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ADDISON
“Wanna drink?”
When the words leave his mouth, I don’t even hesitate to say yes. My reward is the most adorable smirk I’ve ever seen on a grown man, though he quickly schools his features back into place. We both settle onto barstools, and he raises a finger to signal the bartender, who gives a nod as she finishes filling a couple of mugs with beer.
Then he turns to me. “What would you like?”
“Definitely no more tequila.” I laugh softly. “What are you having?”
He shrugs and lightly drums his thumb on the bar. “Probably just a Coke. I drove my truck here tonight.”
“A Coke sounds good to me too.”
He cocks his head to the side. “You sure that’s all you want?”
I shrug. “I’m not much of a drinker, and I lost count of how many shots I had back there.” Even now, my head feels a little fuzzy, and my body is flushed with the heat of alcohol—and okay, maybe a little bit of excitement too.
Sure, we didn’t start off on the right foot, but everyone’s allowed a bad day, right? A little casual conversation never hurt anyone.
He orders our drinks and then holds out a hand to me. “Name’s Chase. I probably should have gotten to that yesterday.” If I’m not mistaken, a brief look of shame crosses his features.
“I’m Addison.” I reach my hand out to his, enjoying the warm roughness of his touch. “And yeah, you probably should have.”
He faces the bar as he takes a deep breath, his shoulders rising just slightly. “I guess I owe you an apology.” He turns to me, and I can’t help but laugh at the pained expression on his face.
“That hard, huh?”
He chuckles softly. “No, I just...” He shakes his head. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little. I promise I’m not usually so abrasive. I was in a weird headspace, and I guess I was just... surprised by the two of you. But it was rude of me to walk away so abruptly yesterday, and—”
“Twice.”
His eyes glitter with amusement. “Twice.” The bartender sets our Cokes down in front of us, and I take a quick drink, feeling Chase’s eyes on me the whole time. Normally, it’d make me self-conscious, but for some reason, it only floods me with confidence.
“You wanna get out of here?”
Taken aback, I put my glass down a little harder on the bar than I mean to and slide my shocked gaze to his. “What about Drake?”
“He won’t mind. He can just grab a cab back home. And trust me, Olivia’s in safe hands with him.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about her. He’s already proved he’s the gentleman out of the two of you.”
He smirks. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
“Plus, she has mace,” I add dryly. He raises his eyebrows slightly. “And so do I.”
“That’s very responsible of you, but I can promise that neither of you will be needing it.” He pauses for just a second and his eyes get wide. “I mean, unless we run into a bear.”
“A bear? Where in the hell are you taking me?”
He laughs gently and rises from the stool. “I saved you from the snake. You don’t think I could save you from a bear?” He takes his wallet out before dropping some cash onto the bar.
“There’s a big difference between a snake and a bear, Chase. And technically, I saved myself,” I mutter.
His smile is wide. “Miss independent over here.”
“I had no choice. You just left me there.”
“I was going back for my—” He stops and holds up his hands. “You know what, you’re right. In my haste to get my gloves, I left you behind without confirming that I was coming back for you. I’d like to make this my formal apology.” He leans forward slightly, his tone taking on an amusing tilt. “Miss Addison...?”
