Page 12 of Fall of Us
Andrew: Why do you think he’s into you?
I let out a breath and looked over my shoulder again. Shawn was talking to another customer, and I tried to picture myself being with someone like him. He was nice, a huge flirt, and good-looking, but he didn’t really do anything for me.
Me: I don’t know. He keeps giving me free drinks every time I come in.
Andrew: Are you at Margaret’s right now?
I laughed as I set the phone on the table because I knew what Andrew was up to. He was going to blow in here in a few minutesand talk some sense into me because I was terrible at reading situations.
As predicted, Andrew walked in several minutes later.
Not two minutes after Andrew sat down, a drink landed in front of him. The same beverage that Shawn had brought to me. The grin spread across my best friend’s face before he started laughing. My face burned red at reading the room wrong, yet again. “What do I owe you for the drink, Shawn?”
When the usual ‘It’s on the house’ was uttered, I instantly deflated in my seat.
Andrew reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Don’t be embarrassed. I get why you’d think that way, but he’s like that with all of us.”
He was right, but it didn’t exactly make me feel any better.
Whatdidmake me feel better? That Andrew was here. There was just something about being around him that made everything feel good. And that really should have been my biggest sign.
When we finished our drinks, I plopped a ten-dollar bill on the table to make up for the free drinks and grabbed Andrew’s hand. “Come back to my place?”
He didn’t fight me as I pulled him out the door.
Maybe having Andrew in an enclosed space like this wasn’t the best of ideas because the second we walked in the door, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into a hug. My body wanted to fight it, but it was only a hug. I didn’t know why I was acting like he was doing anything differently.
Hell, I’d just texted him after thinking another one of our friends was hitting on me.
When Andrew released me, I missed his smell immediately. All spice and warmth and everything comforting. He didn’t use all the all-natural stuff like I did, but I didn’t mind. What he used worked for him.
“So, what do you want to do now that we’re here?” Andrew asked as he walked over to the kitchen island and leaned against it.
Of course, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’d been more concerned with getting out of the restaurant and away from being embarrassed about Shawn. “I’m not sure. We always think of something.”
I joined him in the kitchen, and the grin he gave me was playful. He looked over at the fridge and I knew immediately what he was looking for. We’d already started drinking back at Margaret’s and, once we started, we often kept going.
Andrew pushed away from the counter, pulled the brand-new bottle ofJose Cuervofrom the top of the fridge, and set it next to me. I stared at it before letting out an airy laugh. “It’s a little pathetic to just sit here and drink, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but it’s sort of our thing. The tequila, anyway. Do you have any shot glasses?”
It was a silly question. We did this often enough that he should know where they were. I bit my lip, fetching them from the cupboard, and then pulled out the two stools at the island. We sat across from each other and, like a dare, Andrew didn’t break eye contact as he unscrewed the cap to the bottle and poured us both a healthy shot.
I didn’t have any limes, but when it was just the two of us, it was as if we wanted to tough—the ones who needed nothing extra to take off the burn of the alcohol. Without thinking, I picked up my glass and tossed it back, grimacing as the sting hit my throat.
“Slow down. We don’t have to just drink it. Maybe a game?” Andrew suggested, his eyebrows raising as he waited for my response.
“Game?” We never played games. And something told me that this could get dangerous... and quickly.
Chapter 9
Andrew
“Truth or Dare.”
Brandon’s eyes widened comically before he looked between me and the shot glasses. “How do you play that with booze?”
“Simple. You pick truth or dare. If you don’t want to tell the truth or complete the dare... you have to take a drink.”
