Chapter 17

We wove our way through the parked cars and four-wheel drives and made it to the covered entrance. I held the heavy door open so Peyton could step inside. The layer of smoke wasn't quite as dense as usual, and the crowd remained thin. When the steel door slammed behind us, she jumped and grabbed my hand. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I promise, no one here bites."

She nodded but didn't let go of me. It didn't take long for me to spot Masyn and Beau in a booth in the corner, and I pointed them out to Peyton. She took that as her cue to move away from the door and in the direction of my friends.

"Hey, Lee." Sherry, one of the waitresses who'd been here since she could legally serve alcohol, stopped us. "Good to see you. Who's your friend?" Her mouth kept moving even after she quit speaking-gum. Bless her heart; her mama had never told her that a cow chewing cud wasn't an attractive thing to mimic.

"Sherry, this is Peyton; Peyton, Sherry."

Peyton extended her hand, not expect