Free Finding Me by Mariah Dietz Page A

my attention to Fitz.
    “Cheers!” Fitz calls above the noise of the bar.
    “Here, here!” Danny’s cheers are joined by several nearby tables and increase when Danny and I each drain our glass. I fight back the wince that always forms from the drink. I still hate the taste of whiskey.
    “I think they want you to get wasted, H,” Fitz says, passing me a full glass of beer and smiling mischievously. My eyebrows rise and my chin drop as I look at him and shake my head.
    Our waitress returns once again, this time with a full tray of drinks. She passes us each an additional shot of amber liquid. “The gentleman in the cowboy hat bought these for you guys and wishes you luck, Danny.” She lifts an additional shot from her tray and places it in front of me. “And this is from the man over there,” she says, her voice to cheery as she nods toward a large, burly man covered in flannel and smiling at me.
    “Um, no. Thanks.” I shake my head and slide the glass back to her with my fingertips.
    She shrugs with indifference and removes it before leering at Danny once again.
    “He looks a little sad now, H,” Fitz drawls as the waitress delivers the refused shot to the man in flannel.
    I turn my head as he looks over to us and scoot my chair closer to Fitz.
    “I’m not being your fake boyfriend tonight,” he says, sliding his chair against the concrete floor in protest. “There’s a beautiful, curly-haired blond that keeps checking me out.”
    “That’s fine, you can go talk to him. I just need Al Borland to lose interest,” I plead.
    “You’re fine. You’re hot and single. Enjoy it. If someone comes over, I’ll say I’m your boyfriend,” he promises with a wink before turning his attention back to the curly blond.
    “So what do you think of all this snow?” Danny asks. Holding his shot glass by the rim with three fingers, he slides it over the table. I feel entranced by the movement, watching as he spins it in lazy circles.
    “They weren’t kidding when they said arctic front.” My eyes snap to his, needing to break from following his movements. “I feel like I’m the giant marshmallow man from Ghostbusters every time I go outside with my ten layers,” I joke. I’m joking around! Easily! With someone other than Fitz! The realization causes a familiar tug on my lips, which feels eerily foreign as they lift into a smile.
    He laughs in return. “This is nothing. I grew up in Detroit. Cold is in my blood. I don’t know if I could do palm trees and sun all year.”
    “Detroit? Why are you in Delaware?”
    “My mom’s actually from here. My dad’s my manager, and he travels with me quite a bit. So when things started getting pretty serious with my career, my parents moved down here so my aunts and grandparents could help. I’ve got three little sisters.”
    “Really?” I stare at him in disbelief. “I have four sisters!”
    “Do you have any brothers?”
    “Nope. Just five girls. We do have a male dog,” I offer with a grin that falters slightly with the memory that he’s not ours anymore.
    “Are you the oldest?”
    “Youngest, actually.”
    “Oh no, I know your type. You blame all of the trouble you cause on us older children!” he teases with a giant grin.
    “Oh yeah, because there’s nothing to point blame at when you older siblings trail blaze and wreak havoc, causing new rules and parameters to be implemented that they hadn’t considered or thought of yet.”
    “I can’t argue with that.” Danny’s eyes dance in the muted lighting of the bar. “But you guys also get us in trouble. You know everything and then hold it in your arsenals.”
    I laugh loudly, thinking back to my sisters and how many of their secrets I’d known growing up. I swallow the rest of my laughter as a body sidles up beside me. I slide to the far side of my chair as I look over at the unwelcomed visitor. He’s close to my age and looks oddly familiar with his blond, gelled hair and heavy build. My head