“Ten. Stop!” It comes out as forcefully as I feel it but not at all how I wanted it to come out. I hate being angry at her. I hate being angry at everything, which I am. Ever since the attempted mugging, or whatever the hell that was, I have been furious with myself and everything around me.
Her big blue eyes are wide and her face has gone so slack that her dimples, which are always visible because she's always got some version of a smile on her drop-dead-gorgeous face, are gone. I take another sip of the drink, bigger this time, and collect my thoughts. "I will feel worse about everything if I ruin this trip for you. So please, just be Tenley, my overbearing, terrifyingly bold favorite cousin, and let me figure out what I need to be or do on my own, okay?"
She seems skeptical but nods and then clinks her glass to mine. She turns back to survey the bodies bumping and grinding on the other side of the velvet rope that has us sectioned off in a VIP area. Well, one of the VIP areas. This club is gigantic with multiple levels and VIP areas. So many that we have yet to find Tate. He went for a guys’ dinner and was going to meet us here, but we gave up trying to shove our way through the masses and slid into this space for drinks.
"Look! There's Tater Tot!" Tenley points into the crowd. Despite the mass of humanity, I pick out Tate right away. He's with two of his teammates. They're all dressed in ridiculous Hawaiian shirts. Tate's is red and pink and it's the least ugly one of the bunch. I think they look like idiots but I'm also appreciative of it because I can find them in crowds easier. I know none of them know me because I don't go to games or help out at Quake charity events like Tenley does, but if I get lost tonight and see someone with one of those shirts I know I can say "I'm Devin Garrison's daughter. Tate's cousin." And no matter how drunk each one of his teammates will help me out.
There are about ten Quake players who came on the trip. Word seems to have gotten out that the Stanley Cup champs are in Sin City because as Tate and his teammates cut their way through the crowd, a lot of very pretty women stare and point. I see one lean in and say something to Tate, her hand on his shoulder. He nods and smiles but keeps walking.
I look over at Mallory who is sipping her cocktail on the other side of Tenley. She glances at me with a smile. “I trust him.”
“You guys have something real. Something strong.”
“Yeah.” Mallory smiles. “Tate’s it for me.”
Her eyes are clear and bright. Her smile genuine and filled with confidence. Tenley groans. “Do not placate her fantasies.”
“What are her fantasies?” Mallory asks.
“That she’s going to find Prince Charming right out of the gate.” Tenley turns so her back is to me, like she and Mallory are having this conversation in a room I’m not even in. “She doesn’t want to kiss a toad in case it’s the wrong toad. I’ve been trying to tell her for years that you gotta kiss a couple frogs on this quest of hers to find Prince Charming. And that sometimes the frogs can be fun.”
Mallory laughs. “Are you saying Liv hasn’t had a boyfriend? Like ever? Are you… have you been kissed?”
Mallory is staring at me like I’m an Amish girl off the farm for the first time. I roll my eyes and give Tenley a little shove. “Yes. I’ve been kissed. I’ve had boyfriends.”
“Two. And you never went past third base.”
“Ten!”
"Really?" Mallory is genuinely shocked, reaffirming the fact I've been living with —an almost twenty-three-year-old virgin is unheard of.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I snap and swallow half the martini in one gulp. “Next round’s on me.”
I turn and head to the bar.
* * *
Three hours and two more martinis later, I’m on the dance floor. Me. Little timid Liv Garrison is shaking my ass to some song by someone other than Taylor Swift, who is my go-to. I think this is Swift-adjacent though as it might be Ed Sheeran? I am too tipsy to figure it out. Tenley is watching me with wide eyes and a laugh on her lips. Even drunk I know it’s a positive laugh, not a negative one. She’s in awe. So is Tate, I think, as he’s over at the railing of the VIP area staring at me too. His eyes as wide as his sister’s but he’s not smiling. He looks rather concerned. Probably about the guy who is plastered to my backside.
I think he said his name is Gavin. Maybe? It was hard to hear over the music. But he’s cute and he has a nice smile. I feel his hand on my hip now and I fight the urge to stiffen. I keep swinging my hips. This is what I want. This is why I came here. Tenley spins in front of me, arms in the air. Gavin’s friend is beside her dancing away. He’s touching her too and Tenley isn’t stressed about it. Tate also isn’t watching his sister like a hawk, just me.
"Hey!" I hear in my ear and turn my head a little to lock eyes with Gavin. His eyes are brown, rich, and deep. They seem kind. Please let them be kind. "Wanna grab a drink at the bar upstairs? Away from that giant dude who is trying to dismember me with his eyeballs."
I glance up at Tate and glare at him momentarily before turning my back on him to face my new friend. “That would be lovely.”
“What?” he shouts back because the music is deafening.
I take his hand in mine, alcohol making me much bolder than I am. “Let’s go!”
We don’t make it more than five steps when I feel a hand on my shoulder. It’s not Tate’s though, which surprises me. It’s Tenley. “Where ya going?” she asks casually, but her tone isn’t light.
“For a drink somewhere more private.” Oh God, that sounds so mature and racy. I mean, probably not to other people, but coming out of my virginal mouth, yeah. It’s shocking. Tenley’s blue eyes widen and I know I’m right. I lean closer to her. “Tate is freaking him out.”
“I know you don’t come out with us much, but girl code is no one leaves alone,” Tenley announces.
“I’m not alone. I’m with Gavin,” I tell her. “And I’m not leaving. Just going upstairs. Away from my ridiculously over-protective cousin. Or is it cousins, plural?”
"Dude, Tate Garrison is your cousin?" the guy behind Tenley interjects. He literally has cartoon stars in his eyes he is so star-struck. "He was incredible in the playoffs this year. I don't think the Quake would have won a Cup without him."