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looked at him. Kelsey had been right; he was cute. And he was definitely interested.
I tried to imagine what sleeping with him might be like. I tried to imagine the shedding
of our clothes, his hands against my skin, his lips against mine. I tried, but every image I
conjured was of Garrick doing those things, not Brandon.
Damn, why couldn t I just snap my ingers and not be a virgin anymore? Why did sex
have to be involved? And why was it that all I could think about was Garrick, but I d even
backed out of sex with him?
Why did my brain absolutely refuse to make sense?
Brandon answered his question for himself, I m guessing that s probably a no. It usually
is if it takes that long to answer.
I smiled a tight, close-lipped smile. Sorry. You seem really nice, but I m just not that
interested& right now. Damn, I always did that. I sucked at confrontation, so I always added
phrases like right now.
Brandon nodded, It s cool. Don t worry about it. I, uh, better get back to work though.
He didn t wait for my answer before he strode down the length of the bar to help a
customer at the far end. Sighing, I made my way to the bathroom, where I splashed some
water on my face.
It didn t help the chaos in my brain, but I could feel the alcohol tingling in my stomach,
and that at least made me feel okay with the chaos.
I returned to the table, where another two shots were waiting for me, courtesy of Cade,
and thankfully the conversation was on to some other gossip that didn t involve Garrick. By
the time we d had the next round, my skin felt like a warm blanket and my throat ached from
laughing at things that may or may not have actually been funny. We were all gone enough
that our conversation had devolved into fragments, inside jokes, and laughter.
I am so drunk, Rusty started, That I just want to sit in my car and play my accordion
until I m sober.
My laughter was embarrassingly loud. You have an accordion?
Hell, yes, I do. Wanna listen to me play?
Of course!
I left my wallet with Cade, so he could pay for mine. I gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek
as a reward.
Oh! Me too! Me too! Kelsey cried. She gave her wallet to Cade, too, with a head pat
instead of the kiss, and Rusty wrapped an arm around each of us.
Take notes, boys! The ladies always love a man who can play an instrument!
Lindsay snorted, Your instrument doesn t even like girls, Rusty!
Doesn t mean they don t like it!
I m sure the volume in the bar lowered by half when we were gone, but I couldn t tell the
difference. It was still loud in my head. After a few minutes, the rest of the group joined us
outside on the hood of Rusty s car, where he was playing his accordion and singing a song he
said was French (but I m pretty sure was just gibberish).
It didn t really matter to us. After a few minutes, we knew the gibberish enough to sing
along. We serenaded the bar s patrons as they meandered to their cars at 2 AM. We sang in
English and gibberish. We sang Britney Spears and Madonna and Phantom of the Opera. Cade
did some ridiculous rap where he rhymed maybe with scabies. And we continued serenading
until they were all gone, and the owner came out to tell us to get lost.
We were all still too drunk to drive, except for maybe Jeremy, but none of our cars were
big enough to fit us all.
So on a whim I said, Let s go to my place. It s about half a mile away, but I m pretty sure
I ve got vodka in my freezer.
So with a battle cry of Vodka! we were off.
I came to regret that night later, but then, I just hadn t wanted it to end.
Chapter Twelve
Somewhere between the bar and my apartment, I lost my shoes. They were low heels,
but they were killing my feet all the same. So, I simply bent over and pushed them off.
Whoa, babe, what are you doing?
I fell into Cade, giggling. I thought I was drunk before, but now that a little time had
passed& It had really hit me. I was possibly farther gone than I d ever been. Shoes are stupid.
Why do people wear them?
He laughed, So they don t step on a nail and get tetanus, that s why.
Wear. Where. Wear. W s are wwweeird.
He laughed, so I laughed, even though I had no idea what was funny.
You re adorable. Come here. I ll give you a piggyback ride home to save your feet.
Yay!
He squatted, and I leapt onto his back. With my high heels in his hands, we teetered
down the road. When we walked into my parking lot, I was singing a made up song that went
something like, Cade is my hero! Zero to hero!
What do you mean zero? I was never a zero!
Cade is my best friend! One day we re gonna be on West End! His car smells like cheese!
I just wanna give him a squeeze!
Rusty called, Give him a squeeze in private!
And Rusty is a douche! And the wind in my hair smells like whoosh!
Cade laughed, Don t you mean sounds?
What sounds?
Nevermind, He chuckled.
I saw my apartment come into view.
Aw, crap. I forgot my purse.
I ve got it, babe.
You do? You re the best!
I gave him a loud, smacking kiss. I d been aiming for his cheek, but I think it landed
somewhere on his neck.
About that time, I heard Jeremy shout, Hey! Mr. T! What s up?
There s a wrestler here? I asked.
Nah, it s Mr. Taylor.
I squeaked, let go of Cade s shoulder, and leaned back to look for him. In doing so, I threw
off Cade s balance, and the both of us toppled to the ground, him on top of me.
I groaned.
Shiiiit. Cade weighs a lot. Way more than I thought! I moaned/sang.
I felt adrift, my world rocking like I was out at sea.
Cade said, Hey Mr. Taylor.
Hello Cade. You all right?
Sure thing. He pushed himself up onto his knees, and then stood. When he tried to pick
me up too, I got a good look at Garrick staring down at me. His hair was all sexy and his grin so
gorgeous.
It wasn t fair that he looked so good.
I groaned and covered my eyes.
Why does the world hate me?
They both laughed, but it wasn t funny. SERIOUSLY. Why does the world hate me?
Come on, babe. Cade tried to pull me up, but my body felt dead.
I don t think I can stand, I told him. I feel like a wet noodle.
Do you now? Cade s amused face looked away from me, and my eyes drifted shut. Do
you mind, Mr. Taylor?
The next thing I knew I was in the air and I was lying. I leaned to my left, and there was
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