I glare at him. “You can’t tell me what to do here. We’re not at the office. You’re not my boss.”
He sips his whiskey and says nothing. Now what? He’s ignoring me?
I turn to Ryker. “Ryker, tell Ethan he’s not my boss here.”
“I don’t think you should have any more gin either,” he says.
I frown. “Did I ask for your opinion?”
“You’re drunk,” Ethan tells me. “As soon as I’m done with my drink, I’m bringing you home.”
“I’m not drunk,” I reply.
I know I’ve been here for hours and drunk four glasses of gin, maybe more. I know that I feel a little lightheaded. And I can smell the alcohol on my breath. But I’m not drunk.
“You are drunk,” Ryker seconds.
I look at him. “Again, I wasn’t asking for your opinion.”
He shrugs. “It doesn’t make it any less true.”
“And I’m not going home,” I tell Ethan. “I’m not going back to my apartment.”
“Why not?” he asks.
“Because Violet is there.”
“I thought she lives there,” Ryker says.
I ignore him. “And her new boyfriend.”
Ethan puts his glass down. “I see. So you got yourself drunk because Violet dumped you and got a new boyfriend.”
“I am not drunk.”
“But you got dumped?” Ryker asks. “Well, isn’t that a first?”
I glare at him. “Shut up, Ryker.”
“I don’t see how her new boyfriend is your problem,” Ethan says. “After all, she already dumped you.”
I fight the urge to cover my ears. Can they please stop saying ‘dumped’?
“Maybe he’s still in love with her,” Ryker says. “Wait. Isn’t that a first, too?”
I give him another glare. Does he want me to punch him? Because if he does, I’d be happy to oblige. My fist is still itching from this afternoon.
“So you finally fell in love with someone but then you let her slip through your fingers,” Ethan says. “Don’t worry. It happens to the best of men, especially those who’ve never been in love before.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” I ask him.
He doesn’t answer that. Instead, he looks at me.
“You know what you have to do? You have to get her back. That’s what you and Ryker told me when I lost Stella. You told me to go after her and get her back. So you do the same. Get her back.”
I snort and let my chin fall on the counter. “It’s not that easy.”
“Because she has a new boyfriend?”
“Because she wants me to be her boyfriend and I’m not sure I’m ready to be that,” I confess. “And I don’t know how to be.”
“Did you tell her that?”
I pause. “No.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t told her you’re in love with her, either,” Ryker says.
“Because I’m not,” I tell him.
“Oh yes you are,” Ryker says.
This time, I don’t protest. I just wonder. Am I?
“Just go and tell her how you feel,” Ethan tells me. “Everything you feel. If she decides she still wants nothing to do with you, then let her go. Just don’t give up before putting up a fight.”
I chuckle. “Funny. Stella told me the same thing.”
“You talked to her?” Ethan asks.
“When I went to your house after I found out Violet and I were neighbors,” I tell him.
“Oh.” Ethan nods. “Well, anyway, we’re both right. You shouldn’t be here drinking, not until you’ve really lost.”
“Haven’t I?”
“Have you given up?” Ryker asks me.
“I gave her new boyfriend flowers,” I answer.
“What?” they both say at the same time.
“I gave her new boyfriend the flowers I was going to give her. That’s like throwing in the towel, right?”
Ryker laughs. “You did what?”
“So you did something stupid,” Ethan says. “So what? That doesn’t mean you’ve given up on Violet, does it?”
“I don’t think so,” I answer.
Ethan grabs my shoulder and straightens me up. He looks into my eyes.
“Do you want Violet back, Asher Hawthorne?”
“Yes,” I answer without thinking.
“Then go get her back,” Ethan tells me.
“Okay.”
“Though maybe not right now,” Ryker says. “She won’t take you seriously if you’re drunk. Plus you might throw up on her in front of her new boyfriend, which won’t help you win her back at all.”
“Fine.” I agree with him for once, even though I suddenly have an urge to go see her.
I bury my face in my arms on the counter.
Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk so much.
~
I really shouldn’t have drunk so much, I think as I stumble out of the elevator.
Ethan drove me home—well, his driver did—and the doorman downstairs helped me across the lobby, but now I’m on my own and I realize I can barely put one foot in front of the other.
I lean on the wall and trudge along. I can already see the door to my apartment even if it’s a bit of a blur.
Just a few more steps…
I fall. One moment I’m leaning on the wall and the next I’m on the floor. I don’t feel any pain, though. Just the coarse carpet against my cheek.
And weak. I feel weak. Like I don’t think I’ll be able to get up.
Fuck.
I close my eyes, about to give up. But then I hear a voice.
“Asher?”
I open my eyes and see Violet kneeling beside me. Just the sight of her alone gives me the strength to get my face off the floor and straighten up half my body so I can sit against the wall. But that’s the best I can do.
“Asher?” Violet places her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I look into her eyes. Even though I’m drunk, I can see them clearly.
“Beautiful,” I mutter.
Her eyebrows crease. “What?”
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her.
“And you’re drunk,” she says.
“That doesn’t… make it any less true.”
She shakes her head.
I narrow my eyes. “Are you blushing?”
“No,” she says. “You’re the one whose face is all red.”
“Do you like it?”
“Just shut up and let me help you get home.”
She grabs my arm.
“Wait.” I pull it away. “Before I shut up, I have something to say.”
I know Ryker said I should wait until I’m sober before I talk to Violet, and he’s probably right. But she’s here now. I’m not wasting this chance.
Violet looks at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until you’re sober?”
“No,” I answer. “I mean yes. I’m sure.”
She sits on her heels. “Okay then. I’m listening. But if you start to speak nonsense…”
“Farrah West,” I begin.