said.
Her eyes swiveled back to Adam. “Usual?”
He nodded. “And a hurricane for Jess.”
Emma eyed him a bit longer, ignoring me, then turned and headed back to the bar.
“I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you know her,” I said.
He chuckled. “I think I know everyone here in Perdido. Like I said—small town and I've been here forever.”
I sensed that it was something more than that, but he wasn't offering and I wasn't going to pry.
“So the name,” Adam said, leaning in close to me. His hand slid on to my thigh and I sucked in my breath at his touch. “Betty Joe's?”
I was having a hard time concentrating. His skin was warm through the fabric of my dress, his fingers gently kneading my flesh. “Yeah?”
“Guy that owns this place has two kids,” he explained. “Betty and Joe. Named it after both of them rather than have one of them thinking they were more important than the other. Everyone thinks he just spelled Joe wrong.”
“That's kind of cute,” I said.
He stared at me for an extra second or two before breaking into a grin. “So are you.”
Before I could respond with something other than a blush, Emma returned with our drinks. She set a tall glass, complete with orange wedge and blue umbrella, in front of me and a small cocktail glass filled with what looked like soda in front of Adam.
Emma kept her eyes on my date. “I'll be around. If you need anything else.” She turned and sashayed away, her hips swinging back and forth.
I raised my eyebrows. “I think she meant she'd be around if you need her later on.”
He picked up his glass. “Don't mind her,” he said. “Emma and I, we go way back.” He looked at me over the glass and winked. “And I don't think I'll be needing anyone else later on.”
A small thrill rippled through my stomach. “No?”
“No,” he answered, his hand tightening on my thigh. “I'm good with my date.”
I lifted the giant hurricane toward him. “To first dates.”
“To first dates.” He clinked his glass against mine.
I sucked down a huge mouthful of pineapple and rum, my tastebuds puckering at the combination of sweet and sour. I took another huge swallow and, before I knew it, half the glass was empty. I set it back down on the table.
“I take it it tastes good?”
I cleared my throat, the rum coating me in a light fuzziness. “Very.” I wanted to comment that his hand felt good, too, resting on my leg, tracing light circles through the fabric of my dress.
We sat there for a few minutes, listening to Culture Club and Billy Idol. The couple on the dance floor was still going strong, but they'd stopped swaying and were just sort of holding each other.
Adam grinned, nodding his head at the couple. “They look...drunk.”
I laughed and finished my drink and thought I wasn't going to be too far behind them at the rate I was going. Adam drained his glass and, without asking, Emma wordlessly delivered two more.
“Okay,” he said, twirling the small straw in his new drink. “You've kept me in suspense long enough.”
I started in on the fresh drink. I couldn't recall the last time I'd had so much to drink in one night. I felt warm and fuzzy inside, and my tongue felt thick and loose, like it was ready to spill all of my secrets.
“So,” I said, not hesitating at all. I leaned closer to him, my voice lowered a notch. “I'm traveling.”
“Yeah, you mentioned that.”
“To all fifty states.”
“All fifty?” he asked, his tone registering his surprise. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“And you started here,” he said, repeating what I'd told him from dinner.
“I had to,” I said, grinning. “Alabama is at the beginning of the alphamet.” I made a face. “I mean, alphabet.”
He reached over and pulled the hurricane toward his side of the table. “Maybe we should lay off this for a bit,” smiling at my mispronunciation.
“Maybe.”
He looked at me. “And you're going in alphabetical order?”
I reached across
N. Gemini Sasson
Eve Montelibano
Colin Cotterill
Marie Donovan
Lilian Nattel
Dean Koontz
Heather R. Blair
Iain Parke
Drew Chapman
Midsummer's Knight