“Okay,” Taylor said. “This shouldn’t be too difficult since there’s two of us and three of you, and all of us are horrible.”
“Yup. The catch is that if you lose,” I said, “You’re buying three big guys drinks, and the tab’s split between two people. If we lose, we’re buying two lightweight girls drinks and the tab’s split between the three of us.”
“I passed fifth grade math, so yeah, I understand how it would all work,” Taylor said with a smirk.
“So you’re in, then?” Toby asked.
“I’m in.”
“Me too,” I said, mainly just to spend a little more time with Taylor.
Carter and Sophia agreed too, and Toby said, “Ladies first.”
Sophia set up and managed to get her ball in with only four shots, which was probably the best she’d done since we’d started. “Okay, one of you go now.”
Carter was the first to putt, and even though he hit the stones in the middle of the green, he recovered and sank his in four shots too.
Then Toby went so the girls wouldn’t finish their shots before two guys hadn’t gone yet. With Taylor and I the last to go, the score was seven to four, with the girls in the lead. As long as Taylor didn’t fuck up royally, they’d win.
“It would’ve made more sense if one of you had gone first,” Taylor said, pointing out what the rest of us were all probably thinking.
“It’s fine. Shouldn’t make much of a difference. I’ll get a hole in one, and you’ll probably get a nine like you did earlier, and we can all go to Rafferty’s to celebrate our win.”
“I’m not gonna get a nine,” she said with an exaggerated laugh most likely to show how ridiculous she thought my prediction was. “This is the easiest hole.”
“Guess we’ll see in a minute.”
Chapter Ten
R A N S O M
“Who eats wings naked?” Taylor asked as I brought the drumstick up to my mouth.
“I’m not eating wings naked. I’m eating naked wings.”
“Semantics.” She pulled off the chunk of pineapple from the small straw in her drink and took a bite.
“It’s not semantics. The way you worded it not only sounds like I should be arrested, it also sounds extremely dangerous.”
“We can get the others to weigh in if you want.” She was already motioning to Sophia, Carter, and Toby, who were congregating at the bar while Xander and Brody tried to keep up with the drink orders. “Hey, Soph!”
“They’re gonna take my side on this. Just want to warn you before you embarrass yourself.”
“Ha! Since when have you known me to be scared of embarrassing myself?”
She had a point. “By all means then,” I said, gesturing toward the bar. “Should we make another wager?”
“Why? So you can lose again?” Guess the drinks hadn’t affected her wit yet.
I leaned back against the wrought-iron chair and raised my eyebrows at her. “I’ll take my chances. Sophia! Carter!”
They turned around that time, and I motioned for them to come over to the table. They’d originally sat down with us, but they’d gotten sidetracked after going up to the bar to say hi.
“What’s up?” Carter asked before recognizing there was food on the table. “Oooh, wings. Thanks for letting me know.” He grabbed a few napkins and a wing, but I had a feeling he couldn’t eat just one.
“The wings aren’t why I called you over here,” I told him.
Taylor shrugged. “They kind of are,” she said. “Settle an argument for us. What would you say if I asked you if you like eating wings naked? You too, Soph.”
Carter chomped down on the chicken before answering, and Sophia said, “I’m not sure what you guys have planned for the rest of the night, but I’m gonna pass.”
“I’m into it,” Carter said, grabbing another wing.
“See?” I widened my eyes at Taylor. “He thinks we’re asking him to participate in some weird threesome involving chicken and hot sauce.”
Sophia opened her mouth like she was about to say something but instead just turned around without a word and headed back to the bar.
“Whoa!” Carter looked more freaked out, which seemed to be a first from what I’d gotten to know of him. “I didn’t say anything about any sexual encounters. I can get into food play, but in the past, I’ve been limited to whipped cream or chocolate syrup or ice cream. I’d be willing to branch out a little from sundae ingredients, but I feel like buffalo sauce might be too risky. Sorry,” he added because clearly he thought he was disappointing us.
“Thanks, Carter. You’ve been a huge help.”
He looked genuinely pleased with himself, though I didn’t know what he thought he actually did to be helpful since neither of us bothered to explain.
“Can I grab one more before I head back to the bar?” He was already reaching for the basket. “Next time get the breaded kind, though. These are a little weird.”
Once he left, Taylor and I immediately burst out laughing. “So a threesome involving chicken wings and Carter,” I said. “That’s one scenario I definitely never thought I’d consider.”
“You’re considering it?”
“No, uh, no. You know what I mean.” I felt myself turning red, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. My cheeks always flushed from the slightest hint of embarrassment. “I’m pretty sure having Carter eat wings while we…”
Since now I probably looked like a time-lapse video of a tomato ripening to its full hue, I left my comment unfinished, though I was sure Taylor was capable of filling in the missing details.
She looked down at the yellow liquid in her glass and stirred it quickly, even though there was probably no need to. “Maybe we should drink more and talk less.”
“Definitely,” I said. I took a long drink of my beer until it was nearly finished.
