Chapter 13
By the time we’re all piled into the common room of the club again, I already know tonight is going to be a bad idea.
But because I’m here with these women.
And when these women get together with nothing to do but eat, complain, and entertain themselves, things spiral.
Fast.
“Explain to me,” Mac says from the couch, her tone deceptively calm, “how I asked for grilled chicken and Logan brought me fried.”
Across from her, Logan looks like a man who knows he’s already lost but is still trying to survive the fallout.
“They didn’t have grilled,” he says carefully.
Mac just looks at him. No blinking. No expression. Just that flat, terrifying stare. “You didn’t even ask,” she says.
“I did ask.”
“You didn’t ask correctly.”
“How do you ask incorrectly—”
“Logan.”
He shuts up immediately.
Kya is halfway to tears beside me, staring down at her drink like it personally betrayed her.
“I told him not to eat it,” she says, voice wobbling. “I literally said, ‘Gio, that’s mine, don’t eat it,’ and then I came back and it was gone.”
Dom winces like he’s feeling that pain secondhand. “He’s nine,” he says gently. “He probably didn’t think—”
“I don’t care what he thought,” she snaps. “He ate the last one.”
Brooke reaches across the space and pats her arm, eyes soft with sympathy. “What was it?”
Kya’s bottom lip trembles. “The strawberry shortcake cups.”
Brooke gasps like someone just delivered tragic news. “No.”
“Yes.”
“That’s devastating.”
“I know.”
Mac exhales slowly through her nose. “I’m surrounded by children.”
“I’m hormonal,” Kya shoots back.
“You’re dramatic.”
“I’m both.”
“Clearly.”
On the other side of the room, Brooke is fanning herself with a book, her cheeks flushed and her hair pulled up into a loose knot that’s already slipping because she keeps tugging at it.
“I’m hot,” she announces.
Carter leans forward immediately. “Do you want me to turn the air up?”
“It’s already on.”
“I can ask them to—”
“No, I don’t want you to change the entire temperature of the building, Carter.”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“You’re breathing too close to me.”
He freezes. Actually freezes. Like if he stops existing entirely, maybe he won’t make it worse.
I press my lips together to keep from laughing.
I fail.
A small snort escapes, and suddenly I’m gone, shoulders shaking as I try to get it under control while all three of them glare at their respective men like they’ve personally committed crimes.
“This is unbelievable,” Mac mutters.
“You love him,” I say, still laughing.
“That’s not the point.”
“It is a little bit the point.”
“It is not the point.”
“It’s absolutely the point,” Shaina chimes in from the end of the booth, grinning like she’s living for this. “You’re just mad because you can’t threaten him in public without consequences.”
Mac turns her head slowly. “Watch me.”
Ana laughs, leaning into my side. “God, I love this.”
“You would,” I say.
“It’s entertaining.”
“It’s chaos.”
“Same thing.”
Kya suddenly straightens, eyes narrowing at Dom. “Did you eat one too?”
Dom looks personally offended. “No.”
“You hesitated.”
“I did not hesitate.” Panic high in his voice.
“You absolutely hesitated.”
“I was thinking about how to answer without getting yelled at.”
“That’s suspicious.”
“I didn’t eat your dessert.”
“You better not have.”
Brooke sighs and drops the menu. “I want ice water.”
Carter is on his feet before she finishes the sentence. “I’ll get it.”
“I didn’t say right now.”
“I’m already going.”
She watches him walk away, then looks at us and smiles sweetly. “He’s trying.”
“He’s terrified,” Shaina says.
“Same thing,” Ana adds.
I laugh again, leaning back against the booth, letting their voices wash over me.
This is easy. This is safe. This is everything I’ve always loved about being part of this life. The noise. The warmth. The constant, ridiculous affection buried under all the bickering and sarcasm.
For a little while, it pushes everything else out.
Until it doesn’t.
Until Shaina, because she has no sense of self-preservation, says, “We should do something fun.”
Kya perks up immediately. “Define fun.”
“Something chaotic.”
“I’m listening.”
Ana groans. “That’s never a good sign.”
“It’s always a good sign,” Shaina argues. “We’ve been doing nothing but baby stuff and food runs for weeks. We need entertainment.”
Brooke brightens. “We could do karaoke.”
Mac looks horrified. “Absolutely not.”
Kya shakes her head. “I’m not singing. I’ll cry.”
“That’s not a reason,” Shaina says.
“That’s a very good reason.”
I take a sip of my drink, trying not to get dragged into whatever terrible idea is about to come out of her mouth.
It doesn’t work.
“Or,” Shaina continues, eyes lighting up in a way that should concern everyone at this table, “we could organize an amateur night at Ambrosia.”
The words land like a spark.
For half a second, nobody says anything.
Then Kya’s entire face changes. “Oh my God.”
“No,” I say immediately.
“No,” Ana echoes.
