She was pretty sure she was telling the truth. She wasn’t slurring, her vision wasn’t cloudy, and she was perfectly capable of sitting upright on this high stool. After all, she hadn’t even had a full cocktail yet. Oh, right, she suddenly realized. She hadn’t eaten today. Still, it was no problem. Who got drunk on such a small amount of booze? And anyway, who cared if she flirted with Maddie. Maddie flirted with her, and it didn’t mean anything.

Maddie was still watching her, appearing uncertain and a little worried, and Ryann, trying to reassure her, took her hand, squeezing it and hanging on to it.

“I’m fine. I swear.”

Maddie stared down at their linked hands and raised an eyebrow. “If you say so.”

She let go of Maddie’s hand, and, needing to change the topic, she asked both of them, “So how long have the two of you known each other?”

Erin turned her head back over her shoulder, still mixing the cocktails. “Jesus. What’s it been? Ten, fifteen years?”

Maddie let out a long breath. “Something like that. Might even be more if we could figure out the year.”

“Nope,” Erin said. “That’s the last thing anyone needs to know. Anyway, it was in college. She started coming to the gay bar me and Jai worked at up in Fort Collins. She knew Jai already, he introduced us, and we all started hanging out.”

“So you didn’t know each other before that? Even though you both grew up here?”

“What? You think all lesbians know each other?” Maddie said, pouting with mock affront.

She laughed. “Well, I mean, I guess in a town this small, I assumed…”

“We went to different high schools, and Erin’s older.”

“Not that much older, mind you,” Erin said, turning around with two cocktail shakers. She started shaking them. “I won’t have you besmirch my image in front of a pretty girl, Maddie.”

Maddie held up her hands. “Never. Though it might be worth reminding you that you’re married now.”

Erin laughed, pouring out the two cocktails into four new glasses. “That’s right. I forgot. Someone’s beauty made me dizzy.”

Ryann couldn’t help but laugh along and wasn’t even self-conscious about the compliment. She might not be drunk, but she was certainly more at ease than normal with these two, who were still relative strangers. And who didn’t like being called pretty and beautiful? She wished some of that were coming from Maddie again, too, joking or not. Still, Maddie hadn’t objected to what Erin said, suggesting, maybe, that she agreed.

She clinked her next taster with Maddie’s again, drinking about half before picking up the second one and drinking about the same. It really was hard to decide. They were both pleasant and easy to enjoy, strong but not boozy. She finished both before considering the empty glasses at length.