Both of us were quiet for a while until the silence seemed to be more awkward than talking. “So how are your new classes? Is it a big change to do everything virtually?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’m just not great at sitting all day. I actually got a cheap projector cart to put my laptop on so I can stand while I work.”
“Smart.” God, I sucked at conversation.
“How are your classes?” she asked, and I couldn’t be sure if her question stemmed from genuine interest or a feeling that she needed to reciprocate. “This is your second semester, right?”
“Third if you count the two classes I took in the summer. If I take two in the spring and two next summer, I’ll be finished in a year from now.”
“That’s good,” she said, before taking a sip of her drink. Then she downed the rest of it and slid it to the edge of the table.
She was on her third…whatever that was. I couldn’t remember the name of it, but it was one of Xander’s creations for the Yard—the deck and lawn area Drew and Brody ran that was owned by Rafferty’s.
Taylor leaned across the table, her eyes fading a bit from the alcohol. Guess she was going to get her money’s worth out of her win.
“Yeah. I feel like my life had no direction for a while,” I said. “I thought I’d go right from playing college ball to playing professionally. And then when I messed up my knee, my whole life kind of stopped for a little bit there. I had to rethink everything I’d planned.”
Apparently I was a man of extremes, because now I was sharing too much.
“At least you’re on track now with a plan, though. The sports medicine thing is a good avenue for you I bet.”
“Made the most sense, I guess.” And then I asked, “Is there a reason you chose to major in criminal justice?”
“Um, yeah, but I don’t think it’s a very good one.”
Now I was more curious than before.
“Basically I watched like a million episodes of Law & Order: SVU and thought it looked like a cool job.”
“That’s…”
“Something I should never tell anyone ever again?”
I laughe
d but didn’t get the chance to reply before Taylor said, “Hey, wanna do a shot with me?” Her eyes lit up like a child’s might if they were told they could have ice cream for dinner.
“What kind?” I internally tensed, hoping she didn’t say tequila or something that was straight liquor. I didn’t want her to get totally trashed.
Taylor’s face contorted with thought. She bit her lip and pressed her eyebrows together like she was making an important life decision. “Gummy Bear?”
Okay, at least it’s something with a mixer. “Sure. I haven’t had one of them in a few years.”
After waiting a few minutes without the server coming by, I volunteered to go up to the bar to get them.
“What are you guys up to?” I asked Brody while I waited for him to make our drinks.
Unfortunately, Xander wasn’t anywhere to be found. I considered asking Brody to go light on the alcohol since he typically overpoured, but I didn’t want anyone to overhear me asking to make Taylor’s drink weaker. Even though my intention was not to have her show up to her shady apartment completely wasted, she was a grown woman and could make her own decisions.
I chatted with the gang for a few minutes, but once Brody came over with our shots, I headed back to the table. Taylor’s head was so buried in her phone, she almost didn’t notice me sit down.
“Everything okay?” I asked as I slid the drink in front of her. She looked…worried. Or sad. I didn’t know her well enough to take an educated guess at her emotions, but I knew without a doubt they weren’t positive.
When she lifted her head to look at me, she smiled, though I could tell it was forced. “Yeah. I’m good. Just some annoying emails, that’s all.”
She put her phone away, and I lifted my drink. “I always feel like there should be a toast with shots.”
Though a bit lazy, her smile looked more genuine now. “To my win?”
“Eh, that’s like toasting to my own loss. I don’t think the athlete in me will let me do it.”
Taylor thought again, her mouth twisting like it did when she was deciding which drink to get. “How about to new beginnings? Both of us are pretty new here and starting new…stuff.”
I laughed at Taylor’s choice of words, and thankfully so did she.
“To new beginnings, then,” I said with a wide smile. I like the sound of that.
Taylor had two more drinks before Sophia noticed her leaning over the side of the deck.
“What the…”
“She’s been like that for at least ten minutes,” I told her. “She said she likes how being upside down makes her head feel.” I wasn’t about to leave her alone like that, mainly because it was probably a ten-foot drop to the yard below, and she’d likely fall on her head if she tipped over completely.
“Tay?”
Sophia leaned over the deck rail in an attempt to see Taylor’s face when she didn’t respond to her.
“Why are men such dicks?” Taylor muttered.
I really hoped she wasn’t talking about me. I had no idea what she could possibly be referencing, but since I was the only guy she’d talked to in the last hour or so, I couldn’t be totally sure.
“Can you stand up so we can have this conversation, and so the gravitational pull is working on my feet and not my head?”
“It is at your feet,” Taylor said.
The girl was still smart and a smartass even when she was wasted.
“You know what I mean.”
Taylor groaned loudly like Sophia’s request would be severely inconvenient for her but complied anyway. She swayed a little once she stood upright, and I had to put my hands on her arms to steady her before she fell.
It would be ironic if she fell onto the deck instead of over it, considering she’d spent the better part of the last half hour with half her body hanging off the side.
“Would you maybe just get us a glass of water, Ransom?” Sophia asked.
