Small Town Girl, Big City Dreams • Kate Martin

Chapter 22: Alcohol and Almosts

Inspiration Song: You and Tequila (feat. Grace Potter) by Kenny Chesney

"Oh, c'mon, Jade," I heard Syd joke, calling out to the brunette on the other side of the counter. "Do a shot with us!"

We were all sat up at the bar, most of the crowd having cleared out. It had been a successful night. The bar had been packed from the moment it opened until last call approximately twenty minutes ago. Jade had invited us—well, told Kelsey to invite us—to stay late after the bar closed to enjoy some drinks without everyone watching us.

"Not until the bar is officially closed," she responded with a smile. "So, give me like ten more minutes."

"Fineee," Kelsey sighed dramatically.

All the girls had been drinking a steady amount throughout the night but had kept themselves in check. Now that everyone was clearing out, I could tell they were ready to really drink. Megan had been sipping water since 11, however, claiming she wanted to get back home to her dog tonight. While her boyfriend definitely could take care of Pancake, I didn't blame her one bit.

I was trying to nurse my drink, but I was already pretty drunk. Hell, I had been drunk since 10 due to my empty stomach. Thankfully, Megan had noticed and asked Jade's permission to order a pizza so that I could get some food in my stomach. While it had helped, once I was drunk, there really was no going back for me. I wasn't belligerent, by any means, and anyone who didn't know me probably couldn't tell, but it was an uncomfortable feeling for me with everything going on.

I watched Jade expertly pour out the shots. I took this time to look at her. I could tell she was stressed; the bags under her eyes that I had incessantly worried about before everything had happened were still very apparent. I hoped now that the grand opening was over that she would be able to get some better sleep. She looked like she had even lost a little weight, which was worrying as she was small to begin with. I wondered how her dad was doing. I wondered how she was doing again for the millionth time since we last talked. Truthfully, I wondered about a million little things, knowing there was a possibility that I would never get to know any of them.

Once she was done pouring the shots, she passed them out one by one. As I was sitting on the end, I was the last one to receive one. She set the shot carefully in front of me before asking, "Are you sure you want one?"

"Y-yeah," I replied, locking eyes with her. I saw concern behind the chocolate orbs, which wasn't something I expected. I didn't even think she had looked my way all night while I hadn't been able to keep my eyes off of her. "I'm good."

She nodded her head and I grabbed my shot, turning towards my teammates. "To a three-peat?"

"That a baby, Kate!" Kelsey called out while Sydney started whooping and hyping us up for the shot. We all clinked glasses and I threw the fruity concoction back.

"So what shot are we doing next?" Kelsey asked the minute her shot glass hit the bar top. "Jade, you want to pick since it'll be your first of the night?"

I watched Jade smirk, and it caused my stomach to drop. God, how I missed her. I just hoped I didn't have to spend the rest of my life missing her. "I don't know if you hooligans can handle my shot with all the drinking you've been doing."

"Boo," Kelsey called out. "We're not scared of anything."

"Well, except Kate; she might be scared of you," Syd joked. She was obviously feeling the liquor. The girls had done so well all night at trying to keep as much attention off of me around Jade as possible. My guess was that Kelsey had talked to them previously, which I was thankful for.