Page 22 of One More Shot
I shake my head and tell myself the only reason Dane is in the forefront of my mind is because of his unexpected message and nothing else. ‘I’m good.’
Leanne shrugs and lifts her glass, gesturing for me to do the same. ‘To sisters!’ she cheers.
‘To sisters,’ I echo before downing the drink in one smooth gulp. It’s actually quite nice. The warmth of the liqueur mixes nicely with the coolness of the whipped cream and helps to relax me a little. I can practically feel my lingering irritation rolling off me in waves.
Leanne gulps hers down just as smoothly and uses the back of her hand to wipe away any whipped cream on her face. ‘You want another? Ooh, maybe we should do some tequila shots this time?’
‘Let’s slow it down a bit,’ I laugh. ‘We’ll grab a table, get something to eat, maybe switch to cocktails for a while.’
Leanne suddenly looks uncomfortable. She squirms a little on her stool and her grin quickly turns sheepish. ‘Right. Well. The thing is—’
‘If you’re about to bail on me—’
‘I’mnotbailing!’ Leanne squeaks, voice far too defensive for someone who is absolutely about to bail. ‘I told you, I’ve got that party after this, so I thought I could use this as pre-drinks and as a way for us to catch up. Two birds, one stone.’
‘We’re supposed to be having dinner,’ I say, trying my best not to let disapproval lace my every word. I’m always very aware of the ten years between us and just how easy it is for me to fall into thatmotherrole. Effortless really. But I hate it and I know she does too. Ninety per cent of our arguments when she was a kid were about how I wasn’t her mother and couldn’t tell her what to do – usually shrieked at me when she was seconds away from doing something incredibly dangerous, stupid, or an ill-advised combo of the two. I always agreed wholeheartedly, but someone has to do it.
‘I know, I know,’ Leanne winces. She looks genuinely sorry. ‘But I completely forgot about our plans when I RSVP’d to the party, and Jake is going to be there so—’
‘Jake? Who’s Jake?’
Her eyes light up. ‘He’s a guy on my course andoh my God, have I not told you about Jake? How have I not told you about Jake?’
‘That’s what tonight was supposed to be,’ I remind her. ‘Us catching up. Jake probably would’ve come up at some point.’
‘We can still catch up!’ Leanne insists. ‘We’ve still got twenty minutes before I have to leave. Thirty-five,’ she amends quickly, shuffling a little closer so she can squeeze my hand. ‘Don’t give me that look, Elz. We can still have a good time. And I promise I’ll make it up to you. It’s half-term in a couple of weeks. Maybe we can do a girls’ night or something?’
I valiantly resist the urge to tell her that tonight was supposed to be our girls’ night and instead give her a stiff nod. ‘All right. But I want your undivided attention for the next thirty-five minutes.’
Leanne drops her phone into her purse and zips it up with a flourish. ‘I’m all yours.’
Two more rounds of shots, one round of cocktails later, and Leanne is in hysterics as I tell her about a nightmare wedding I photographed a month or so ago.
‘He didnotsay that in his speech,’ Leanne wheezes, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. ‘I refuse to believe a grown man could be so obtuse. Absolutely refuse.’
‘He did! The poor bride looked like she wanted to melt through the floor. And her father?’ I shake my head and click my tongue. ‘Let’s just say if looks could kill, I’m pretty sure they’d be planning a funeral right now.’
‘Unbelievable,’ Leanne says, dabbing at her eyes. ‘Please tell me you got photos?’
‘I stopped taking them about halfway through the speech when I realised there was no redeeming it. But yeah. Managed to capture that initial look of horror from the bride.’
‘Poor girl,’ Leanne sniffs before her expression turns curious. ‘Does seeing that kind of stuff put you off marriage? Or dating in general?’
I huff out a dry laugh.That’snot what’s been putting me off dating recently, but Leanne doesn’t need to know that. ‘Not really. They’re more like cautionary tales, I guess. You get a first-hand idea of what not to look for in a partner. And—’ I pause, my thoughts drifting to Bailey and Cash for a surprising second, ‘And what to look for. The green flags, you know?’
Leanne nods thoughtfully. ‘Speaking of green flags…’ She trails off and reaches for her purse, pulling her phone out in one smooth movement. Her phone lights up with a flurry of notifications, all from someone saved as ‘JAKE <3’, and her expression turns sheepish. ‘I should really start heading to the party.’
‘Go, go,’ I say, waving her off.
‘Are you sure? I could maybe stay for another…’ She glances at her phone. ‘Ten minutes.’
I nod. As short as tonight was, I had a good time and the last thing I need is for Leanne to start feeling like shehasto spend time with me. ‘Go and have fun.’
She leans in and gives me a brief but tight hug before pulling away to slide off her stool. ‘You’re the best, Elz. And IpromiseI’ll make it up to you.’
‘How’re you getting there?’ I ask, watching as she wobbles slightly on her heels.
‘Tube,’ she says with a shrug. ‘Won’t take too long.’
