Free The Cocktail Club by Pat Tucker

will not believe, Shelly totally said she was not gonna talk to Leslie anymore!”
    â€œWait. Right there in class?” I asked.
    Kendal’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. A massive grin spread across her face. That was when her dimples really set in, and she reminded me so much of her father. I shook that thought from my mind, and focused on our conversation. It may have been mind-numbing to me, but the middle school drama seemed crucial to her. I walked back to the sofa, and got comfortable again.
    â€œSo, lemme get this straight.” I grabbed a fist full of popcorn, and prepared to stuff my mouth. “You’re telling me that Shelly stopped talking to Leslie right there on the spot because Heather told her to?”
    My daughter slapped her palms against her thighs and nodded. “Mom, it was totally wild! I was like, this is totally not happening! And right there, right in front of everyone, too.”
    â€œWhat were you doing when all of this was going on?” I asked.
    â€œMom, I sat there with my mouth like super wide open. I couldn’t believe it.” My daughter sipped from her soda. “I felt like totally bad for Leslie. I mean, she’s a mean girl, too, but remember like just yesterday she was like BFFs with Heather and Shelly.”
    â€œWhat would you have done if Heather had said that to you?”
    My daughter gave me a cockeyed look; then she smirked.
    â€œC’mon, Mom! You know those girls don’t like me, and besides, I’m a leader. I ain’t no follower. I woulda told Heather, ‘You might think you’re all that, but you don’t tell me what to do!’ ”
    I smiled at her.
    That’s my girl, I thought. We eased into our comfortable spots on the sofa, cuddled, and watched our movie.
    Nearly two hours later, the vibration from my cell phone woke me up. Kendal had curled into a ball near the foot of the sofa.
    When I saw Kyle’s number on my screen, I was tempted to ignore his call, but he’d simply call back. I got up from the sofa, and ran my finger across the screen to accept his call.
    â€œHello?” I whispered.
    â€œDamn, Peta, why’s the deadbolt on?” Kyle’s irritated voice asked.
    I whipped my head in the direction of the front door. I nearly lost my breath when I saw his shadow on the other side of the door’s glass panel.
    Once I made certain my daughter was asleep, I got up, and made my way to the front door. I tried to calm myself before I came face-to-face with him. He had been a complete ass since I didn’t drop everything I was doing and make time for his emergency.
    At the door, I took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. I unlocked the deadbolt, and cracked the door open.
    â€œKyle, what’s going on? You’ve been blowing me up, and now you’re here. What gives? You didn’t even bother to call before you popped up. I could’ve had company!”
    â€œYeah, yeah, sorry about that. But, Peta, I really wanted to talk to you about what happened after happy hour.”
    I was a bit caught off-guard, but my shock didn’t last long. Images from the other night flashed through my mind in bits and pieces. I hadn’t noticed it before, but when he moved forward, and I saw a massive blue bottle he clutched in his hand. He eyed me like a lost puppy.
    â€œI was thinking we could have a nightcap and talk, you know, about the other night,” he said. “I can’t seem to get ten minutes of your time.”
    Despite how hard I tried not to smile, I couldn’t resist. Kyle had brought my friend, Skyy, and he knew that would definitely win him major points with me. It also told me that he was up to something. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but his tactic told me it was gonna be something serious.
    I glanced over my shoulder when I thought I heard my daughter stir. When I looked back, I realized that Kyle’s eyes had followed my gaze. He