“He was pretty uptight,” Kate says with a nod. “Not really your type.”
“What is your type?” I ask and pull a pair of pink patent leather sling backs out of a box and almost die at how pretty they are. “Oh God, these are hot.”
“Put them on!” Gabby exclaims.
“My type doesn’t seem to exist,” Charly replies, eyeing the pink shoes on my feet. “Those, however, are your type.”
“Oh yeah,” I breathe and walk around the store in them, already in love. “These babies are going home with me. Now, back to you.”
“Charly likes the assholes,” Gabby informs me unabashedly.
“I do not,” Charly disagrees with a frown. “I just seem to find the assholes.”
“Tell me about this Harrison guy,” I urge her. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He wore khakis and a tie to your bar to watch Dec play,” she begins and I automatically don’t like him.
“Maybe he thought it would be a fancier place,” Van says reasonably, but Charly shakes her head no.
“That’s just what he always wears.”
“Always?” Kate asks and frowns when Charly nods yes. “I didn’t like that he wasn’t very gentlemanly. I mean, it was a first date, and he didn’t hold one door for you or offer to pay for dinner or your drinks.”
“I was mortified that Eli paid for everything,” Charly says with a sigh.
“He didn’t care about that,” Kate says and pulls out a pair of royal blue heels, then passes them to me. “These would look great on you. He just didn’t like Harrison.”
“Well, then it’s unanimous, no one likes him,” Van says and zips up a super hot pair of black leather knee-high boots. “We do, however, like these.”
“Indeed,” Charly says, admiring the boots. “I’ll sell out of those real quick.”
I drain my glass and walk to the counter to pour more. “Does anyone else want more wine?”
“Me!” Gabby says with a giggle and joins me. “This wine is pretty strong.”
“I hope you’re not driving home,” I reply with a smile.
“Nah, she’s staying with me tonight,” Van says and holds her glass out for more too. “We’ll call Uber.”
“Or Eli,” Gabby adds. “He can take us home when he takes Kate.”
“Yeah, that,” Van says and takes a sip of wine, then waves a hand. “Oh! I forgot! I brought food.” She runs into the back room, then comes back with a bag of chips and three containers full of different dips. “This will soak up some of the alcohol.”
“Good idea! I still have some paper plates back here somewhere,” Charly says as she disappears and comes back with a stack of plates and utensils.
For the next hour, we proceed to eat, drink and try on shoes. When all is said and done, I have four pairs picked out, but Van leads us all with six pairs.
“Now I need a man to impress with my new shoes,” Van says with a pout.
“You’re not ready for a man,” Charly says.
“How do you know what I’m ready for?” Van asks, slurring her words and pointing to Charly’s left. “Which one are you?”
“Over here.” Charly moves Van’s finger in front of her. “You told me you’re not ready.”
“I’m ready.” Van sniffs, her nose dripping from the hot jalapeño dip, and flips her dark hair over her shoulder. “I haven’t gotten laid in a long time, and maybe I just want to get laid. Laid.”
“How many times are you going to say laid?” Charly says and drains a bottle, not bothering to pour it into a glass.
Atta girl.
“I’ll say laid all day. Laid laid laid,” Van says and then snorts. “Some of you are getting laid. Even Callie is getting laid.”
All eyes suddenly turn to me. I look around, then simply drink the rest of my wine.
Oh God.
“You’re fucking Declan,” Kate says, pointing at me.
“Kind of,” I reply. God, I can’t feel my lips. What if they say stuff I don’t want them to? Dumb wine.
“You don’t kind of fuck, even I remember that,” Van says with a giggle.
“Well, I mean, she could be kind of,” Gabby says diplomatically. “I mean, maybe there’s just oral.”
“Oral doesn’t count?” I ask, surprised. “I thought it counted.”
“For the sake of right now,” Charly says and plops right down on the floor, “we’re gonna say it doesn’t count.”
“And please remember that he’s our brother, so we don’t want details, because ew,” Gabby adds.
“Um, well, um… yes.”
“Yes to what? Oral or everything?” Kate asks, leaning forward like she’s watching a riveting TV show.
“Everything,” I whisper. “Please don’t hate me.”
“Oh God,” Van says and waves me off. “We know that Declan has sex, but he doesn’t have sex with girls he actually likes. He’s a man-whore.”
“Savannah!” Kate cries and covers her face. “Don’t tell her that.”
“No, I know about his reputation,” I say with a shrug. “But he’s having sex with me, and he even takes me out on dates.”
All four women stare at me with glassy, round owl-eyes, blinking slowly.
“Wow,” Kate whispers. “So what are you gonna do?”
“Keep having sex with him?”
“No, like, after that,” Gabby says, petting a pair of suede boots.
“Sleep?”
“Okay, focus,” Kate says and takes me by the shoulders, looking me in the eye. “What is going to happen in the long term?”
“I don’t know,” I reply and frown. “That’s scary to think about.”
“Just be nice to him,” Gabby says. “Of all our guys, Declan is the most sensitive. It’s probably the artistic side of him.”
“I’m nice to him,” I reply. “I want to give him head, but he hasn’t given me a chance to yet.”
“Does he go downtown on you?” Charly asks.
“Hell yes. On pianos.”
“Wow,” they all reply in awe.
“Yeah. He has mad skills.”
“So, we’re a little drunk, and I really like you, but I have to say this part,” Kate says and pushes her red hair back over her shoulders. “Don’t be a bitch to him. Like, ever. Because we will kick your ass.”
“You’re pretty possessive for someone who isn’t related by blood.” I cock my hip out and brace my hand on it and try to look badass, but I’m pretty sure I’m failing.
“I like her,” Van says with a smile. “She has gumption.”
“I’m as close to blood-related to Declan as it gets,” Kate says and mirrors my stance. She looks more badass than I do, I’m sure. “I’ve known Declan for more than ten years, and he’s special to me.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“So don’t be a bitch.”
“But, what if it’s sometimes just in my nature to be a bitch, but it’s not on purpose?” I ask sincerely. “Because sometimes I just am.”
“That doesn’t count, because we all do that,” Charly says. “She’s talking about the on-purpose kind.”
“Oh good.” I sigh and smile. “I can do that.”
“I don’t want to stop drinking,” Van whines. “I feel good and I want to stay this way.”
“We can’t go bar hopping with a bunch of shoe boxes,” Gabby says.
“Leave them here and come pick them up tomorrow,” Charly says. “That’s easier.”
“We can go drink at my bar,” I offer without thinking. “On me.”
“You don’t have to give us free drinks,” Kate says.
“But if you really want to, who are we to argue? Let’s go!” Gabby grabs Van's and Charly’s hands and leads us out of the shop.
“Wait! I have to lock up!”
We wait for Charly to lock the door, and then the five of us stumble down the sidewalk to my bar, just three blocks over. When we file in and walk to the bar, Adam looks up and grins.
“Hello there, ladies.”
“Oh, you’re cute,” Van says and leans over the bar toward him, as if she’s going to tell him a secret. “I haven’t gotten laid in a long time, hot stuff.”
Adam laughs and pats her hand as Gabby tries to pull Van off the bar.