Page 86 of No Limos Allowed


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"You mean that I won't tell anyone?" She hesitated. "Fine."

"And that includes your roommate," I warned, thinking of Ryder and whatever trail he was onto.

Her mouth tightened before she said it again. "Fine."

"Alright, here it is." I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck. "I lost a bet."

She squinted like "lost a bet" was code for "on the run." She said nothing in reply.

"With friends," I added.

Her expression cleared. "Ohhhh…with Macallan."

Huh?"Macallan who?"

"I don't know, but you mentioned his name…you know, that first day on the dock."

Oh. That.Recalling how I felt during the ferry ride over, I swallowed hard enough to choke down a Buick."Macallan's no friend ofmine."

Her brow wrinkled. "So…you had a falling out?"

"You could say that."

She paused to think. "Lemme guess. Because of the bet."

"No." I smiled. "Because Macallan's a brand of whiskey."

She blinked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." What Ididn'tmention was that we'd been drinking Macallan 30, named for its age. At three decades, the bottle we'd polished off during the game had been older than Maisie and worth more than a month's wages – at least at a bike shop.

And it wasn't even close.

I finished by saying, "And yeah, we did have a falling out." I grimaced. "Maybe five glasses in."Hell, it could've been ten for all I recalled. Regardless, I'd had a lot.

"Oh. I guess that explains it." She gave a shaky laugh. "I mean…youdidseem kind of mad at him."

Mad wasn't the word."Trust me, you have no idea."

"So…about this bet. What kind was it?"

"Poker."

"So you lost money?"

I snorted. "I wish."

"What doesthatmean?"

"We weren't playing for money – at least not in that final hand."

"Why not?"

My stomach turned at the memory, fuzzy as it was. "Because of Ryder. You know, the guy who sent the Raisin Gram?"

She nodded.

"Anyway," I continued, "he wanted to get creative. And like a dumbass, I went along." Of course, the whiskey hadn't helped. By the end, I'd found myself well beyond the point of making good decisions.