His eyes slid down her body, and he felt a strange pang of guilt in doing so. The night at her apartment was fresh in his mind, her obvious cry for help, for a friend. He shouldn't be thinking of her that way.
As the DJ wrapped up his set, the girls all started moving back toward them. He narrowed his eyes and could tell by the way she swayed slightly in her tall heels that Drew was pretty drunk. He was actually surprised at her dexterity, considering all the shots she'd had poured down her throat. She could obviously drink.
"We're taking off," Nik was telling her sister. "We've got kids and everything."
"Aw, you're so lame," Drew said, pouting. She smiled then and embraced her sisters.
"How are you getting home?" Toni demanded.
"Bunz, or something," Drew replied vaguely.
Heath glanced at Bunz, who was currently being nuzzled by her boyfriend. By the looks of things, she wasn't going to be too keen on playing chauffeur again.
Drew hugged her sisters again, then Nik turned toward him. She smiled.
"Good seeing you again," she said brightly. "See you at dinner tomorrow."
"Yeah, sleep tight," Toni chimed in. "You'll need it." They both smiled sweetly and slipped out into the night.
He felt Connor's hand clamp down on his shoulder. "Those are some scary chicks," he said. "Good luck tomorrow. I'm heading out."
"Can I get a minute?" Heath exclaimed. "You know, since I drove and everything."
Connor laughed. "I meant, I'm taking a cab."
Heath stared at him. "Why the hell would you do that?" he asked, mystified.
Connor glanced at Drew, who was hugging some of the cocktail waitresses goodbye and frowned, jerking his head toward her. "Take the lady home, man," Connor said softly, then clapped Heath on the shoulder before leaving the lounge.
Heath stood uncertainly, then caught Bunz's eye and flicked his head toward her. They each took a step toward the other.
"Hey, I can take her home," Heath said.
Bunz eyed him suspiciously. "She's pretty drunk. I should make sure she gets home okay."
"I got it," Heath insisted gently. "It's no problem."
"Baby, let the man take her home," Anthony said, appearing behind her, clasping her shoulders and leaning into her neck. Heath smirked.
Bunz glanced at her boyfriend through heavily lidded eyes then turned back to Heath.
"If you're sure," she said, still somewhat uncertain. Heath nodded. Bunz shrugged and moved toward Drew to speak into her ear. Drew's eyes cut toward him as she listened to Bunz, then she nodded and reached out to hug her friend, her eyes still on him. Unless he was mistaken, it looked like her dark eyes went even darker as she looked at him.
After Bunz and Anthony left, Drew walked up to him. She tilted her head back and shook her head slightly, the ripples traveling the length of her shiny dark hair cascading down her back. He was mesmerized by it, and her lips curled into a smile as she followed his eyes.
"So, you're my chauffeur," she said, wobbling just a little in her shoes. "Hope your brother doesn't mind his car going all the way out to Little Italy again."
Heath smirked at her and popped a toothpick in his mouth. "It's not his car going to Little Italy. It's mine. And he took a cab home."
She watched him chew the toothpick, her eyes widening slightly. "You have a car?" she repeated. "Since when?"
"Since a few months ago," Heath replied.
"Well...why do you always take the bus and the train then?"
"Saves gas and money," he replied. "Plus parking anywhere in this city is a bitch." He nodded toward the door as he saw her eyes lose their focus a little. "Why don't you get your stuff and I'll take you back home. You, uh...you hit it a little hard tonight."
She smiled, then giggled. "I did, didn't I?" she exclaimed. "I'll be right back." He watched her teeter off toward the back, stumbling in her heels.
He knew what had happened the last time he'd left her to go get the car, and he didn't want to risk putting her through that again. He waited patiently by the door for her, chewing on his toothpick, until she reappeared from the back, tugging a long black cardigan around herself, a bag slung over her shoulder. She crossed the room toward him.
"We gotta go," she said thickly. "I can't take any more goodbyes."
He chuckled and gave her his arm for balance as they headed out into the night. "I didn't know this was all so emotional for you."
"Me either," she said. "I'm not sure why it's so hard now."
"Maybe all that tequila had something to do with it," he joked, cringing away when he felt her elbow in his ribs sharply. He led her across the street where his black Dodge Charger was parked.