12. Chapter 12 #2
I cleared my throat loudly. Each of them froze in place for a moment before turning to look at me.
“Oh.” Ricky hiccuped. “Welcome back, big guy! How was your date? Obviously not that great if you ended up back here with us.”
Bianca snorted just as she had been taking another sip from her glass, then started coughing. Ricky slapped her back—hard.
I glanced at Lucy and noticed that despite all the radiant joy a moment ago, her lips pressed tight as her eyes laser-focused on something invisible in the middle of the table.
“Don’t worry about what I was doing. Did you guys seriously rope Lucy into your ridiculous game?”
“She’s…fucking…killing us,” Bianca coughed out before straightening her spine and taking another slow sip from the drink in front of her.
“They taught me how to play gin rummy,” Lucy said, avoiding my gaze. “And apparently, I am a fucking prodigy.” The last word came out in a slight slur.
That’s when I noticed several empty highball glasses sitting beside her, and another half-full glass in her hand.
“Have you also been drinking the gin?” I asked. Half of me wanted to laugh. The other half wanted to smack Ricky upside the head for getting her drunk.
He must have seen the look on my face because he immediately said, “I decided to try out that label your buddy dropped off a couple weeks ago. I wanted to do some experimenting,” he explained with ease.
“And thanks to these lovely ladies, I have perfected the newest addition to Bellissima’s cocktail list—the Gin it to Win it!
” He lifted his hand high across the table.
Lucy and Bianca let out simultaneous cheers of approval, though there would be no high-five of praise from me for getting this girl tipsy.
She needed to be on guard when I wasn’t around.
Those fucking degenerate creeps could be anywhere as far as we knew…
not that Ricky knew any of that. I pulled out the only empty chair at the table, which was the one next to Lucy’s.
My knee brushed against hers slightly as I moved into the seat, and I noticed a deep blush stain her cheeks.
Vicious heat stole through my body, and I took a deep breath to try and cool it as I jerked my knee to the side.
“How many of those have you had?” I whispered tensely as Ricky and Bianca chattered on about the karaoke duet they’d been practicing.
“A few,” she whispered back, but kept her eyes locked away from mine.
“You want to try it?” She gingerly lifted the glass and my palm reached out to take it from her on autopilot.
I was normally a little wary about Ricky’s concoctions and preferred my liquor straight.
But for some reason without hesitating, I took a small drag from the straw.
Something about touching my lips to the same thing that met hers sent an unexpected thrill through me.
As I handed the drink back to her, Lucy’s eyes met mine in a blaze that shot straight to my groin.
“It’s very good,” I managed to stutter as I ripped my eyes away from hers.
“The King approves!” Ricky clapped his hands in bravado.
“I think that means my job here is done for the evening.” He started to gather the empty glasses littering the table on a tray and took them back behind the bar.
Bianca began to organize the playing cards into a neat stack and Lucy jumped up to help her.
When Ricky made his way back to the table he announced, “I’m headed over to Quincy’s for a nightcap before I turn in, anyone care to join me?”
“I’m in,” Bianca replied.
“Haven’t you guys been drinking here all night?” It came off more judgmental than I intended it to.
Ricky rolled his eyes with a signature dramatic effervescence. “I spend my days making drinks for others, so I like to finish them by enjoying one crafted by another alchemist, thank you very much.” Ricky hummed as he packed his belongings. “Are you joining us, Lucy?”
“Um…” She glanced down at the glass still gripped in her hand. “Maybe another time. This was really fun though, thanks for everything.”
“Welcome to the family, girl. We’re so glad you’re here.” Before leaving, Ricky planted a kiss right on top of her head. To my dismay, he nearly gave me one too but swerved away and out the door in a split-second decision. Bianca followed quietly behind him with a nonchalant wave goodbye.
Then it was just us.
“I didn’t realize you had such a competitive streak, Luce,” I said quietly.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Her voice was short, but I immediately understood what she was implying.
There was a lot she didn’t know about me either.
“I’m driving you home again tonight.” My voice came out harder than I meant it to, and Lucy’s big caramel eyes absorbed mine.
“Fine.” Just a breathy whisper.
I felt a tinge of relief. I’d expected her to argue.
She was sitting so close to me I could feel the warmth radiating from her skin.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth with a hint of nervousness, and the tiny frivolous movement sent me pushing myself up from the table.
Fuck. I needed to put some space between us before I did something stupid.
“I just need to make sure everything is closed up. Wait here.” I paced away from her, checking to make sure the front door was locked. I took extra time turning off the lights and checking the stoves in the kitchen, needing to cool down for a moment.
I made my way to the security alarm control pad. I set the alarm on a countdown timer, which gave us exactly three minutes before it turned on.