Chapter One
Story
Five years later
“One for you, one foryou, and two for me.” Jenny tips back one shot instantly, and then Claire and myself follow suit with ours. “Wooo!” she calls out loudly, slamming the glass on the bar. “Girls, tonight's the night. I can feel it.”
“The night for what?” I ask, hissing through my teeth as I swallow the shot. The liquor burns the back of my throat, warming my belly the second it hits it.
“The night I'm finally going to end my sexless streak.”
Coughing as I laugh, I wipe my lips with the small cocktail napkin. “Wow, what the hell was that you gave me?” I ask, my eyes crinkling as the sensation still sits on the back of my tongue. It tingles, the burn still very very real. “Jesus, Jenn, how fucked up do you want to get?”
She laughs, lazily waving her hand in the air. “That my dear, is One-Fifty-One. Good shit, huh?” Jenny smirks as she pushes the cluster of glasses in front of her further onto the bar, and leans back against it to look out into the crowd.
“That was like drinking fucking gasoline,” Claire says as she shakes her head. She runs a finger under her eye, wiping away a single tear from the sting. “I'm not a wild teen anymore, Jenn, do you want to give me an ulcer?”
Jenny laughs as she watches the people around us dancing. “Light weights,” she says jokingly. “You're twenty-three, not eighty. And even then, my grandmother could still probably drink her way around you both.”
“Excuse me!” the bartender cuts in loudly, getting our attention. The music is so loud, I'm surprised we can hear him at all.
Claire turns first, leaning in so she can hear him better. “Yeah?” she asks, her brows arching high.
“The gentleman at the end of the bar would like to buy you a drink.”
He starts to slide a glass across the smooth bar top, and Jenny perks up excitedly.
“See? I told you. Didn't I tell you? My luck is changing.” Jenny smiles as if she's just won the lottery, reaching out to grab it. “You can tell him I said thank you.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, this isn't for you. It's for her.” He slips it past her hand, and pushes it in front of me. “Red shirt, gray hat. He hopes you enjoy it.”
“Me?”I flick my eyes around the bar, searching for the mystery man. “You made this right? He didn't touch it did he?”
“No, I made it, it's good. Don't worry, he didn't slip anything inside if that's what you're asking.”
I nod, happy to know that the bartender is the only person to touch this drink. You can never be too careful, there are plenty of men out there who will take advantage of a woman if given the chance.
“Screw it if he did,” Jenny says with a smile. “So long as he's hot, he can slip me a little something anytime he wants.”
“Jenny, come on, you don't mean that.” Claire veers her stare and furrows her brows.
“What? You're going to tell me a little cock from a hot guy is a bad thing?”
“Claire is right, Jenny, even a hot guy slipping you some drug to take advantage of you is a bad thing.” I nod, taking a small sip of the new drink in my hand.
Jenn dances her fingers through the air, and grips the straw of her drink with her teeth as she grins. “Don't judge me, I haven't had any good dick in ages. I'll fuck almost anything at this point.”
“Oh my God, Jenn. You know there are some things you really should just keep to yourself.” Claire starts laughing as Jenn shrugs a shoulder, not denying her comment.
The bartender laughs, wiping the top of the bar down before moving on to another customer.
I can't find the man who bought me the drink. I don't see a guy in a red shirt and a gray hat. I don't see anyone who's wearing that at all. My eyes finally land on a man in a blue button-up, his gaze set on me, his mouth folding into a weird smile.
He gives me the creeps instantly.
Leaning over, I ask in Claire's ear, “You think that's him?”
“Maybe. The shirt isn't red, but the bartender could be color blind or something. And maybe he took his hat off so you can see him better. . .” She pauses, squinting to get a better look.
