I add beer to the glass and he sets it down.
Max takes the die and roll a five. He grins at me as Aram lifts the glass again. “Drink up,” he says, handing it to me.
I do, then make a fuck you face at him. The next time around, I roll a three and drink. Max rolls another five and I drink again.
“I think you’re cheating,” I say, slamming the glass back down and filling it from my bottle.
Three hours later, I’m way past the one beer I told Billie I was having, but I only realize how trashed I am when I get up to pee and can barely walk. I hold the furniture and walls, and when I get to the toilet and sit, the whole bus starts spinning.
When I come back to the lounge, I don’t sit because I’m afraid if I do I won’t be able to get back up. “I have to go.”
Max makes a sad puppy face, but stands and takes my elbow. He pulls me close and whispers, “You could lay down in my bunk for a while.”
I shove him away. “Uh-uh. I’m drunk and you’re horny. Bad combination.”
He smiles. “You’re right.” He guides me down the stairs and hooks an arm around my waist to steady me as we walk to my bus. There’s a second I can’t figure out which one it is, and we walk back and forth past the front of all eight buses while I try to sort it out. When I’m pretty sure I’ve got the right one, I go to the door.
“Thanks…” I say, turning to look at him. “I think.”
“Admit it,” he says with a smile. “You’re falling for me.”
I start to roll my eyes, but that causes the ground to shift under my feet, so I stop. I haven’t even gotten my bearings when Max presses me up against the side of the bus. His mouth is warm and wet when it finds mine.
I think about pushing him back, but all of a sudden, I don’t have enough energy. He’ll be done eventually.
He draws away and gives me a blurry grin. “Told you.”
“I’m drunk,” I mutter. “You took advantage of me.”
“Uh-uh,” he says with a shake of his head that makes me dizzy. “That was you falling in love with me. You’ll definitely know it when I take advantage of you.”
“I’m falling not at all in love with you,” I say, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably, and not sure whether it’s the beer or what he just said that’s making me sick. I turn for the bus. “Go home.”
“’Night, Shiloh,” he says through a chuckle, then I hear his receding footsteps. But I’m frozen in place.
Tro stands from where he was sitting on the curb a few feet away and shoves his hands into his pockets.
He saw that. I couldn’t have planned it any better. So why am I all of a sudden sure I’m going to puke.
“Have fun?” he asks, a definite edge to his voice.
“The time of my life… right up until this second.” I stagger a few steps forward. “Now, not so much.”
“We need to talk, Lucky,” he says, coming slowly toward me.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
He takes a deep breath. “Listen, I never do this, but what I did earlier today was an even bigger asshole move than my usual, so…sorry.”
His eye twitches as he says it, as though it’s physically painful.
I shrug like it’s no big thing, but I know it is. Tro is right. He never apologizes. For anything.
The door flies open and Billie is there in her bathrobe. “What’s going on out here?”
Tro rubs the back of his neck as he turns to her. “I just fucked up. I wanted to apologize to Lucky and tell her it won’t happen again. I have no right to butt into shit that’s not mine to deal with.” He turns back to me. “You’re tough and I know you can handle your shit way the hell better than I can, so I’m going to get out of your way from here on out.”
I push past him, needing the safety of the bus. “Thank you.”
When I step up, I grab for the handle and miss, and nearly flip over backward, but before my ass hits the pavement, a pair of strong arms are scooping me up.
“I really am sorry, Lucky,” he says, low in my ear. His hot breath on my neck raises goose bumps on my skin and tightens my belly.
God, I hate my body for reacting to his touch.
I shake him off. “Then stay out of my life.”
He sets me back on my feet. “Your wish, my command.”
Billie takes my arm to steady me as I climb the stairs. When I turn back to where Tro just was, he’s gone. Disappointment sinks in my chest because the truth is, I have no fucking clue what my wish is.
Chapter 9
Tro