Damaged (Boys of Winter #2) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,96
shot glass is filled and before the guy can even pull his hand away, my fingers are curling around the cool glass and raising it to my mouth. I throw it back and revel in the burn that flows down my throat. “Woah,” a familiar voice says, stepping in beside me. “Why didn’t you come get me? If I knew we were doing shots, I would have come to play, but now I have to play catch-up instead.”
I can’t help but smile at Ember. I can always trust her to be down with whatever fucked up situation I throw her way. “Don’t even think about it,” I tell her. “After what you’ve already drunk, if you started playing catch-up, you’re going to end up spending the night in the hospital getting your stomach pumped.”
Ember laughs, grabbing my used shot glass and pushing it toward the bartender. “Hit me,” she says to the guy before looking back at me. “Girl, you have to give me more credit. If anyone around here can handle their liquor, it’s me.”
“Okay,” I tell her as a cocky grin stretches across my face. “But I think I’m up to my fifth or sixth shot.”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “Six? Fuck. Umm … okay,” she says as a nervous confidence settles over her. “I’ve got this. It’s just a temporary setback. Six. Cool, okay. Let’s go, just promise you’ll hold my hair back later because I’ll be pissed if you let me get chunks all through it. Do you have any idea what it just cost me to get it colored?”
I laugh and watch as she takes her shot, knowing exactly how much she paid to have her hair done and still reeling from it. I don’t understand how it could possibly cost so much, though don’t get me wrong, it looks incredible and has a liveliness to it that I could never even dream about recreating for my own. I’d love to experience the whole fancy salon thing just once, but for me, it’s been cheap box dye from the store since I was fourteen and decided that darker was better. I was a golden blonde before that, and I’ve never looked back.
Once the shot glass hits the bar and she slides it back toward the guy, I quickly reach out and grab it. “I’m just screwing with you,” I tell her. “I only had two.”
Ember’s eyes narrow in suspicion and it’s clear as day that she doesn’t believe me. “You’re lying.”
I shrug my shoulder. “Maybe,” I grin. “But let’s not pretend that you haven’t been drinking since the second I went outside.”
Ember laughs to herself, knowing damn well that I’m right. “Speaking of what you’ve been up to tonight,” she starts, making my heart kick into gear. “What the fuck was going down with you, Sara, and Carver?”
My eyes bug out of my head. “You saw that?”
“The whole fucking room saw it. I’m not going to lie, I’m kinda jealous. It was hot as fuck. I’d be the filling in that sandwich any day, but whatever is going on between you and Carver, you’ve got issues.”
“Tell me about it,” I grumble under my breath.
Ember scans the room, knowing all too well that while my response was filled with hidden meanings and untold stories, that there’s no point in asking. “Did you happen to see Jacob on your travels?” she asks, making my brow arch as nerves pulse through my veins. “I just texted him like twenty minutes ago and he said that he was just pulling up.”
“I, umm …” I shrug my shoulder feeling like the world’s worst friend as I spy King across the room and realize that he was the one sent to watch over me. I should tell her the truth and spare her as much heartache as possible, but how am I supposed to admit that the guys and I caught her boyfriend out in the bushes organizing a hit on me? Am I supposed to just come out and tell her we snapped his neck and buried him in a shallow grave? Well, partially buried him at least, I’m not sure how fast the guys work. “I haven’t. Maybe he found some friends and just got caught up.”
She nods, her gaze sweeping across the room once again and catching the way King watches us. “I’m going to go and check out back. I’d ask you to come but King looks like he’s about ready to tear you a