“True,” Harley told Serena. “You did.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “Fine. Are you sleeping with him?”
Katie paused. “Isn’t it over between you two? Which technically makes it none of your business.”
Harley grinned at her. “You are way tougher than you look. I like that.”
Serena lifted a shoulder. “So you know the story of Cam and I.”
“Like you said, small town.”
“And you catch on quick.” Serena pointed to Katie’s still-full glass. “You drinking with us tonight or not?”
Katie tossed back the shot. Serena was right, it didn’t burn nearly as bad this time.
Serena poured again and turned up the radio. Harley began singing along with it at the top of her lungs, until Serena lifted a brow. “Who sings this song?”
“Alicia Keys.”
“Yeah? Well, let her sing it.”
Harley laughed and kept right on singing. In fact, she stood up to add an ass-shaking boogie to go with it.
“Don’t quit your day job, Harl.”
Katie wanted to sing too. And her toes were tapping, though she managed to stay seated. Then she remembered that she no longer held back, that she lived every single second, so she got up and joined Harley. But even though she knew the words, she couldn’t quite get in sync, with either the song or her own vision. “Wow.” She straightened her glasses, but that didn’t help.
“It’s the vodka,” Harley told her helpfully.
Serena raised her glass again. “To letting go. Dammit.”
Katie stopped dancing to grab her glass. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way you wanted.”
“Not your fault.” Harley nudged Serena meaningfully. “Is it?”
Serena sighed, then tossed back her third shot. “She’s right. It’s my fault. And as long as we’re sharing, you should know. I loved the idea of Cam much more than I loved the reality of him. So don’t worry, I’m done being a bitch.” She lifted a shoulder. “Mostly.”
“There you are.” Harley hugged Serena. “Good girl. You did your best with him before it was over. You told him what you were feeling. You couldn’t have done more.”
“Let’s be honest. I could have done more.”
“Okay, well, except maybe you could have dumped him before you slept with someone else.”
Serena winced. “Yeah. That.” She covered her eyes. “I know, dammit. But when you’re right, you’re right. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Katie drank her last shot. Didn’t burn at all, and actually, it went down like smooth silk. However, she was having some trouble balancing on her barstool and grabbed on to the counter for balance. “I told Cam some of my feelings, but not what I should have told him.”
“Yeah?” Serena looked at her speculatively. “Like what?”
“I should have told him that-” She hiccupped, then covered her mouth. “’Xuse me. That he’s hiding behind all those muscles and cool eyes. That he’s really just a scared little boy, scared of one woman.” She sighed. “So dumb.”
“You could tell him now.” Katie’s cell phone was sitting on the counter next to her empty shot glass. Serena put a finger on it and pushed it toward her.
A small voice inside Katie said drunk dialing was never a good idea, but there was a louder voice saying, Do it. Have your say. And the next thing she knew, she was punching in Cam’s number.
He answered with that low, raspy, sexy voice, and she tried to find her tongue.
“Hello?” he repeated.
Oh God. She’d lost it. She’d lost her tongue.
“Katie?”
She blinked. “How did you know?”
“Caller ID.”
Right.
“Tell him,” Serena whispered.
Katie held up a finger to Serena. She was getting up to the telling part. “Cam.”
“Still me.”
Was he amused? Dammit, she had a way of cracking him up at her own expense. “I want you to know, chickens aren’t sexy. Not to me.”
This was met with silence.
“Are you there?” She was slurring her words now, which was embarrassing, so she took a deep breath. “Cam? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, chickens aren’t sexy. Uh…I don’t think they’re meant to be.”
“I was referring to you. You’re the chicken. And…” And she was losing her train of thought.
“He’s just a little boy,” Harley reminded her helpfully. “Scared of one woman.”
“Yes. That!” She pointed at Harley and smiled. “Thank you. You, Cam Wilder,” she said into her cell phone, “are acting like a little boy. I’m only one woman; you can’t possibly be scared of one woman, and…and…” Dammit. “And I want someone who isn’t going to let me walk away. I want someone who sees my faults, all of them, and there are many. Many, many…” Wait. Not a good idea to point that out. “Scratch that. Okay? Forget my faults, this is about you and your faults.”
“Katie-”
“I see them, Cam. I see all of them, and you know what? I want you anyway. I want you because of them. Because you’re human. Because…Because you represent someone who’s lived his life balls out-” She broke off at Harley’s choked laugh. “Oh. Am I not supposed to say balls to someone who has balls?”