Page 3 of Bear In Mind

She fluffed her blunt cut, shoulder-length locks.“I think I successfully distracted you.”She winked.

Snatching my wrist, she dragged me through the crowd towards the bar.Standing on her tiptoes, she slapped the counter.“Yo!Marky Mark.”

The bartender looked our way.The moment he saw Tiff, he smiled wide.“What’s up, baby girl?”He strolled our way, giving me a quick once-over.“This your date for the night?”

Her blue eyes lit with mischief.“She’s a babe, isn’t she?”She jutted her chin in my general direction.

I forced myself not to fidget under his scrutiny, darn near biting a hole through my inner cheek during the process.It was hell being openly judged.

“You always did have a thing for curves.”He chuckled lightly.It was his way of saying I wasn’t his type.

“Hell yeah.What the fuck do you hold onto when you’re banging a girl?”She held tighter to my hand.

The guy was smart.He threw his palms up and took a step back.“Sorry, T.You got your tastes and I got mine.”Dropping his arms, he swooped back in.“Now what’ll it be, baby girl?”

“Give Bryn a sex on the beach and I’ll take a bottle of Mills for now.If she comes back for more, put it on my tab.”

I opened my mouth to object, but she immediately silenced me with a glare.

“Don’t piss me off tonight.You do not want a cranky, drunk Tiff on your hands, B.”

With a nod, I conceded.“I can barely deal with normal, sane you.”

She gently shoved at my shoulder.“Brat.”The word held no malice.

A smile split my face.“You love me.”

Pursing her lips, she considered me.“Yeah.I do.”Abruptly, she threw her arms around me, crushing her slight frame against me.“Congratulations, B!You did it, girl.I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Savoring the moment, I hugged her back.She would be the only person who acknowledged my achievement.

Suddenly, my chest tightened as emotions swirled fiercely within me, surging towards my surface.It was hard not having a family, not having a swarm of often-annoying people who loved you to lavish you with praise after years of hard work.I swallowed, blinking profusely as tears stung my eyes.

Tiffany whipped backwards, grabbing my upper arms as she took me in.“Oh no.No you don’t.Not tonight, B.”She shook her head negatively.“We’ll have a sappy girls’ night tomorrow, complete with a cheesy romantic comedy, and you can cry all you want then, but tonight-” She squeezed the fat covering my biceps.“Tonight, we drink, we dance, we get wild and crazy, and maybe we even get lucky.But we don’t cry.No crying, B.Only celebrating.Okay?”Her brows furrowed as she studied me closely.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head in agreement.My lips curled into a stilted grin.“Celebrate.Right.”

Throwing her head back, she groaned dramatically.“Come on, B.Loosen up.Shake those sexy hips of yours.”

I rolled my eyes.“All you have to say isplease.”

She scrunched her nose.“That word isn’t in my vocabulary.”

Mark saved me from having to rebuttal that one.“Here you go, baby girl.Have fun.”

“Thanks, babe.”She puckered her lips in his direction, passed me my drink, and snatched up her beer before leading me to a high top.The moment we sat down, she fixed me with a stern stare.“Don’t even think about getting comfortable.The moment you finish that drink, you’re dancing with me until we find you a hunk to take my place.”

I couldn’t contain my smile.“Yes, mother,” I droned.

“Girl, you are lucky tonight is your night.”She wanted to be upset with me, but her words were spineless.

Closing my lips around the short black straw, I took a sip of my colorful drink.It’d been a while since I’d had an alcoholic beverage.Thankfully, this one was smooth, more sour mix than alcohol, or so it seemed.

We both sat back, taking leisurely swigs of our drinks as we looked around the scuffed up country bar.Most of the patrons were people I recognized, which was somewhat disconcerting considering all of the people I knew from town weren’t interested in extra curvy me.

Tiff nudged my side, never taking her eyes off the crowd.“See anything you like?”

There were plenty of decent, attractive men.While most were a bit rough around the edges, I was always able to find some sort of appeal about them.The problem was none of them found the same in me.“Not really.”I rolled my lips.“You?”

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