“ZAIN!” she shouted. “Get your ass over here and give your girl a proper musical education!”
Zain sauntered over and threw his arm around my shoulders.
“Are you being a music snob again, Kay?” he asked.
“She doesn’t—!” Kaylee sputtered. “Nancy—! Jessica Simpson!!”
“What’s wrong with Jessica Simpson?” I asked, confused.
“I need some air,” Kaylee declared, throwing her hands up and stomping over to the balcony doors.
“I just wanted to sing something fun for karaoke,” I explained to Zain, still lost.
He placed a kiss on the top of my head.
“What song did you want to sing?” he asked. “I’ll program it for you.”
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”
Zain paused in the middle of pressing a button on the machine. Then he shook his head and chuckled.
“I see,” was all he said.
I didn’t know what the big deal was. It was just a song. Oh well.
“I don’t think this machine has that one,” Zain told me after fiddling with the buttons. “Want to choose something else?”
“Maybe we could do a duet?” I suggested. Having Zain up there with me might ease some of my nerves.
“Let me see what we’ve got for song options,” he said, turning back to the machine.
Without warning, the door flew open and hit the opposite wall with a bang.
“Did someone say tequila shots?” Finn called out as he lowered his foot from where he’d kicked the door. He held a bottle in one hand and a bowl full of lime wedges in the other.
“Shots, shots, shots!” Kaylee cheered.
“I’d wondered where you’d gone off to,” Micah said. “You just disappeared.” He grabbed the bowl and examined it. “I didn’t know we had limes.”
“I took a quick trip to the store,” Finn said. “Now the party can really get started.”
A sinking feeling swelled up in my stomach. Zain put a hand on my arm.
“Maybe we can skip doing shots for tonight?” he suggested to Finn. “We worked pretty hard today, we should probably take it easy.”
“It’s because we worked hard that we deserve a break,” Finn insisted.
“We don’t need to drink to do that,” Zain said.
Finn’s eyes landed on me suspiciously. “So just because she doesn’t drink, that means we’re not allowed to drink, either?”
The group of them all turned to look at me.
“Finn—” Zain began to say.
“It’s okay,” I interrupted. I didn’t want this to turn into a big thing. “You guys can do whatever you want. I don’t mind. It’s fine.”
“See, she said it’s fine.” Finn began laying out the shot glasses and filling them to the brim. “We’ll do a couple rounds to take the edge off and then we’ll be off to bed at a reasonable hour like good little girls and boys.”
