Page 30 of Retaking the Shot
“How do I look?” she asked, twirling in front of me.
“Absolutely stunning.” I gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Aww, thanks, babe. You clean up nicely too.” She nudged my shoulder playfully.
We ordered a rideshare and headed outside to wait for our driver.
“Aren’t you going to be cold? Maybe you should grab a coat,” I suggested since it was December and freezing out.
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t go to all this work of getting ready to hide this under a jacket. I’m sure it will be warm inside the club.”
“Fine, but don’t beg for my coat when you’re freezing your ass off,” I teased.
Our ride pulled up, and then we were on our way to Chrome. As we entered the club, pulsing with music and flashing lights, Kaylee’s eyes widened in excitement.
“Good choice. This place is awesome,” she commented as we walked toward the bar.
We ordered our drinks: a martini for her and a Coke for me.
“You still aren’t drinking? It’s been like two months.”
The first time she noticed I wasn’t drinking, I’d made up an excuse about some detox I was doing. It wasn’t a total lie, but I didn’t explain why I’d given it up.
I shook my head. “I figured since I’ve gone this long, I might as well keep it up.”
“Well, you have more self-control than I do,” she said as we headed for a small high-top table off to the side of the dance floor so we could people watch.
After our second round, Kaylee leaned closer to me, lowering her voice to be heard above the music. “So, any cute guys catch your eye yet?”
I chuckled. “Not really. I don’t think I’m in the mood for anything tonight.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh, come on! Live a little!”
“I am living.” I reassured her with a grin. “I’m just not interested in a fling at the moment.”
“Fine. If you’re not going to try to hook up with anyone, then we should dance.”
“That I’ll do.”
We had been dancing for a while when I glanced toward the bar and saw another blast from my past. Fallon Donnelley, my former friend and fraternity brother, stood with a group of guys I didn’t know, as well as someone who appeared to be Secret Service. Fallon’s dad had recently won the presidential race and would be sworn into office in about a month. It seemed Fallon already had bodyguards.
“What’s wrong?” Kaylee asked, turning to see what I was looking at.
“It’s nothing. Just saw someone I recognized.”
“You want to go say hi?”
I shook my head. “Nah. He probably doesn’t remember me.”
I doubted he’d forgotten the guy he’d kicked out of Sigma Epsilon, but I wasn’t about to try to have a conversation in the middle of a club with a guy surrounded by Secret Service agents, and who probably still hated me for what I’d done to his best friend. I worried I was going to have to spend the rest of the night avoiding him, but he left soon after I noticed him, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m thirsty.” Kaylee pointed toward the bar, and I followed her off the dance floor.
As we walked toward the bar, I stopped in my tracks because sitting at the bar was Emmett Cooper.
What the fuck was happening? Was the universe playing some sort of cruel joke where I was going to see every single person I had a complicated history with tonight?
Before I could decide whether I wanted to hide or say hi, our eyes locked from across the bar, and he gave me a surprised smile. That left me no choice but to go over and talk to him, or I would look like an asshole.
