Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,47
be a dick either way, why stop yourself from having fun at his expense?”
I thought about that. There was a certain satisfaction in the idea of doing something to spite Nick, even if it was petty. “Just one more glass,” I said.
An hour later, my head was thoroughly spinning. Max was about ten minutes deep in a story about some locker room confrontation that had led to a fistfight back in his high school days. He had stood up and was acting out the story, punching, ducking, and weaving to the side.
My phone buzzed from inside my purse. “Hey,” I said, stopping Max. “I’ve got to run to the bathroom for a sec, sorry.”
“Oh,” he said, deflating a bit. “Okay. I’ll order you another drink for when you get back.”
I stood, nearly fell sideways, and then tried to not look as drunk as I felt on my way to the bathroom. I checked my phone once I was inside and alone in a stall.
Nick: You two planning to stay out all night? Do I need to remind you this is a work event, not a personal vacation?
I glared down at my phone and thought up a response that would be witty and biting—and teach him to stop trying to control me. In my drunken haze, I pulled up the camera app and snapped a shot of my ass in the black dress I was wearing and captioned it, Drinks are on the company tab! Kiss this! I added a bunch of random emojis and fired off the text before I had time to think it over.
I stumbled back to the bar and looked at the drink Max had ordered me. With uncharacteristic abandon, I threw back a long gulp. I almost immediately regretted it, as even the motion of tilting my head back sent everything spinning.
Closing my eyes only made it worse. It felt like I was in a washing machine, and even with all the nausea-inducing dizziness, I still couldn’t stop thinking about how silly I felt for doing all this to spite Nick. Even behind wine goggles, it had become clear that I wasn’t romantically interested in Max after five minutes of listening to him talk tonight. If I was honest with myself, I think I’d known it from the moment he got in the car with me at the airport. Deep down, I knew I was just using the excuse of his story helping our business because I wanted to put Nick’s feelings to the test.
Ugh. When had I become so pathetic? I distantly wondered if it was less of a bitchy move when the plan hadn’t been premeditated. And how could it have been? I’d been off balance from the moment Nick had walked back into my life. Everything I did was just a desperate grab for stability—one wild, scrabbling grasp after another. And tonight was a new low, even by my recent standards.
I thought I might pass out any minute, and I felt deep, terrifying pangs of panic at the idea of Max being responsible for taking me back to our cabin. I almost sent another text to Nick asking him to come rescue me, but there was no way to do it without Max seeing.
I tried to will myself to sobriety, but I was too far gone, so I resolved to stare glassy eyed at the bar and refuse to drink another drop of alcohol. I was not going to pass out.
Chapter 14
NICK
I commandeered a golf cart to get to the bar faster. I’d covered Miranda’s ass in the picture she’d sent me while I showed every employee I could find. I needed to know which bar had a bathroom that looked like the one in the image. I tore through the quaint little pathways, dodging more than a few pairs of Bark Bites employees who were drunkenly staggering home, jogging with their dogs, or just out enjoying a nighttime stroll.
When I arrived at the bar, I found Max Frost and Miranda on their way out. Max was holding Miranda, who looked like she was on the verge of passing out. He had her arm slung around his neck and his hand around her waist as he half dragged her.
I stopped the golf cart directly in front of them and stepped out. I knew rolling up in a golf cart was probably the least intimidating way on earth to make an entrance, but I didn’t care. “Miranda, are you okay?” I asked.