Andrea Turner and Meg Halston joined our group, dragging chairs with them. Eli and I were forced apart so they could squeeze between us.

I took a long drink and braced myself for two of the most annoying people I had ever met. Andrea and Meg worked in the office. Meg was the school nurse and Andrea worked at the front desk. They were both in their late thirties and the center of the gossip control tower at Hamilton.

I had never gotten along with Andrea. She had been snide with me from day one and I had no reason to try and get on her good side. I avoided her as much as I could, especially after I’d overheard her tell Meg that Nick left me because I was as frigid in the bedroom as I was in the classroom.

“Sure,” Eli answered politely.

I had no idea if he genuinely liked these two or if he was just being polite, but I could barely restrain my cat claws. I focused on finishing my second drink and scrolling through my phone to see if I needed to download the Uber app to get home.

“I can’t stand these bitches,” Kara grumbled in my ear.

“Me either,” I agreed.

“Where’s your hubby?” The obnoxious voice grated on my nerves until I realized Andrea was talking to me. Then it went from grating to stabbing and I wanted to flee.

I lifted my chin and met her calculating gaze. “Me?” I asked pointlessly.

I tried not to hate Andrea just because she had perfect hair that fell in shiny, curled waves to her shoulders and a tiny nose and porcelain skin. She looked like a Barbie doll. Even her boobs were over proportioned.

I glanced down at my chest and tried not to wince. Boobs were not a legitimate reason to hate someone.

Right?

Sure. Right.

No, she had way worse qualities than perfect looks. Her personality was absolutely unforgivable.

“We’re not together anymore,” I answered lamely. “You know that.”

She canted her head at me and laughed. “Do I?”

I cleared my throat and willed a waiter to come over by the sheer power of my desperate need for another drink.

Andrea let the awkward silence drag on for a few more painful moments before she cemented her place in hell and said, “That’s too bad, Kate. He was a catch.”

“Let’s get more drinks!” Kara shouted.

Thank god for best friends.

I stood up so quickly, I almost knocked my chair backward. Kara caught it with her panther-like reflexes and then we escaped to the bar.

“Shots!” she shouted at the bartender. “We need shots!”

“Of what?” He raised his eyebrows at us, amused curiosity dancing in his expression.

“Something strong,” Kara threw back.

“Something painful!” I added.

The young bartender’s face lit with laughter. “You got it.” He looked between us and clarified, “Two?”

“Two,” I answered immediately. I saw Kara’s eyes flicker back to the table and there was no way in hell I would let her take shots back to Andrea to prove just how pathetic I was. No doubt, she already knew. I didn’t need to advertise this shit.

The bartender poured two tiny glasses of gasoline, I mean, cheap tequila and handed them over. For a half second, I deliberated asking for a lime, but I couldn’t waste any more time. I picked up the clear liquid and slammed it down, sputtering through the worst of the burn.

“Oh, god,” I groaned.

“I might puke,” Kara winced. “I’m not kidding. That was really bad.”

“Another!” I shouted at the bartender.

He looked at me like I was absolutely crazy, the good fun draining away, replaced with concern. I wagged my finger between Kara and me and looked at him expectantly.

“Alright,” he mumbled. This time he pulled out something a little smoother and handed us limes to go with them.

Kara and I slammed the second set of shots and bit down on our limes to ease the fire.

“I hate mean girls,” Kara hissed after we’d acclimated to the new burn of alcohol.

“I hate divorce.”

She laid her hand on my shoulder sympathetically, but there was nothing else to say.

The rest of the night went on like that. Eli and Kent came over to talk to us after a while and we laughed over another round of tequila shots. Worse karaoke and more gossip continued, but mostly there was relaxing.

I avoided Andrea and Meg as often as I could and let Eli entertain me with his funny stories and witty sarcasm.

I wasn’t used to a man’s focus. And I really wasn’t used to a man like Eli, a man that paid attention to what I said. A man that paid attention to me.

“It’s late,” I said after blinking at my phone. Kent had convinced Kara to dance with him and Eli and I had been left alone. I leaned against the sticky bar, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stand very long without its support. “I’m going to be worthless tomorrow.”

Eli gave me his half smile, “Do you want a ride home?”

I hadn’t seen him drink anything but water for the last two hours, so I hoped that meant he was sober. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Let me grab Kara.”

His gaze moved to the dance floor and when it came back to me, it was unreadable. But then again, that could have been the booze.

I retrieved my friend from the dance floor. She came willingly, but I could tell I took her from a good time. She was more relaxed than usual and I hated interrupting her. But we did have to be at school bright and early in the morning and our sanities were still salvageable if we left now.

Eli led the way out to his pickup truck. My eyesight was a little blurry, but I couldn’t stop from smiling at the rusted wheel caps and faded paint. Eli’s old Chevy just seemed to fit him in a way I couldn’t explain. It was old, but it was also comfortable and full of character.

He held the door open for us and Kara nudged me in first. I tried not to fumble too much as I slid into the middle seat. Kara climbed up after me and Eli slammed the door shut. My ears rang in the new silence, damaged from the calamity of the bar. I slumped against the bench seat, the rough fabric scratching the backs of my knees and realized exactly how tired I was.

Eli climbed into the driver’s seat, filling the cab with his cologne and the light tang of sweat. His warm thigh pressed into mine and I was too tipsy to feel self-conscious. I let my leg rest against his and felt the heat of his body to the tips of my toes.

That small touch kept me more alert than I should have been with the alcohol swimming in my blood. His touch did all kinds of things to my head, including keeping me silent. Eli and Kara talked on the way to her house, but I couldn’t find the courage to open my mouth.

It was stupid. Completely stupid. That small connection should mean nothing. I shouldn’t even be worried about Eli’s leg pressed against mine. And yet, it was the most intimate I had ever been with someone else since I met Nick. I had never been this forward with another man. Ever. I didn’t need to be.

And the entire ride to Kara’s apartment I fought a war between excitement and shame. The thrill of my attraction to Eli fought seven years of loyalty to my husband. I didn’t know whether to grin like an idiot or puke.

Finally, we dropped Kara off and I broke the contact between us, sliding to the passenger’s side. I gave Eli my address with a shaking voice. I couldn’t look at him anymore. I had crossed some invisible barrier tonight that I had set up myself.

I was too confused and too infused with alcohol to know if the buzzing in my veins was celebration or sorrow. And I was too tired to care.

“I had fun hanging out with you tonight, Kate,” Eli’s low rumble floated in the warm air of the cab.

This time my smile came easily and I stopped worrying about all of the rules I broke tonight or the consequences of my actions. “I had fun hanging out with you, too.”

I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “You going to be okay to get inside?” he asked gently.