Page 131 of Knot my First Rodeo

She doesn't even look up. "What?"

"You've got the look."

"What look?"

"The one right before you make a bad decision."

Autumn gasps dramatically. "I'll have you know, I've never made a bad decision in my life."

All three of us stare at her as she slowly lowers the menu.

The waitress appears beside the table.

"What can I get you guys?"

"Beer." The answer comes from me and Briggs at the exact same time.

Tripp points at us. "Boring."

"You drink beer, too."

"Yeah, but I'm interesting while I do it."

The waitress looks toward Autumn, and she immediately points at something near the bottom of the menu.

"I want that one."

The waitress glances down.

"The Cherry Popper?"

Autumn smiles. "That sounds promising."

The drink arrives a few minutes later, bright red with enough garnish to qualify as a small fruit salad.

Tripp looks at the drink, mortified. "That's not a real drink."

Autumn takes a sip. "It tastes like cherries."

"Exactly."

"I don't see the problem."

"The problem is, it was invented by a twelve-year-old."

I take a drink of my beer. "He's got a point."

The Cherry Popper disappears surprisingly fast. Her second drink is blue, and called a Zombie. The bartender recommended it, and apparently, that's all the convincing she needed.

By the third round, she's abandoned all attempts at pretending she's not having fun. Her cheeks are pink from laughing, her hair is slipping loose around her shoulders, and every story Tripp tells somehow becomes funnier than the last.

I know she’s feeling good when she steals my beer. Not a sip… the whole bottle. I watch her take a drink before making a face.

"That's disgusting."

I take it back. "Then why'd you steal it?"

"I wanted to confirm."