I didn’t know if I should answer him. I thought about it for one second before my mouth spoke for me. “With everything that I am.”
“Thought so,” he said. “Don’t fuck this up.” He looked around. “I want her to be happy. I want to see the sparkle in her eye that she used to have with you. I love that woman as if she is my sister, and I want her to have what Jenna and I have.”
“She told me she loves him.” The words burned in my stomach. The minute she told me that she loved him and walked away from me, I had no choice but to sit down. I wasn’t ready for it then, and I wasn’t ready to think about it now.
“I reckon she thinks she does,” he said, shaking his head. “He doesn’t deserve her. Fuck, I don’t even think you deserve her.”
“No question there. I don’t,” I told him, taking a sip from the water bottle I picked up. He agreed with me, and for the rest of the day, we didn’t talk about it.
“What can I get you?” I ask. Looking over his shoulder, I see Jenna throw up her hands and grab Emily’s hand as they get on the crowded dance floor. Brett looks behind me at them and shakes his head.
“I’ll have twenty beers and four shots of tequila,” he says and looks over to make sure Jenna is okay, and no one is next to her.
“I’ll bring them over to you,” I say. “Go stand guard.” He doesn’t say anything else before he walks away to the dance floor. My eyes can’t stop looking at her as she twirls and her hair follows her. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile like that. I want her to smile like that all the time. I put the beers on the tray and carry over the ten beers first and then go back for the other ten.
I place the tray in the middle of the tall table that the boys are standing next to. They all smile, and one hands me a beer. “Thanks, but I have more drinks to get.” Walking back and getting the shots, I wonder who the fuck those are for. I don’t have to wait long because Jenna is grabbing them off the tray before I even put it down.
“Here.” She hands one shot to Emily, who avoids my eyes as she downs it. I see her wince a bit, and I laugh because she was never a big drinker. I’m not ready for her to take the second shot, but she’s wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and all I can think about is leaning down and kissing her lips. Turning around, I’m walking away when I hear Jenna call my name. “Ethan?” I turn back. “Can you get us six more?”
“Not a chance in hell,” I say, and she folds her hands over her chest. “Ask your man if it’s okay with him.” I turn and walk away when I see Brett glare at her. I also don’t make it back to the bar before Brett is there ordering four more shots.
“This is a bad idea,” I say. “Does she drink often?” I hate having to ask him a question I should know the answer to.
“Not really, but I’m here, and the guys will watch out for her,” he tells me, and we share a look. “Plus, she has you here.”
After I prepare the shots for him, he takes them to her, and Jenna and Emily both laugh at him when he tells them something. Jenna looks over at me and holds up the shot of tequila in one hand while flipping me the bird with the other hand. Scott smiles from beside me, and all I can do is shake my head. The whole night I watch her from afar—every single time she lifts her arms, you see a little bit of her tanned stomach, and I have to stand behind the bar to hide my hard-on. She dances most of the night, and when she isn’t dancing, she’s laughing with the guys, and I have to wonder if Drew makes her laugh like this. Does she laugh until she can’t breathe with him? Does she tease him like she used to tease me? I shake my head when the songs turn slow, and I look over and see it’s almost two thirty. The bar is finally clearing out. Only the couples and the guys hoping to get lucky remain. I see Brett pulling Jenna to the dance floor when “You Make It Easy” comes on.
I grab a water bottle as I watch her sway side to side, and when Scott calls my name, I look over at him. “I’ve got this. You can go hang out with the boys,” he says. “Thanks for tonight. I’ll tell your mom I approve.”
I laugh at him. “Thanks for that.” I turn back and see that she isn’t there anymore. I scan the whole bar, looking for her. I walk around and go to the back where the pool tables are and still don’t see her. When I walk toward the front and still don’t see her, my heart starts to panic. She isn’t on the dance floor. I turn to walk toward the office, and when I turn the corner, I crash right into her. She almost bounces off me, and I wrap one hand around her to stop her.
She laughs, but I’m not sure she realizes it’s me. “I’m sorry,” she says, and then her brain must catch up when she sees it’s me. Her hands are on my chest, and
