“Who’s going?” I don’t really handle people well, specifically silly females. I have no patience for them.
“Clancy and April.” She’s counting people off on her fingers as she says their names. “Bree, Ashley, and Callie for sure. Maybe more. I never really know until I get there.”
I don’t like to make small talk with people I’m not acquainted with. I wasn’t blessed with the gift of gab.
Besides, I have a date. I’m spending the evening with my camera. I have shots to get for a photo contest I plan to enter.
Ellison must see my hesitation. “I know you don’t love crowds but they’re all cool. Swear.”
My sister doesn’t understand how painfully awkward going out is for me. “I’d rather have toothpicks driven into my eyeballs.”
“That can be arranged if you say you won’t go.”
I guess I can drink whisky until I drown out the lady chitchat. “I’ll go for the Johnnie Walker.”
“Yes!” Ellison gives the air a fist pump. “Be ready to leave at seven.”
* * *
I’m not sure what I was thinking when I agreed to this. I’m southern but not country. There are too many cowboy hats and boots in this place for me.
I’m not a fan of drunken people dancing on the bar or letting strangers take shots from their bared abdomens. I swear I will beat Ellison’s ass if she tries either.
Ellison’s new work friends aren’t my kind of people. In their defense, I suppose not many are. At least they’re better than the ones she had at her old job in Memphis.
I hold up my empty glass when our server comes around and she returns with my third Johnnie Walker of the night. It’s going to take quite a few more of these to achieve an acceptable level of amnesia where Sinclair Breckenridge is concerned.
“You go, sista.” Ellison holds up her drink. “Here’s to getting wasted and forgetting about …” She shrugs and giggles. “See? I’ve already forgotten what I’m supposed to be forgetting.”
Her poison for the night is Long Island iced tea so she’s already drunk. I know this by her annoying horselaugh. Classic Ellison.
Is she referring to the doctor who asked for the threesome with another man? I should go kick his ass for hurting my sister. “Who are you drinking to forget?”
She shakes her head and purses her lips. “Not going there, Bleu. We’re here for one reason and one reason only—to have a fucking fantastic time so I refuse to talk about that douche rocket.”
I’ve been so wrapped up in myself lately that I’ve failed to consider the problems my sister has been having. She had a humiliating incident with the ER doctor she was dating, which was really unfortunate since she was already choosing baby names for the four children she planned to have with him. She left her nursing job of more than two years because she was passed over for a promotion, which by all accounts should’ve been hers. She took care of Harry by herself the entire time I was gone. And although I’m back, she’s the nurse. I’m not sure I’ve been all that much help since returning.
She has a lot resting on her shoulders. I’ve been selfish, too focused on my own hurt to be mindful of Ellison’s troubles.
“You’re right. I want you to have a good time. But I want to talk about the things going on when you’re ready.”
Oh God. She has her “I’m gonna clobber you with a drunk hug” look. And she does, nearly sending me off my barstool onto the floor. “I love you, Bleu.”
Ellison’s an affectionate drunk. She loves everyone. I guess a friendly drunk is always better than a fighting one. I’ve seen my fair share of those while working undercover and it never ends well.
“O … kay, Elli. Maybe you should slow down with the Long Islands.”
“Come on, Bleu. This is only my third one.”
Her speech is slowed but not yet slurred. I’d prefer it didn’t come to that. I’m not in the mood to babysit a drunken Ellison.
“It’s your third in an hour and a half.”
“That’s a mighty fine high horse you sit upon. I wonder if you’d give me a ride some time.”
I’m straightening in my seat and helping my sister do the same when my eyes catch those of a man I haven’t seen in ages.
“Bleu MacAllister.”
I push Ellison upright. “Cody Wilson.”
He grins and those dimples I remember from years ago make an appearance. “Wow. It’s been years.”
“At least seven or eight.”
God, I once adored Cody. We met when I was seven, after I came to live with my new family. He was my neighbor, eight houses down the street. We were best buddies until junior high. He was my only friend in the world—until he kissed me. I kicked him in the balls and that was the end of our friendship. I’ve always felt badly about doing that to him.
I didn’t dislike being kissed by Cody. In fact, I liked it very much after I had some time to think about it, but I was caught off guard in the moment. Harry had been training me for several months and I guess I had a snap reaction. It’s unfortunate his balls were the ones to pay.
What is he doing back in Memphis? “The last I heard from Dad, you were in the Air Force stationed somewhere on the other side of the world.”
“I was but I got out a few years ago and moved back. My mom’s health hasn’t been great for a while now.”
That’s right. Mrs. Wilson is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. She didn’t have a clue who I was the last time I saw her.
“I’m a pilot for Delta now.”
Weird. Knowing he flies planes just made him a little more attractive. “Nice.”
“What about you?”
“I was a police officer for a couple of years and then a special agent. I left the Bureau to go freelance.” Not the whole truth.
“What does freelance involve?”
More naked asses than I’d like. “I get hired to obtain the proof of cheating husbands and wives. My clients are mostly people in the midst of nasty divorces.”
He lifts a brow. “Sounds interesting.”
Interesting is not how I’d describe it. “More like disturbing. I feel like I’m mostly shooting really bad porn with middle-aged people during their midlife crises.”
He laughs.
“Sorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t put such unsavory images in your head.”
“You don’t sound fulfilled by catching cheaters in action. Have you considered going back to police work or the FBI?”