Since the bar had gotten busier around midnight, Frank didn’t end up cutting me, and I stayed past last call. We were fortunate to have a cleaning crew come in after hours, so the only closing duty I had was to make sure all the glasses were picked up from my section. That only took a few minutes to finish once the bar was cleared out, and then I was heading for the back room to get my things.
Too tired to change into my regular clothes, I just zipped my coat over my tank top and hoped the fishnets kept me warm enough in the cold. I carried my bag through the empty bar and hurried out the front entrance.
There were several people standing outside, the sidewalk almost as busy as the front of the bar had been, and within a few steps, I heard someone yell my name, followed by, “Come over here.”
It was Dylan, standing off to the side with Ashe and a guy I didn’t know.
As Dylan waved for me to come closer, I could tell from his voice and the movement of his hand how many drinks he’d had. I’d had that ability from a young age, even able to detect if drugs had been mixed into the booze.
A human breathalyzer, I liked to call it.
“Hey, gentlemen,” I said as I went over to them. My feet hurt from wearing these boots all night, and the wind was whipping past my legs, causing me to shiver.
Dylan and Ashe separated, and I stood in between them. Ashe immediately introduced me to his other friend.
“How did I not know you worked here?” Dylan asked.
I laughed. “I don’t know. I haven’t been hiding.”
Dylan draped his arm around my shoulders, a gesture that was only friendly. “We’re practically family at this point. I think that calls for a discount on all future shots.”
“Family, huh?” I continued to chuckle. “Like you’re my brother from a different mother?”
“I was thinking, more like a sister-in-law.” He took a step back, lifting his arm off me, and Ashe caught him to help keep him steady.
“I think our friend here has had plenty of shots,” Ashe said.
And so had Ashe, but he wasn’t nearly as drunk as Dylan. He wasn’t slurring, and his feet were much steadier on the ground.
For some reason, that pleased me.
“Next time you guys come in, I’m sure I can arrange something,” I told Dylan. “But that depends on one thing …”
Dylan shifted his weight, and I knew it wasn’t on purpose. “Talk to me, Goose.”
I smiled. “How about you put together a few more study groups? It’s going to be a long semester, and this class is out of my wheelhouse, but it’s far too late to drop it and pick up another elective.”
“Done—with one exception.”
“A counteroffer?” I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping that would add more warmth. “I’m listening.”
“You go out with my boy Ashe.”
I should have known.
I’d fallen right into that one.
My head leaned back, the air slapping against my open neck, and I slowly turned to Ashe. His grin was warm. His eyes were a heat that moved through me as fast as a shower would cover my skin.
A few more study sessions would help me tremendously, but spending time alone with him would get me in serious trouble.
I felt all three sets of eyes on me while I focused on Dylan’s and answered, “I don’t date.”
“You don’t drink,” Dylan replied, his brows furrowed to the point of a wrinkle. “And you don’t date. What do you do, Pearl?”
“I study.” As I took a breath, there was a quiver in the back of my throat—a reminder that I was nothing like the students I went to school with.
High school had been much of the same. I’d accepted that a long time ago, but moments like this made it hard—moments when the differences were voiced and I had to acknowledge them.
I turned my stare to Ashe, the disappointment so present in his eyes. “And that’s what I have to go do now. Good night, guys.”
I rushed down the sidewalk, feeling his gaze on me with every step until I turned at the cross street, where the freezing air found its way back to my skin.