“Oh, don’t be a party pooper, Jack,” Sadie cried. “Besides, we haven’t finished the initiation yet.”
Charli’s eyebrows shot up. “Initiation? What initiation?”
“Why, your initiation, dear...into the Royal Conch Society,” Hazel replied, ending with a loud belch. “You’re a member now, you know. We have to make it official.”
Charli’s face scrunched again. “What’s the process?”
Miriam snickered and raised her glass. “Exactly what we’re doing now—we all get drunk together.”She shrugged. “Of course, we get drunk together all the time, initiation or not.”
Jack snorted. “Ladies, I think you’ve accomplished your mission. Charli has been officially initiated.” He looked around the group. “How about I call Hal and ask him to bring the taxi around to take you all home? Then I’ll get Charli to bed. We have an early start in the morning and she won’t want to miss this.”
The group collectively groaned, heads dropping to the table.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Flora chimed in. “The room is starting to move on me.”
Jack smirked and pulled out his phone. “I’ll get Hal here in a jiffy. In the meantime, you each need to be drinking water.” He nudged the glass in front of Charli. “Including you. Trust me, you want to drink this down tonight. It’ll help with the hangover tomorrow.”
He held the phone up to his ear, waiting for a moment. “Hey Hal, it’s Jack.”
“Hiya, Jack. How’s it going?” Hal responded.
“I’m good. Listen. I’m at Dottie’s old place with the society and they all need a pick up.”
Hal groaned. “Oh, Lord. Are they all drunk again?”
Jack grinned. “As a matter of fact, they are. They were initiating Dottie’s niece tonight, but I shut it down before it got completely out of hand.”
Hal chortled. “Thank god. We don’t need them running naked down Duval again. Some things you just can’t unsee. I’ll bring the van. Be there in a few minutes.” Hal disconnected the line.
“Hal will be here soon,” Jack announced to the room. He looked down at Charli who was staring blankly at the glass of water in front of her. He nudged it toward her again. “You really need to drink this. You’ll feel better in the morning,” he cajoled softly.
That seemed to register as she bobbed her head. She carefully picked up the glass and began to take small sips.
A horn honked outside several minutes later. “Hal’s here,” Jack announced to the room as he walked to the door and opened it. He stuck his head out and waved to Hal. “I’m gonna need some help here.”
Hal groaned and got out of the van. “Figures,” he grumbled.
“Okay, ladies. Hal’s gonna take you home,” Jack drawled.
The ladies stood in unison and began to sway around the room while attempting to gather theirthings. Miriam stumbled over to Charli and patted her on the back. “Congratulations, dear. You are now an official member of the Royal Conch Society,” she mumbled as she leaned down for a quick hug. “We’ll be in touch.” The rest of the ladies followed her out the door, patting and hugging Charli as they went.
Hal rolled his eyes and gave Jack a long-suffering glance. “You owe me one.”
Jack chuckled. “Don’t be so dramatic. They’re not too bad tonight. I cut them off before it really got out of control.”
Hal grunted and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Jack looked down at Charli who still sat silently at the table, staring off into space. He nudged her arm gently. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
She stood and frowned at the glasses and bottles that littered the counters. “Oh no. I need to clean this mess up.”
“It can wait until tomorrow,” he answered. “Come on. We have an early start in the morning and you need some sleep.”
Her head bobbed again and she let him lead her up the stairs to her room. She stumbled into the bathroom and closed the door.
Jack glanced around the room and walked over to open her bedroom window. The cool night air wouldhelp her sleep. As he turned from the window, Charli emerged from the bathroom and quickly stripped off her dress as she crossed the room, weaving toward the bed in only a matching set of blue undergarments.
Jack swallowed hard and tried to avert his eyes as he helped her climb into bed. He wanted to climb in with her and touch every inch of her creamy skin. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and his body’s response was obvious. Luckily, Charli was too drunk to notice. His better nature won out and he tucked her gently under the covers.
