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want to leave now is because she’s suddenly shown up? You don’t feel like you’ve got something to prove to me, do you? Because you don’t. We’re not even—”
    Smiling genuinely he moved a stray lock of hair from my face before tucking it behind my ear. A trail of fire licked my skin in his fingers’ wake, and I sighed at the sensation. “While it’s true I came to find you after she showed up, I assure you that she is not the reason I want to take you back to our room … To our bed.”
    It felt as though my heart skipped a beat, and my cheeks hurt when my smile widened. “Okay,” I said, taking his hands in mine and walking backward, forcing him to follow me.
    “There you two are!” Janet called out to my right. Collectively, Jensen and I quietly groaned before turning to her. “You’re not leaving so soon, are you? You must come have another drink with us.”
    Jensen looked at me, clearly not wanting to disappoint his mother. “One more?”
    “One more,” I agreed.
    One more quickly turned to two, which quickly turned into Kyle, Gavin, Jensen, and me doing shots of Patron at the bar after Lilah and her buddy Kaylie retired for the night. In the course of the evening, I went from sober and nervous, to drunk and social, to full and tipsy, to shot-doing-laughing-so-hard-my-abs-hurt wasted, and Jensen had to hold me upright.
    “Come on, little Madi,” Kyle pleaded, holding another shot of tequila out for me. “You know you want to …”
    My vision had blurred substantially in the hours since Jensen and I had been pulled back to the party, and I had long-since abandoned my heels to keep from falling on my ass—again. “I dunno,” I said, looking back at Jensen whose cheeks were slightly red and his eyes glassy. “I think Jensen’s pree’y drunk.”
    “You two are lightweights!” Kyle boomed, thrusting the shot out toward me.
    “Y’know, Kyle … I don’t respon’ well to peer pressure,” I informed him, taking the shot glass and holding it up before downing it like the pro I had become in the last … um … six? My three drinking partners followed suit so that I wasn’t drinking alone. Noble, weren’t they? I loved them.
    All the drinking allowed me to forget about what’s-her-name. Earlier in the evening, I’d caught her staring at us, but I would just smile and wave, and she’d roll her eyes and turn away. Drunk me gave zero fucks. I liked her.
    “And I’d probably be a little more inclined to believe that, Madikins, if you hadn’t succumbed to the last three shots,” Kyle countered, holding up four fingers to the bartender. It was weird, every time he did that, there were just as many full shot glasses that follo—ooooh, it was all starting to make sense in my drunken state. Motherfucker.
    “Hey, don’t you have to get married tomorrow? I’ss, like…” I looked around the room for a clock or something before grabbing Gavin’s left arm and yanking his wrist toward me. I had to lean in real close to make the three watches merge into one that I could still barely read. “Midnight-thirty. You’re gonna need your beauty sleep.” He handed me another shot glass, and I grimaced.
    “One more and I’ll let Jensen carry you caveman style up to your room,” Kyle bargained, shoving another shooter in my direction.
    “Fine. But only ’cause you’re the groomy.” The three men laughed, and we all held up our glasses in a silent toast and drank in unison. “Okay, boys,” I announced, waving my arm dramatically in the air. “I’m going to bed because I have a hot date with an incredibly energetic woman in the morning.” Both Kyle and Gavin choked on the swigs of beer they had taken while Jensen chuckled at their reaction. “What? Oh! OH! You boys, always with your heads in the gutter! I don’t know how anyone puts up with it.”
    “Guess that’s why you’ve made this date, huh?” Gavin ribbed playfully.
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “You are not very funny, Mr.