Dn turned to ra and noticed she was still a little spaced out. He gently took the empty ss from her hand.


    A few minutes earlier, she''d been sitting there alone, zoning out, and had finished her ss of wine without even realizing it.


    When her fingers brushed air, ra blinked, staring at her palm for a few seconds beforeing back to herself.


    She looked up and met Dn''s eyes. The moment their gazes locked, it was like she''d touched something hot-her heart skipped and she stammered, "I..."


    Before she could say anything else, Tara cut in, turning to Jackson. "Jackson, did Carter hit youst night?"


    There was a small scratch on Jackson''s cheek-something no one else had noticed, but Tara had picked up on it right away.


    With the focus shifting to Jackson, ra faded into the background.


    Jackson ran his finger along the rim of his ss and grinned. “Nah, just caught by some broken ss. My grandpa still packs a punch. Even at his age, he managed to smash three sses."


    Everyone chuckled, and suddenly the room felt lighter.


    Tara started chatting about old times with the others. She''d known this group for years—they''d been through a lot together.


    But all the memories were lost on ra. She didn''t remember any of it, hadn''t been part of any of it.


    It felt like being at a reunion for childhood friends, except she was the outsider who couldn''t join in.


    Not that she wanted to, really. But it was obvious Tara was bringing up these stories on purpose, just to make her feel left out.


    If ra actually liked Dn, maybe she would''ve felt hurt. But she didn''t—so she just sat there, perfectly calm.


    Every now and then, Tara would drag Dn into the stories, usually about something from when they were kids.


    "Dn, remember that time you and Richard snuck onto the base and almost stepped on andmine? You both got spanked in front of everyone when you got back."


    They''d both gotten in serious trouble. Dn was the oldest, and Richard was only a year younger, so Dn ended up taking most of the me.


    But even as a kid, Richard had been a little troublemaker. Especially when he was with Dn-he even


    worst punishment.  fo


    0pete over who got the


    So when Dn got fiftyshes and Richard only got twenty, Richard had been outraged.


    "We made the same mistake! Why does he get thirty moreshes than me? That''s not fair!"


    Everyone at the base had burst outughing, and one of the elders


    nudged Richard with his foot. "If you put this kind of energy into something useful, you''d go far, kid.”


    Before theughter had died down, Dn had raised his hand, deadpan.


    "I''d like to donate my extra thirtyshes to Richard, just to keep things fair. I don''t mind letting him win this one."


    Richard''s dramatic protest turned into a running joke, and even yearster, the story still made the rounds at family gatherings.


    Tara had obviously heard it from the older folks, and she brought it up now to draw everyone in.


    But Dn just shrugged and said, "I don''t remember."


    Tara didn''t miss a beat-she just moved on to another story.


    Only Richard nced up, shooting Dn a look no one could quite read.


    The whole vibe in the private room had warmed up, all thanks to Tara''s easy way


    of keeping the conversation going.


    She seemed ready to keep the storiesing, but then the


    manager came in quietly and el one''s here to see you o


    outside-a rtive."


    Tara stood up at once. "I''ll be back in a minute."


    As soon as she left, everything kind of fell silent.


    Nichs didn''t even like Tara much, but even he had to admit—she had a way of


    making the room feel alive.