“It’s a kamikaze. You’ll like it. Come on!” She thrust a hand into the air, raising her own glass.
Karen shot a sideways glance at the empty glasses crowding the space in front of her and Abby and noticed for the first time that Abby had already knocked back several of the potent lemonades Nate the bartender considered his specialty.
Karen had been too busy worrying about Jed to notice. Fortunately, she’d also been too busy to order another drink. She’d had two lemonades, but the first had been almost two hours ago, and she’d had a big meal. She could afford to have a shot with the group. Maybe it would do her good – Jed’s gift had sharpened the edge on her nerves considerably.
She drained her shot glass along with the others, on Abby’s count.
It wasn’t bad. Her lips burned a little in the wake of it, and she focused on the sensation as she paid way too much attention to her empty glass.
“What’d you think?” Abby’s glass clinked loudly against the table top as she set it down.
“Not bad,” Karen said, looking up to smile at Abby and catching Jed’s eye.
“We should do another round!” Abby declared, and Tyler agreed, high-fiving her.
Oh, boy. The Hot Ink staff seemed a lot rowdier after dark and away from the studio than they did at work. Was this how they released the tension of having to concentrate so intently on their art all day? All of them except Jed … he was still sitting calmly, and was probably the only other person at the table besides Karen whose head wasn’t spinning.
He smiled a faint half-smile. “You look a little flushed. You don’t have to let Abby ply you with shots if you don’t want to.”
Karen laughed as Abby whirled around from her conversation with Tyler, her expression indignant. “Of course she wants to. It’s her birthday! And it’s yours too, Jed. When are you going to lighten up?”
Jed just smiled and shook his head. “Someone has to open up the shop tomorrow.”
Abby groaned. “Holy crap, Jed. James can handle that for once! Live a little.”
James, who was halfway through what looked like one of Nate’s lethal Long Island Iced Teas, looked utterly hapless.
The next hour sped by in a blur of shots and cocktails, most of which were imbibed by Abby, Tyler and James. Karen took a tentative sip of a lemonade Abby had ordered for her, then left it barely-touched when she glanced at her phone and saw that it was approaching midnight.
“I’m going to get going, guys.” Her grandmother was taking her to a birthday brunch at her favorite winery, not far from the city, the next morning. The last thing she wanted was to show up red-eyed and drowsy.
“I should head out too,” Jed said, flattening his hands on the table and pushing back his chair. “I don’t think I trust any of you three to open up shop tomorrow, and I’ve got a session scheduled for noon, anyway. I’ll leave cash for my bill – make sure the waitress gets it, and tell her to keep the change.”
“Nooo!” Abby cried when Jed pulled out his wallet. “No way. Don’t you dare leave any money! This is on us.”
James echoed her, and Tyler went so far as to give Jed a shove. “Get out of here. You’re not paying for anything tonight.”
Jed didn’t move – Tyler’s shove might as well have been a spring breeze. He did slip his wallet back into his pocket, though.
“You too, Karen,” Abby said. “Your money’s no good here.” She wagged a finger and managed to look stern for about half a second.
“Thanks a lot, guys.” Karen gripped her purse strap. It was a good thing the prospect of walking outside the restaurant with Jed had her so nervous she wasn’t capable of laughter.
“I never realized Abby was so … lively,” Karen said as she and Jed walked away from the table together. “She’s always so into her work at the shop, I hardly ever hear a word out of her.”
“She’s not always like this. Abby’s got a hot and cold personality – when she’s quiet, she’s quiet, and when she’s not, she’s really not.”
Karen gripped her purse strap, thinking of the camera strap she’d tucked inside. “It was nice of them to cover our checks.” The other artists had bought Jed dinner and drinks. Should she pick up a belated birthday gift for him, or would that be weird?
“Yeah. Hey, do you need a ride home?”
“I was going to call a cab,” she said, pausing by the door and gripping her purse strap even harder. “You’re not going to drive, are you?” Her heart plummeted down to her toes at the thought. Jed, drive after drinking? It went against everything she’d thought she’d known about him.