“He doesn’t actually want to be with me. I’m not sure where this obsession came from.”
“Me either. Well, I should probably find my date. I’m hoping for a more, uh, a better night tonight.”
I laughed, assuming she referred to the sex with Dylan. “I get that. Have fun.”
“You aren’t here alone, are you?” Her words sounded more surprised than malicious.
“Yeah, I’m going it alone.”
“Wow, that’s brave.”
“Brave or stupid.” I shrugged.
“Can I get you a drink?”
“You’re offering to buy me a drink?”
“Well, I did sleep with your ex-boyfriend right after you dumped him—”
“When you put it that way...”
I followed Amanda over to the bar. She leaned over to talk to the cute, young bartender. “She’ll have a sex on the beach, and keep them coming.”
“Is she twenty-one?”
“Absolutely.” Amanda smiled.
I flashed him my fake ID. When Amy first gave it to me, I didn’t think I’d use it much. That night, it was completely necessary.
“All right.”
“Try to have some fun.” She touched my shoulder and disappeared. Maybe it was a bad idea to let the girl who’d slept with my ex-boyfriend buy me drinks, but if I didn’t get something to drink, I was going to leave. Where the hell were Cara and Mallory? They were never late.
“Where’s your date?” the bartender asked as he set down an orangeish-pink drink.
“Non-existent.” I took a sip. It was sweet. I liked it.
“Really? That’s kind of hard to believe.”
“Is it?” I concentrated on my drink. I was in no mood for small talk.
He laughed. “I like your costume.”
“Do you know what I am?”
“Hmm. I might be off base, but it kind of looks like a vampire took a bite out of your neck…”
I smiled. Maybe this bartender wasn’t so bad. “Exactly. I’m a vampire’s victim.”
“That’s pretty creative. Too bad you don’t have a vampire with you. That would be much cooler.” Okay, he lost any points he’d earned.
“Way to rub it in.” I finished off my drink. Sweet mixed drinks are so easy to drink fast.
“Sorry, I’m just saying.” He actually looked as if he felt bad. “Want another?” He pointed to my empty glass.
“Please.” I glanced at my watch. I was giving my friends another ten minutes before I left.
He opened a few beers for people and then brought me my second drink. “Maybe you should spend more than five minutes on this one.”
“I’ll try.”
“Juliet! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry we’re late.” Cara slid onto the stool next to me. She looked hot in her angel costume.
“What happened to you guys?”
“We got held up at dinner. I tried calling.”
“So did I. Is your phone off?” Mallory came around my other side. She was dressed up as a devil. Believe it or not, the angel-devil thing was random.
“I don’t know.” I pulled it out of my pocket. I had six missed calls.
“I guess I didn’t hear it ring.”
“Hey, I heard you finally dumped Dipshit.” Aaron patted me on the back.
“Yeah, Dylan’s history.”
“Good for you.” Aaron ordered drinks for Cara and himself. Bill did the same for Mallory.
“Are you here alone?” Bill asked.
“Oh my god. If one more person asks me that, I’m going to scream. Wait, I’ll do it now.” I was already tipsy. I stood up. “I’m here alone and dateless. I’m a loser, okay? There you have it.”
“Juliet.” Cara touched my arm. “I’m really sorry we’re late.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’m just going to go.” I looked at the bartender. “What do I owe?”
“It’s on your friend’s tab.” He picked up my empty glass.
“What friend?” Mallory asked.
“Amanda.”
“What?”
“She felt bad for me. Listen, have fun, guys. I’m going to get a cab.”
“You should have invited Reed.” Aaron said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I kind of did.” I said it quietly, but I was sure they heard.
“He said no?” Aaron asked.
“Isn’t that obvious? He already had plans.”
“Plans?”
“He’s at the Sigma crush party.”
Aaron got a funny expression on his face. “I’ll be right back. Don’t leave, Juliet.” He touched Cara’s shoulder before walking off.
“I’m sorry to ruin everyone’s fun, but I’ve had it.”
“No, wait. Let’s go dance or something,” Cara suggested. I knew she would feel horrible if I left, but I wasn’t in the mood to dance. “I’m okay right here.” We sat and talked for a few minutes, and Aaron returned.
“What was that about?”
He grinned. “You’ll find out in about ten minutes.”
I let it go and sat back down on my stool.
“Does that mean you need another drink?” My good friend the bartender was back.
“No, I think I should probably switch to water.”
“Here.” He slid a bottle of water over to me.
“Thanks.”
I was about to yell at my friends to go dance with their dates when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
Reed took a pair of plastic fangs out of his mouth. “I heard you were in need of a vampire.”
“I thought you had plans. You didn’t ditch your date, did you?”
“My work was done. She was only using me to make someone jealous.” He took the seat next to me that Mallory had quickly vacated.
“You knew that going in?”
“Of course. I didn’t care, and the guy needed a push. She’s been waiting for him to make a move for a while now.”
“That’s kind of noble of you.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s enough about me. How are you holding up?”
“I kind of suck at this whole independent woman thing.”
“No, you don’t. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“If I wasn’t worried about upsetting my friends, I’d have already left.”