Page 37 of Until Joy

“Joy’s a little jumpy. I don’t want to rush her. I want to make sure she feels safe with me.”

“Safe?” Z gave me a long look. “Do you think something’s happened to her in the past?”

“I’m not sure, but she shows some signs of past trauma. I just don’t want to push her.”

“Well, she hasn’t said anything to the girls, cause Kayan would have told me in a heartbeat.”

Of that, I had no doubt. “It could be nothing,” I admitted.

“No,” Z disagreed. “You’re like Wes. You led a team of SEALs. You’d know. I trust your gut. But if she’s your boom, this slow shit must be killing you.”

He was right about that. But if my girl needed slow, then that’s what she’d get, and I told Z that. “Well, good luck,” Z said, clapping my shoulder as we followed our women to Louey’s.

When we got inside the bar, it was packed to capacity.

“Follow me, everybody,” Kayan ordered. “July texted me where their table is.”

“You tell me where it is,” Z told her. “I’ll clear the way.”

She looked up at her man and grinned. “Sounds good.”

I positioned Joy behind Kayan so that the women were between us. When we got to the table, I saw that somehow, they had procured chairs for us. What’s more, the table was close to the stage.

I gave a chin tilt to Evan, Wes, and Harlen as I got Joy seated. She looked up at me, excitement in her eyes, and that made me happy. Even if I had been cock-blocked for a while, Joy having fun was worth it.

“I ordered drinks,” July said.

“What did you order?” Kayan asked.

July rolled her eyes at her friend. “Tequila shots, of course.”

Oh God, here we go. I’d better buckle up. Z eyed Kayan with anticipation. Something told me he’d be getting her out of the place before she had her fourth shot.

Joy shook her head. “I don’t do tequila. It makes me too woozy.”

“You have to drink a shot of tequila. It’s a Mayson girl tradition,” Harmony insisted.

I looked over at Harlen and saw that his expression was indulgent. Apparently, he knew her window as well.

Joy sighed. “Well, remember, I warned you.”

At that point, the waitress came over and deposited five shots in the middle of the table, along with five glasses of ice water. The waitress looked at me and the four other men. “Can I get you fellas anything?”

We all placed our beer orders as we eyed the women. July passed the shots out. I nudged Joy’s shoulder and whispered in her ear. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay.”

July held her shot glass aloft. “To strong women!” she shouted.

The four other women did the same, and I watched as Joy swallowed her drink and gasped. I grabbed one of the glasses of water and handed it to her. She gave me a grateful look before drinking down half the glass, her eyes watering.

“Is that the first time you’ve had a shot of tequila?” Harmony asked.

Joy nodded as she wiped her eyes. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. My arm, which had already been resting on the back of her chair, now pulled her into my side. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Don’t worry, it’ll get easier,” Kayan assured her.

When the waitress came back with our beers, July yelled out for five more shots. I watched as Harlen slipped a bill to the waitress and gave her a slight shake of his head.