ARI WALKED into the Crowned Swan like Norm strolling into Cheers. She wasn’t expecting the crowd watching cricket playing on the dozen TVs hanging around the bar, and it caused a minor hiccup in her stride.
“Ari!” Ralph shouted over the roar of raucous patrons.
His words were swallowed by the noise, but Ari didn’t miss his frantic waving. He was the lone occupant of a deserted island and she was a plane cruising overhead.
Pressing between the bodies of strangers, Ari squeezed through the mosh pit. As she headed for the back, she wondered how this many people even knew what the hell cricket was in the land of baseball.
“I’m sorry it’s so crowded,” he yelled, inches away from her face. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
Ari pushed passed him to the patio, where the noise and activity was considerably reduced. “Oh, good. There aren’t any TVs out here,” she joked when her ears stopped ringing.
“I guess everyone is in there for the match or game or whatever the hell it’s called.”
Ralph smiled, pushing a thin strand of hair back onto his sweaty scalp. “I can grab us some drinks if you want to stay out here.”
Ari sat on an L-shaped sofa, tucking one tired leg underneath her body. “Don’t you want to wait for everyone else to get here?”
His eyes shifted away from her. “It looks like it’s just gonna be us. I guess Sloane was right, it was a little too short notice.”
Ari’s stomach tensed. If Sloane hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t have given the turn of events a second thought. She would have enjoyed a drink or two while getting to know someone new. But now, all she could think about were her warnings, and in the new, orange light of the setting sun, Ralph was starting to look like a creep.
“I?
?ll go get us something,” Ralph repeated, smiling as if desperate to put her at ease. “They have the absolute best cider here. Have you tried it?”
Ari debated leaving, but she didn’t want to be rude. “Sure, yeah. I’ll have one before getting on the metro,” she replied, building in a reason to leave soon. Taking public transportation home after rush hour was sketchy; surely he’d understand if she left after just one drink. He didn’t need to know that she’d left her car in the parking garage.
She’d figure that out later.
Ralph clapped. “Perfect. I’ll be right back.”
The moment he disappeared, Ari texted the others in their division. When she confirmed that they had in fact been invited but couldn’t make it, she relaxed. It was hardly
Ralph’s fault people didn’t want to go out for drinks on a Monday night.
Unless . . . Sloane’s words had planted an entire field of doubt in her mind. Unless he’d asked people already knowing they’d decline. Ari cursed at Sloane for making her second-guess what she would have otherwise received as a kind gesture.
“Wait until you try this,” Ralph said when he returned and took a seat on Ari’s couch instead of one of the many empty chairs across from her.
Ari accepted the cold glass he o ered but turned her body to the side, so her bent knee was facing him and creating a little barrier. “Thanks.”
“I’d like to raise a toast.” His voice boomed even though they were the only people on the small patio.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ari raised her glass too.
“You really did the people of the State of Florida proud today. Justice was done under your diligent eye. You’re an amazing woman who did a really superb job,” he said, holding her in his unblinking gaze.
“Thanks,” she said, shifting uncomfortably under his over-the-top compliment before taking a sip of her drink.
“Delicious,” she added when Ralph was still staring at her.
“So, I was thinking,” he started, inching forward in a way that made Ari regret not having sat in a chair. “Maybe when things are a little more—”
“Oh good! I haven’t missed much.” Sloane’s voice caught him like a golf club to the face.
Ari and Ralph turned toward the door where Sloane stood with a dark beer in her hand.
“Sloane, so glad you could join us,” Ralph said, stretching over to pull a chair closer to their shared couch.