Page 49 of Saved
Jason shifted in his seat, but Onyx held her bottle up so we all leaned in. “To Lucy and Jason. May you have a beautiful wedding, and an even more beautiful life together.” We all clinked our bottles together and sipped. “Maybe cutie patootie over there can be my plus one.”
“Onyx!”
“Hey, he’s single, I’m single. It’s not like I’m breaking some rule or something.”
I shook my head but smiled at her. He was adorable, but definitely not ready for her. Onyx kept chatting and Mike and Jason started their own conversation about college football. I glanced at Lucy. She smiled at me, but her eyes were curious. I gave her a small nod of appreciation for changing the subject, hoping she understood. Her returned nod made me think she did.
Almost two hours passed, and three baskets of nachos had been picked over.
Mike leaned in close. “Hey, you about ready to head home?”
Onyx whined, “So soon? I was just about to get the nerve up to go ask Matty Ice if he ever got a night off.”
I rolled my eyes but stood up and Mike followed. “He has work tomorrow and he’s our driver. Plus, you don’t need to go harass that man in this condition.”
Onyx rolled her eyes but stood up. Mike and Onyx pulled out cash and tossed it on the table. Lucy and Jason both grabbed it and pushed it back to them. “Nope,” is all Jason said.
Onyx threw the cash down and ran toward the door, turning to stick her tongue out. She turned to face the bar. “Byeeeeee! See you soon!”
I squeezed Lucy fast then took off toward the door to push Onyx outside before she scared Matt into not coming back to work.
It was stifling outside, but Mike wasn’t far behind. Once my legs stopped, my buzz really hit me. I hadn’t sat and had drinks like that in a long time.
“Whoa, you alright?” he asked as he steadied me.
I smiled up at him. “Yeah, guess I had more than I realized. Or chasing after her jostled all the beer around.”
He helped us both into the car and headed to the apartments. He was so yummy.
Chapter 20
Mike
When we got back to the apartment it was dark out and the streetlights were glowing. It was still hot and sticky outside when I opened the car door. I helped them out and both of them were wobbly.
“You wait here, I’ll walk Onyx to her door, so she doesn't fall down the stairs.”
Jaz was propped against my door as I guided her sister up the steps and made sure she got inside and locked the door behind her. Onyx was wobbly but not completely out of it, so I figured she could handle it from there.
I went back down to my door and unlocked it, guiding Jaz inside. She had been staying over so much she had pajamas and clothes for the morning. She even had put a bunch of hair products and fruity lotions in the bathroom. If it were up to me, she’d just move it all downstairs.
“Do you want some water?” I asked after I put her on the sofa and turned the TV on.
“Yeah, probably.”
After filling two glasses with ice water, I also grabbed a sports drink from the fridge. “Here, drink this first, then the water. You’ll feel like a million bucks in the morning.”
Reaching for the drink she looked at the label and grimaced. “I hate this flavor.”
Chuckling, I pointed out, “You’re feisty when you're drunk. But this will help you not feel awful tomorrow.”
She rolled her eyes. “Where did you learn that, nursing school or frat parties?”
“Ouch. I learned in high school weightlifting, if you must know. Drinking dehydrates you just like excessive sweating. But you know that, Dr. Stewart.”
“Exactly. Doctor.”
At first, I thought she was just kidding and drunk, but her last comment was pretty sharp. “Are you alright?”
