Up in Flames (Crash and Burn, Book Two) (A Military Romance) by Eva Grayson Page A

her what happened? Is she ashamed of it?
    It’s hard to keep my cool when on the inside I feel so shaky, but I hold on to it, take a draw from my beer. The bartender comes around, and the ladies order beers and a round of shots for us all. I wasn’t planning on getting loaded tonight, and I’m tempted to wave it off, but Christina shoots me those cute little puppy eyes and I can’t resist making Lauren’s sister happy, so I grudgingly give in.
    Dave and Patricia play a friendly game of pool. And by friendly, I mean they basically find every chance to touch or be near each other. I can’t help but feel irritated, and I know it’s only because I want to do the same with Lauren. But after that shitty hug, she’s basically keeping her distance from me.
    My pride stings like a bitch. This isn’t how I thought tonight would go.
    I steel myself and start to walk toward her. Maybe I can pull her aside, make her talk to me. Clearly Wednesday night is haunting her, and she regrets what happened. The stiffness in her back, the way she keeps staring at her sister while avoiding eye contact with me…I feel like a third wheel. Or rather, a fifth.
    “Another round of shots?” Christina says in a loud tone.
    Lauren starts to shake her head, but Christina shoots her a pleading glance. When she caves and shrugs, Christina claps her hands and darts off to the bar, getting a couple of appreciative looks from guys as she goes.
    “Haven’t seen your sis in ages,” I start off to help break the tension.
    “She didn’t send you any pics of herself? In your email exchanges with her, I mean.”
    I frown. “No, why would she?”
    “Just curious.” Lauren inclines her head toward her sis at the bar. “She was happy to go out tonight. Thanks for inviting us. Work has been crazy for her lately, and she needed to relax.”
    And what about you? I want to ask. Does Lauren need to relax too?
    My hand has a will of its own, and I find myself reaching out to cup her shoulder. Not in a sexual way, but more to comfort. The heat of her skin pours into mine, and my thumb strokes the soft flesh. “Christina’s always been a friend to me, so it’s a no-brainer. It’s good to be able to make plans with you, though. I missed that when I was away.”
    “Me too,” she admits, and some of the stiffness in her body eases. We’re moving back into that comfortable friend zone. God help me, I both love and hate it. But I push my disappointment away, because right now, she needs to find her footing.
    As I try to find a way to broach the subject of Wednesday night, Christina comes back, hands loaded down with shots. I reach over to help take a couple. We distribute them, and I notice Dave’s already caressing Patricia’s hip as he tugs her to his side. Dude works fast.
    We swallow the shots down, and the music in the background changes to an upbeat dance song with a thudding bass. All three girls start shaking their asses and cluster in a circle the way girls do when they’re buzzed and dancing. Dave sidles over to me, unable to stop staring at Patricia’s ass.
    “Patricia’s fucking hot,” he says, and I can hear the raw appreciation pouring from his voice over her hotness. It makes me laugh in response. “She told me if I beat her in pool best two out of three, she’d come home with me tonight. She won the first game, though—gonna make me work for it, I can see. Apparently she’s some kind of amateur pool shark.” He grins. “Totally worth it.”
    A pool bet. I wonder if that would work with Lauren. Not to bribe her into something sexual, though fuck, I would love that, but to get her focused on something outside of her awkwardness and just…relax. As chicken as she is sometimes, she also has this strange competitive streak. Any time I challenged her to race me on the way to school, she ran balls out, giving it everything she had.
    My brain stalls when I see Lauren run her hands through her hair, shimmying her hips, eyes closed, lips