“Oh, pumpkin, I said don’t let me get drunk. I didn’t say I was abstaining. Let’s not talk crazy now.”

Liv laughed, said she understood, and Kincaid ended the call. After a quick, steeling breath, she stepped out of the alley and walked toward Ash, giving him a beaming, welcome-committee smile. “Ready for your big night out?”

“No,” he said, a hint of teasing in his eyes, “but I fear you’ll take me hostage if I don’t agree.”

“Truth.” She gave him a once-over, schooling her expression into neutrality. “You clean up nice, Isaacs. You may get yourself a date tonight without even trying.”

He made a derisive sound and stepped up next to her. “This isn’t about finding a date. I was told there would be wings.”

She cocked her head in the direction her car was parked. “And wings there shall be. Come on.”

He fell into step beside her. “So where are we going? Tell me the bar options have gotten better in Long Acre since I left. The ones we had weren’t even worth sneaking into when we were underage.”

That was the damn truth, especially since the main bar everyone frequented back then had her mom behind the counter pouring drinks. “Sadly, no. But we’re not staying here. We’re going to Austin.”

His steps stuttered. “Wait, what? That’s an hour away.”

“Afraid you’ll be out past your bedtime?” she teased.

“No.” He glanced back over his shoulder, looking a bit like a trapped animal. “It’s just…well, I figured if I wanted to leave early, it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

She lifted a brow and hit her key fob to unlock her doors. “Oh, look at you. I’m no amateur at this taking-hostages thing. Like I’d take you to a place that was easy to escape.”

He groaned as he stepped over to the driver’s side to open her door for her. “Don’t look so evilly pleased. I know how to summon an Uber, you know?”

She slipped into her seat and looked up at him. “Guess I’ll just have to make sure you stay so entertained that you won’t want to leave.”

She realized how flirty her words had come out when she caught the guarded look on Ash’s face. Shit. She cleared her throat and changed her tone to a flat one. “Come on, Isaacs. Stop whining and get in. I don’t want to be late for my friend’s performance.”

Ash sighed, shut her door, and then got into the passenger side. She pulled out of the parking spot, and he reached for the dial on her radio. She slapped his hand away.

“Hey,” he said, affronted.

“Driver gets to choose. Them’s the rules.”

He gave her a look. “Does this mean I’m going to be subjected to country music and your loud, off-key singing for the next hour?”

She grinned. She and Ash used to ride with Graham to school sometimes, and Graham would let her listen to whatever she wanted. And when good music was on, well, it was kind of an obligation to sing along, enthusiastically. Why do a half-assed performance? “You know you miss it.”