Mac leans back slowly, studying all of us like she’s deciding how much chaos she’s willing to allow before stepping in.
Brooke looks confused. “Wait, what’s amateur night?”
Shaina grins. “Exactly what it sounds like.”
Brooke’s eyes widen. “Oh.”
Kya turns toward me so fast I nearly spill my drink. “Allie.”
“No.”
“You should do it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I enjoy having a normal life.”
“You work here,” she says flatly.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I’m clothed.”
Shaina laughs. “Debatable.”
“Shut up.”
Ana nudges my shoulder. “You’d be good at it.”
I stare at her. “You are not helping.”
“I’m just saying.”
“You’re saying nonsense.”
Kya leans in, eyes sharp and a little wild in that way she gets when she’s about to commit to something completely unhinged. “If Jimmy won’t open his eyes,” she says slowly, “maybe you should pry them open.”
My stomach drops. I hate how quickly his name changes the temperature of everything. “I am not doing amateur night to get Jimmy’s attention.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“That is exactly what you said.”
“It’s a side benefit.”
I shake my head, pushing back from the table slightly. “No.”
“Why not?” Brooke asks softly.
Because it’s insane. Because it’s risky. Because the idea of standing on that stage with an entire club watching makes my skin heat in a way I don’t know how to deal with.
Because Jimmy would be there.
Because I don’t trust what I’d be doing it for.
I open my mouth to say any of that. Nothing comes out.
Mac watches me carefully, her expression unreadable. “You’re considering it.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You hesitated.”
“I didn’t hesitate.”
“You did.”
I glare at her. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Seeing things.”
She takes a slow sip of her drink. “It’s a gift.”
Kya grabs my arm. “Allie.”
I look at her.
She’s serious now. Still chaotic, still a little unhinged, but serious underneath it. “You deserve to be seen,” she says.
That lands harder than anything else she’s said all night.
Brooke nods immediately. “You do.”
Ana bumps her shoulder into mine. “He’s been blind for years.”
Shaina grins. “Time for corrective surgery.”
I huff out a laugh despite myself. “You’re all insane.”
“Maybe,” Mac says calmly. “But that doesn’t make them wrong.”
I look at her.
She holds my gaze steadily. Not pushing. Not teasing.
Just stating it.
And there it is again. That thing that’s been building since the kitchen. That quiet, dangerous shift.
I think about Jimmy at Ambrosia.
The way he stepped in too fast. Too hard. Too obvious. The way his hand felt around my wrist. The way he couldn’t answer me when I asked why he cared.
I think about years of waiting. Of hoping. Of pretending it didn’t matter as much as it did.
I think about the kiss.
About how for one perfect second, I thought everything had changed.
Maybe I’m tired of perfect seconds that go nowhere. Maybe I’m tired of being easy to overlook until someone else notices me first. Maybe I’m tired of pretending I don’t want him to look.
My pulse picks up.
“Just one night,” Kya presses. “You don’t even have to win. Just…show up.”
Brooke smiles. “It could be fun.”
Ana nods. “We’ll be right there.”
Shaina leans in. “I’ll pick the song.”
“That’s the worst part of this entire plan.”
“Rude.”
Mac watches me for another long second, then shrugs lightly. “Do whatever you want. Just don’t pretend you’re doing it for some grand, noble reason.”
I exhale slowly.
Because she’s right. Because whatever I say out loud isn’t going to be the truth.
The truth is messier than that. The truth is I want him to look at me and finally see something he can’t ignore.
I stand up before I can overthink it.
“Where are you going?” Ana asks.
“To make the sign-up sheet,” I say.
Kya makes a sound like she just won the lottery.
Shaina nearly climbs over the table. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Absolutely not.”
Brooke laughs. “This is happening.”
Mac just watches me go, something knowing flickering in her eyes.
Shaina and I spend the next half hour drafting the sign up sheet, it’s simple. It really only took that long because I kept abandoning ship with every letter I typed.
Once i hit print and hold it in my hands it feels, different, real.
This is a joke.
It has to be.
I take the pen. Hover for half a second. Then write my name.
Allison Mitchell.
The letters look steady.
I am not.
I hand the sheet to Shaina to bring with her when she goes into work tomorrow.
When I walk back to the group, they all look at me like I just did something monumental.
“Did you do it?” Kya demands.
I set the pen down on the table and pick up my drink. “I did it.”
Kya whoops.
Brooke claps.
Ana grins like she’s about to get front-row seats to a disaster she fully supports.
Mac just lifts her glass slightly in my direction.
I take a sip of my drink, letting the burn settle in my chest. “I’m doing this to prove a point,” I say.
“To who?” Shaina asks.
“Myself.”
That’s the answer I give. It’s not the real one.
Because under all of it, under the bravado and the chaos and the adrenaline starting to build in my veins, there’s one truth I can’t quite shake no matter how much I try to dress this up as something else.
I want Jimmy to finally look.