“Have you ever done a military night or anything, geared strictly toward those who have served and are currently serving? I’ve seen other bars do it and it’s a big hit. Some even do monthly game nights, and they play all of these board games. It’s kind of hilarious to watch. Especially when you see big bulky guys sit down and play Chutes and Ladders.”
Tucker looked at Kaelynn for a long minute. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry; it was just a suggestion. I should probably get back to Morgan’s party.”
She started to slide out of the booth when Tucker reached over and placed his hand on her arm.
“No, no, wait. I was letting your words float around in my head and trying to think of all the reasons why I haven’t come up with that idea before.”
He turned to me. “Maybe even once Morgan gets going full time, she could come by, introduce herself. There might be someone who would benefit from talking to her.”
Kaelynn smiled as she looked between Tucker and me.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Charlie added. “A really great idea. We can have CMI sponsor it, buy all the games and donate them.”
Tucker gave Charlie a look that screamed how much he loved her. “That would be amazing, babe. I’ll have Maddie, my marketing manager, look into ways to making this work.”
“I’ll do the same with my team over at the office. This is such a great idea, Kaelynn.”
Kaelynn slipped out of the booth and reached into her purse. With a wide grin, she glanced between Charlie and Tucker, then handed Tucker a business card. “Great, I’m glad you like the idea. I’m more than happy to help. No charge, of course. Charlie, good luck with everything. It was great meeting all of you. Sorry I missed Jim.”
Charlie smiled. “It was our pleasure. I hope we’ll be seeing you around.”
Taking in a slight breath, she politely smiled then faced me. “Thank you so much for the lovely evening, Nash. I had fun.”
“Same goes for me.”
Before I even had a chance to slip out of the booth, she turned and walked away.
“What did you do to her to blow that?” Charlie asked.
I watched Kaelynn until she blended into the crowd before I turned back to the table. “What do you mean? I didn’t blow anything.”
They all huffed in their own ways. Tucker rolled his eyes. “Dude, you didn’t see the way the girl looked at you? I mean, you brought her over here to meet your friends, then let her walk off by herself back to the party.”
“She wanted to meet Charlie.”
“Me? Why me?”
“She’d heard of you and said it would be really great to be able to meet you, so th
at’s what I did.”
Terri folded her arms and glared at me. “Nash Barrett, when did you lose your manners? I mean, you didn’t even walk her back to the party.”
I looked around the table at the three of them before landing my confused gaze on Tucker and silently urging him to help a fellow out.
“Sorry, bro, I’m with the girls on this one. You kind of were a dick at the end there.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mumbled as I slid out of the booth and made my way through the crowd. I knew Kaelynn would already be back in the private room and most likely talking to Morgan.
When I spotted her, though, she wasn’t back at the party. She was talking to some guy. And smiling at him. Then laughing at something the dirtbag was saying. I wasn’t sure if I should walk up to her or walk by her. I opted for the first option.
“Hey, you took off so fast you didn’t give me a chance to walk you back to the party, but I see you’re okay.”
The guy gave me a once-over. “Yeah, dude, she’s fine. You can move along.”
I laughed as I looked at him. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-two, maybe twenty-three, if I was being generous.
“Move along?” I asked, glancing between Kaelynn and the guy.