I was about to do.

He set another shot in front of me a moment later and when I reached into my purse to find my debit card, a hand covered my line of vision.

Beside me, a man was shaking his head. “I got it.”

A twinkled glowed in his green eyes and his friendly handsome smile put me at ease. “Thank you.”

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