I headed to the bar, where the rest of our group was hanging out, and got Taylor some water. A minute or so later, I found Taylor and Sophia sitting at the table we’d been at earlier in the night. It still had some of our appetizers on it, though neither of us probably would’ve eaten any more of them. I sat down across from them and put the water in front of Taylor.
“Here, drink some,” Sophia told her.
“Hang on.” She was scrolling through her phone, a hardness to her face that I hadn’t noticed before. “Look at this.”
“Holy shit. He wrote all that in one text?”
“Yeah. Well, it’s not all one. It’s broken up into different ones, but I never responded. He just kept firing them at me.”
The two stared at Taylor’s phone for a minute, and Sophia seemed to be reading the texts. I suddenly felt like I should be doing anything except hearing this conversation. I guessed it was an ex texting her, but I obviously had no plans to ask about it. It wasn’t any of my fucking business, and I didn’t have any intention of making it mine.
“Jesus,” Sophia said. “Just block him.”
“I should go,” I told them. I was already pushing the chair back to stand.
“No!” Taylor practically yelled, and her voice made me stop immediately. “You can sit. I think I’m gonna call it a night. Just call me tomorrow, Soph. ’Kay?”
“Yeah, sure. How you getting home, though?”
“Walking,” she answered like the question had been a dumb one.
We’d walked to Rafferty’s from my apartment because it wasn’t too far, but Taylor’s was on the opposite side of town, and it would probably take her an hour, and it was already midnight. I hated the thought of her alone as she trekked back to her place.
“Can’t you at least take an Uber or something?”
“You know I don’t take Ubers alone.”
I could see Sophia’s frustration. “Yeah, but how is walking miles alone in the middle of the night any safer?”
“It just is, okay?” She slung her bag over her shoulder. “Or maybe it isn’t. I don’t know. But I’ll be fine. I’ll call you when I get home.”
“Just wait until one of the guys gets off work. They can drive you.”
Taylor looked flustered, but she steadied herself long enough to grab Sophia’s hands and look at her. She took a deep breath. “I just wanna leave now,” she said calmly.
“Wait a sec. I’ll go ask Drew if he can take a break to drive you,” Sophia said before hurrying away.
Sophia had a right to worry, and Taylor was acting like her walking alone was no big deal.
“I could walk you,” I offered. “I don’t mind.”
“I’m really fine. You guys stay and have a good time.”
There wasn’t much I could do other than watch her turn around and walk straight into a nearby chair. She grabbed the back of it before it fell to the floor and then adjusted her bag on her shoulder. It was a good save, but she still looked completely ridiculous. And if she couldn’t even walk out of the bar without getting into trouble, I didn’t trust her to make it the more than three miles home.
By the time she made it down the deck steps and into the parking lot, I was convinced I should walk her. She’d slipped once on the steps but caught herself again. I’d just stay far behind her so I could keep an eye on her safety. She was clearly intoxicated, and I didn’t trust that someone would see a drunk girl stumbling home late at night and decide they should leave her alone. She could get robbed or… I didn’t even want to let my mind go there.
Without giving it another thought, I told Sophia I was going to make sure Taylor got home safely. I put money on the bar on my way out before jogging down the deck steps toward the direction of Taylor’s apartment.
The area was fairly populated, though it wasn’t in the busiest part of the city. Still, the fact that it had street lights and a good amount of cars were still driving around made me feel a little better about her walking alone, but I still wasn’t going to allow her to do it when I could easily make sure she got home safely.
I let her get about a half a block ahead of me—close enough that I could see her clearly and get to her if she needed help, but far enough that I doubted she would notice me. My plan worked for most of the walk until Taylor stopped to lean against a building and check her phone, causing me to have to stop as well so I didn’t get too close to her.
To make myself look busy, I took out my phone only to find a text from Taylor.
Why are you following me?
When I looked over to where she’d been standing, I didn’t see her. Without texting back, I jogged toward where she’d probably gone, but I didn’t see her right away. Where did she go?
“How do you like being followed?” asked someone behind me.
I spun around. “What the—”
“I went into the alcove in front of the barber shop when you ran past me. Do you have any idea how creepy it is to feel like someone’s following you? And then when you turn around it’s a friend who you already told not to walk you home?” She let out a harsh sigh. “I’m honestly not sure if that’s better than a stranger following me or worse.”
“I’d think better,” I offered cautiously because I could tell she was pissed. “I know you said not to walk you, but I just didn’t feel comfortable letting you walk alone at this time of night, especially in your neighborhood.” I felt myself cringe at the mention of where her apartment was located. Way to insult her too.
Taylor’s expression hardened. “Since when is what you’re comfortable with more important than what I am? I asked you to let me be alone, and you just couldn’t do it. You couldn’t respect that?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I just wanted—”
“Stop with what you want. This isn’t about you.”
I didn’t know if her anger was a result of the alcohol or something else, because this was a side of Taylor I hadn’t seen before, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’m sorry.”
Ready or Not (The Love Game Book 4) Page 9