Page 23 of Blue Hawaiian
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I need to use the bathroom.”
She tottered toward the ladies’ room, occasionally stopping to brace herself against the wall. Once inside the restroom, she splashed cold water on her face.
Get it together. You’re going to have a great night with Lance. Wild, passionate sex, just like you wanted.
Leaning on the sink, she tried to picture Lance’s face. His body. But all she could conjure up was Connor’s face. The image of his chiseled, naked body, illuminated by the firelight, when they’d made love in front of the fireplace at Big Bear. No matter how hard she’d tried to forget that night, it was seared onto her brain.
If she wasn’t careful, all the memories would come flooding back. During the two weeks she’d been with Connor, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Nothing she’d experienced since then had ever come close.
“Jess? Are you all right?” Luisa stood beside her, applying a fresh coat of lipstick.
“I think…I…might have had too much to drink.” Jess looked away in shame.
“Why don’t you call a ride-share and go back to the hotel? I can go with you.”
Her cousin’s compassion made Jess even more aware of her pathetic state. “What about you and Connor?”
“Honestly?” Luisa laughed and tossed her hair. “He’s hot, but he’s been staring at you all night. I can’t compete.”
Hearing that news played havoc with Jess’s shaky equilibrium. She didn’t want Connor. Shecouldn’twant him. What she wanted was to have great sex with Lance so she’d get Connor out of her mind. “Oh. We…um…had a thing a long time ago. But it’s over. Way over. And I promised Gabi I’d spend the evening with Lance.”
“But not if you’re this wasted.” Luisa gave her a hard stare. “You realize you don’t owe him anything, right?”
She nodded, feeling chastised.
“Let me know if you want to go back, okay? I don’t mind cutting out early.” Luisa gave her hair an extra fluff, then strolled out of the ladies’ room.
Even if her cousin’s advice had been well-meaning, Jess chose to ignore it. If she turned Lance down tonight, he’d find someone else tomorrow. And, once again, she’d be tempted to chase after Connor. But if she gave in to him, she’d get her heart broken all over again.
Sheneededthis distraction.
She took a few deep breaths and headed toward the bar. A shot of something potent might get her back in the game. She caught the bartender’s attention. “Hey there, handsome. Can I get a Fireball Shooter?”
One of her favorites when she needed a second wind, back when she and her friends used to close down the bar in college.
“You sure?” he asked. “You look like you’ve had a lot already.”
Was it that obvious? She batted her lashes at him. “I’mfine. And I’m not driving anywhere. Hit me.”
As she downed the potent combination of rum, cinnamon schnapps, and Tabasco, her eyes watered. She gave a full-body shudder, blinked a few times, and set the shot glass back on the bar. “Thanks. I needed that.”
She turned to leave, only to plow into Gabi. “Oops. Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
Gabi grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Um…drinking? It’s abar, Gabi.”
Her sister’s voice was terse. “You’re drunk. I can smell it on your breath. It’s time for you to call it a night. The party’s over.”
Jess grinned at Gabi, hoping she’d lighten up. “Nope. The party’s just getting started.’”
Gabi let out her breath. “Enough. You need to act like an adult.”
“And you need to get that stick out of your ass.” Giving her sister a little salute, Jess tugged her arm out of her grasp. If she spent any more time with Gabi, she’d ruin her buzz.
She wove back to her table, only to find everyone had vanished except Lance. “Where’d the party go?”
