Shaking his head at me, Sam clapped my shoulder again. “We’re gonna miss you, Kell.” He looked a little melancholy after he said it, which kind of surprised me; I really wasn’t used to the idea of people missing me. He started walking away, but not before muttering, “Drunken idiot.”

Smiling at his comment, I tossed out, “Thanks!”

I tried walking with Kiera to my table, but progress was slow since it seemed like everyone in the bar wanted to shove alcohol in my face. I happily took every shot handed to me and made sure I thanked each person for their thoughtfulness. Being a little buzzed would make getting through this night a lot easier.

After I was handed my fourth shot, Kiera kissed my cheek and said, “I’ve got to get to work.” I nodded an acknowledgment at her as I threw back the drink.

“Thanks, Jake,” I said, handing the glass back to the regular who’d approached me.

I watched Kiera heading to the back room, and momentarily debated following her. Hadn’t I promised to be her shadow today? Before I’d gotten distracted by the generosity of my peers…and this weird feeling of…belonging that was happening. My head was already a little lightheaded from the fairly quick intake of multiple shots. I should probably have some water if I wanted to be standing by the time we played. Especially since I could see more people edging their way over to me, alcohol in hand.

Since I knew I’d never make it to the back room before Kiera returned to me, I decided for water instead. Looking back at the bar, I made eye contact with Rita. It wasn’t hard. Her eyes had already been glued on me. I made a drinking motion with my hand, and she winked…then set my favorite beer on the counter. Well, okay, I’ll take that too, but I’m going to need something to dilute all this.

I was shaking my head at her when I spotted Jenny walking into the bar. I shouted her name and her blue eyes snapped to where I was standing, still only about halfway to my table. I pointed at the bar and made a drinking motion. She glanced over, saw my beer waiting and grabbed it. She was already heading my way before I could stop her.

“Hey, Kellan,” she said, handing me the beer. “Are you excited?”

Containing a sigh, I smiled at her. “Yeah, I guess.” Squatting down, I met her eye. “While I’ve got you here…you remember everything we talked about?”

With a grin, she nodded. “Yep.”