Part 16 (2/2)

Oh, boy.

A rush of air left my lungs, knowing this was about to go horribly wrong, and before I could muster up a possible solution in my mind, Damien went to retrieve the empty bar stool next to Tim. He dragged it to the other side of the table, causing the pegs on the bottom to make an ear-screeching noise. My attention landed on Iris, Joshua, Noah, and Kate to see all of them biting back their amus.e.m.e.nt.

”There. Problem solved,” Damien stated, sounding rather proud of himself, as he stared directly at Tim.

I inwardly agreed with him. Damien's solution was better than him hauling Tim out of his chair by his s.h.i.+rt-or worse, by his neck.

I wasted no time in sitting next to Kate, and Damien immediately followed.

”So...” Iris cleared her throat and glanced at me, appearing as if she was about to burst into a fit of giggles. ”I took the liberty of ordering us all the first round of shots, but you're on your own for anything else you want to drink.”

”Thank you.” I held her gaze. My impa.s.sive expression slipped into a smile, so I diverted my eyes to the waitress who appeared with our shots.

Since we hadn't ordered when the waitress was at our table earlier, Damien asked for a beer while I went for an amaretto sour.

When she left, Iris held up her gla.s.s. ”To good times.”

”Oh, yeah.” Kate grinned from my right as we all s.n.a.t.c.hed our shots and clinked them together before tossing them back.

Iris was still looking at me with enjoyment plastered on her face from the quarrel with Damien and Tim, and I just knew she was going to hammer me with questions about my overbearing date later.

I let out a deep breath and s.h.i.+fted on my bar stool to look at Kate. Someone had to get a conversation rolling, so I said to her and Noah, ”Congratulations on moving in together. How are things coming along with settling in?”

”We are still unpacking.” Kate's expression was of wonder. ”I never realized how much work it took to move.”

Noah slipped his arm around his girlfriend. ”That's because you have over a hundred pairs of shoes and a closet the size of a d.a.m.n master bedroom.”

Iris and I laughed as Kate shot him a wicked glare.

”I do not.” She pretended to be offended, but I wasn't buying it. ”You're the one who took two U-Haul trips for your obsession with ATVs.” She gazed at me. ”I have no idea how one person can drive two four-wheelers, an enormous dirt bike, and”-she flippantly waved her hand in the air-”that other thing you have that is ridiculously dangerous.”

”You mean, my new V-Twin 800cc Dune Buggy, babe?” Noah asked as the waitress returned with my and Damien's drinks.

I took a sip of my amaretto sour and found that it went down smoothly.

My chest rose and fell with laughter as I heard Damien hum his appreciation. ”A V-Twin 800cc Dune Buggy? Nice.”

”Yes, that thing,” Kate huffed, feigning to be unhappy with her boyfriend.

”What can I say?” Noah chuckled throatily. ”You have a s.h.i.+tload of shoes and purses and clothes galore, and I got my toys.” He gravitated toward her with a boyish grin. ”So, to me, it looks like we're even.”

”Hardly,” Kate snorted, pus.h.i.+ng him away. ”Your hobbies way outnumber mine in price.”

”Doubtful,” Noah roared in mirth before taking a sip of his beer.

”Where do you ride your dune buggy, Noah?” Damien piped in over the loud music around us.

”Anywhere I can, but mostly on local trails when I have the time.” Noah's face lifted with interest as he twisted to face Damien. ”Do you ride?”

”Yes.” Damien's expression glowed. ”I have a dirt bike and a few other toys.”

”Sweet,” Noah hummed in appreciation. ”We'll have to plan a trip sometime and convince these two to go with us.” He motioned to Kate and me before looking at Joshua. ”Do you ride, too?”

”I used to,” Joshua replied. ”But I sold them when I bought my house last year.”

”I'm sure we can work something out, so we can all go together,” Damien offered.

”Definitely,” Noah added, gazing sideways at Iris. ”You down for coming with us?”

”I'm not sitting b.i.t.c.h, if that's what you mean.” Iris smirked, eyes twinkling as she tipped her head toward Joshua, and she added, ”There is no way I'm giving someone the chance to dump me on my a.s.s, so I'll need my own.”

”Hey, I won't dump you off!” Joshua playfully nudged Iris with his elbow and leaned toward her, chuckling. ”Well, not on purpose.”

Damien's deep laughter filled the air.

Iris glared at her date. ”I'm not willing to take the risk.”

Noah said, ”You can take one of my four-wheelers, Iris.”

”Thanks, Noah.” Iris beamed.

The waitress approached with another round of shots.

I closed the s.p.a.ce between Damien and me, intrigued by learning something new about him. ”I didn't know you rode ATVs.”

”That's because you haven't been in my other garage yet.” Damien kissed the tip of my nose before drawing back to stare at me with adoring eyes. ”And there are many things you don't know about me, gorgeous girl of mine.” He gave me a breathtaking smile, yet it held a certain shyness that caught me off guard. ”But you will, soon enough.”

Over the next two hours, the seven of us chatted about this and that, getting caught up with one another. Iris and Kate had taken three more shots while I'd only had two, and I was still sipping on my first amaretto sour. Since I wasn't a big drinker, I wanted to pace myself. Damien, on the other hand, had only taken the first shot when we arrived, and he was content with still milking his beer.

It seemed as if we were a real boring pair.

Ha! I laughed to myself.

Iris shot up from the table and clapped her hands. ”All right, people. I'm liquored up properly, so I can now go shake my a.s.s on the dance floor.” She glanced over her shoulder at her date. ”Come show me your moves, Joshua.”

Tim rose out of his bar stool as Iris grasped Joshua's hand and led him through the crowd.

Kate rose from her seat next. ”Let's go, Noah,” she demanded.

Damien and I got out of their way as Kate yanked and pulled on a groaning Noah.

”Ah, you know how much I hate to dance, babe,” he said.

”Too bad because I love it.” She giggled mischievously, refusing to relent on her hold.

The two of them disappeared into the sea of bodies beneath the strobe lights. I was grateful when Tim followed behind them without looking at Damien and me.

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