Xavier growled as he saw Baxter raiding the fries. “Dude! I need those for an order!”
Baxter just grinned. “Aw come on, buddy, it’s just a few fries.”
“Which I need for an order that’s supposed to go out, like now.” With an irritated sigh, Xavier opened a freezer and pulled out a bag, tossing it to Baxter. “Well, drop another basket for me, at the very least.” He grabbed a paper basket full of chicken tenders off the warming counter and handed them to him. “Might as well take these, you damn thief. I’ll just have to drop a whole new order and tell ’em I fucked up.”
After dropping a new basket of fries into the grease, Baxter took the tenders and slapped Xavier on the back. “You’re the best, bro. And anyway, they’re drunk, so it’s not like they’ll even notice it took a few minutes longer than usual.”
I followed Baxter out of the kitchen and into the bar, which was an utter madhouse. People were packed in wall to wall, standing shoulder to shoulder, drinks held up out of the way, jostling to get to the bar to place orders, and dancing to the driving beat of a song being played by Canaan and Corin.
I pressed my mouth to Baxter’s ear. “Wow, it’s crazy in here!”
He laughed, twisting to speak directly into my ear. “Weekend at Badd’s, baby. The boys are crushing it tonight.”
He led me to a booth near the door to the kitchen, in view of the service bar, where Lucian was pulling beers and mixing drinks with such efficient speed it boggled the mind. In the booth were Dru, Mara, and Claire, a spread of food in front of them and a bottle of whiskey. Mara, who was pregnant, was sipping sparkling water and munching on a celery stick, while the other two girls were downing a smorgasbord of fried food and sipping whiskey.
He pressed a hand to my lower back, indicating the booth with the others. “I gotta prep for the fight. You cool hanging here with the girls for a bit?”
“Sure, I’ll be fine. Do your thing,” I said, offering him a smile.
He gave my backside a squeeze and winked at me. “I’ll grab you when it’s time to go. You need anything or want anything, just ask. It’s on the house.”
And then he was gone, weaving through the crowd and out the front door. I slid into the booth beside Claire, who scooted over to make room for me.
“Hi,” I said. “Hope you don’t mind me crashing with you guys for a bit.”
Claire quirked an eyebrow at me. “Of course we mind. We’re a very snobby and exclusive clique, and you’re just not our type, so go away.”
I eyed her, trying to decide if she was kidding. “I can sit somewhere else.”
Claire burst out laughing, elbowing me in the ribs. “I’m kidding. Jesus.” Her eyes raked over me. “You need a drink.”
“I do?”
She stood up on the bench, twisting around to face the service bar. “LUCIAN!” Claire howled. “I NEED A ROCKS GLASS!”
Without missing a beat or even looking up, Lucian snagged a rocks glass, wiggled it in the air, and tossed it to Claire, who caught it and slid back down to her seat.
Claire poured a measure of whiskey into the glass and handed it to me. “You drink whiskey, right?”
I blinked at her. “Um, no?”
“Well, you do now. Drink up, hooker!” Claire raised her own glass and clinked it against mine.
“Hooker?” I asked, sniffing the whiskey. “Why am I a hooker?”
Mara tapped her glass of water against my glass. “It’s Claire’s favorite term of endearment. It means you’re in the cool girls club. If she doesn’t insult you, she doesn’t like you. If she calls you a hooker and makes fun of you, it means she likes you and has accepted you as her friend.”
“Oh.”
Dru clinked me next. “Take a drink so you can spill about Bax.”
I took a fortifying breath and then sipped at the whiskey gingerly. It burned in my mouth, and burned going down my throat, and burned in my stomach. “Oh my gosh. That’s horrible!” I said, coughing and hissing.
Claire stared at me. “Gosh? Did you just…did you just say oh mygosh?”
I ducked my head and shrugged. “Yes?”
“Dude. Not okay. You’re not six, and none of us are nuns.” She lifted her glass to her mouth and threw back a huge gulp. “And you gotta slam it. Big gulps.” She grinned at me. “You like to take big ol’ swallows, don’t you?”
