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  I settled my hand on the small of Evie’s back and guided her into the building.

  “Would you like a drink?” I yelled over the music.

  She nodded, and we headed to the bar.

  “Get anything you want, darlin’. It’s on me.”

  We stood at the bar, bodies crowding around us, pushing us closer together. Not that I minded. I didn’t at all, but I was glad I had on baggy jeans because every time her ass brushed against me, I grew another inch. My hand settled on her hip, keeping her close to me.

  She opted for some pink drink that was no doubt fruity, and the bartender had gotten it to her quickly. I took her hand and pulled her to a table in the back of the club. We lost her friends somewhere along the way, but I had no doubt they’d reappear before the night was over. I got the feeling that Sophie wasn’t okay with me being around her best friend again, but she was probably justified in feeling that way. I’d been a royal douche to Evie, admittedly on purpose, but at that age, I didn’t know just how devastating the whole thing was for her. I knew it had destroyed me, but that was as far as my thought process had allowed me to go. I couldn’t bear the guilt if I focused on it too much. I’d spent years trying to forget she existed, but it never completely worked.

  I still loved her just as much as I did back then, despite my efforts to erase her.

  And now here she was, making me fall harder and faster for her without even trying.

  I’m so fucked it’s not even funny.

  CHAPTER 12 – EVIE

  “Dance with me,” I said. My Cosmo made a quick disappearance after we sat down, and its effects were noticeable almost immediately.

  The corner of his mouth turned up as he grabbed his glass. “I don’t dance, darlin’,” he said, taking a swig before setting it on the table.

  I cocked my head to the side and stared deep into his eyes as my lips curved into a mocking grin.

  “Okay… I’ll find someone who will,” I said and began to saunter off away from him with a little shake of my ass that I hoped he’d take note of. I had no doubt I’d find someone to dance with me, judging by the attention I’d received while standing in line.

  A moment later, his firm hand took my wrist and stopped me from taking another step. Tilting my head, I glanced over my shoulder at him. His gaze bore into me with a spark of fire in his eyes as he pulled me to him. My body pressed against his, the heat building between us. My dress damn near ignited from the sparks flying. Truth be told, I wanted him like I had never wanted anyone before. If he’d asked me to leave with him right then, I would have. No questions asked. No second thoughts.

  Peering up at him through my eyelashes, I pulled the corner of my bottom lip between my teeth and let it slowly slip back into place.

  “You still know how to get me going, don’t you?” he asked, pulling me closer against him so that I could feel his erection pressing against me. “You feel that?” His head tilted down, my breath catching in my throat as I anticipated our lips meeting.

  “Evie,” Sophie exclaimed, pulling me out of the moment. “This place is so awesome!”

  I sighed to myself and stepped away from Jet. He let go of me, and all I wanted right then was for him to take me into his arms and never let me go.

  “It’s not bad,” I said, glancing at Jet.

  “What’s that look? Did I interrupt something?” Sophie asked.

  Alex stood beside her trying to study Jet without him noticing what she was doing. She nibbled on her thumb nail, and if you weren’t looking directly at her, you’d think she was looking down at the floor, but her eyes were fixed on him. I wondered briefly what was up with her before turning my attention back to Sophie and Jet.

  “Nope. I was just about to get Evie another drink. Be back in a minute,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.

  “What was that?” Sophie asked.

  “Well, you most certainly did interrupt a moment. One I’d like to try and get back.”

  “Evie…” she said as she looked at me like she was my mother and I was a child who needed scolding.

  “Sophie… I just want to have some fun. No strings attached. We’re not the same people we were in high school. We’re adults now, and sometimes, adults like to do adult things together.”

  “Alright, I’ll lay off, but this better just be a fling.”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” I said throwing my hands up, palms facing outward. “Back at the hotel, you seemed okay with anything that might happen. What changed?”

  “I saw his face again,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “I know,” I said. I understood her completely. I’d felt similar when I first saw his face as he rolled up behind my car earlier in the day. The problem was, the feeling faded quickly, despite my attempt to hold onto it.

  “Do you?”

  “Let her have some fun,” Alex said. “There’s an empty table over there. Why don’t we go sit down until he comes back? Then, we’ll leave the two of them to do whatever it is they’re going to do.”

  Alex was fast becoming one of my favorite people, despite her weird reaction to Jet.

  “But, you have to give us details,” Sophie said, grinning like a fool.

  We sat there for what seemed like forever. Jet hadn’t returned, which was sort of surprising, considering we’d walked right up to the bar earlier and gotten service immediately. I started to wonder just how much of a big shot he’d turned out to be. He claimed he was a loser and an errand boy for his father, but did losers waltz right up to a crowded bar and get immediate service without so much as a word? Did errand boys have that much sway over bouncers that they could just say who came and went into the hottest nightclub in the city? There was more to Jet than he was telling me. But that shouldn’t have surprised me, really. Jet clearly had a history of keeping secrets from me, and he was under no obligation to let me know anything about his life now.

  I thought I saw him coming toward us, but the crowd closed in and he was nowhere to be found… until I did find him, with some trollop all snuggled up on him. My gut churned with feelings of deception, anger, and pain, fueled by resurfacing memories of all the bullshit I went through because of him. It was crystal clear to me right then that we could be nothing more than a fling, if we even made it that far. I’d never trust him again. I’d never be able to stop thinking he was on the lookout for someone else. At least I came to that conclusion then and not weeks or months into it.

  A moment later, he scowled at the woman and pulled himself away from her. She stood there, looking dumbfounded, as he walked toward our table, finally turning away once he handed me my drink and slid into the chair next to me.

  “I didn’t know exactly what you ordered before, but I thought you might like an Amaretto Sour. If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”

  “Thank you,” I said rather coolly as I took the drink from him, determined to not like it no matter what. I brought it to my lips and took a taste. Damn it. Of course my taste buds had to betray me because it was the best drink I’d had all day.

  “Was that woman seriously hitting on you?” I asked, setting my glass on the table. As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. They were coated with jealousy and irritation and everything I didn’t want to put out into the world. In an effort to smooth things over, I said, “I mean, not that it’s a big deal. I’d get it on with you, so why wouldn’t she want to, right?”

  Oh, my God, Evie. Shut up, just shut up. You’re making it worse. Grabbing my drink, I began to chug it just to prevent more word-vomit from spilling out.

  He flashed a grin at me and fished his phone out of his pocket, checking it quickly before putting it away.

  Sophie and Alex decided then that it was a good time to leave the two of us alone. I screamed in my head for them to stay, not to leave me alone after my episode of verbal diarrhea. Crawling under the table and hiding seemed like a rational alternative to being left alone with him.

  He leaned
in closer, and said, “You’re the only woman on my radar tonight, Evie. I promise you that.”

  “What are we doing?” I blurted out. Enough of the bullshit. It was time to get down to it. Where was this going to lead? Were we going to part ways at the end of the night? Were we going to give into our carnal desires? Were we going to try and see if we could build something between us again? Was I naïve to think that could be a possibility at all, especially since I already had reservations about it?

  “Whatever you want us to do,” he said and took my hand as he leaned closer to me. “Ya know, there’s only one real regret I have about the time we spent together—aside from leaving things the way I did.”

  “Oh, yeah? And what would that be?” I placed my hand on his very toned forearm, giving it a little squeeze. My lips hovered close to his now, just waiting for one of us to make contact. So close I could feel the heat rolling off him.

  “That I only got inside of you once. If I could go back in time, I’d make damn sure I fucked you every chance we got.”

  My breath caught in my lungs. Frozen. My body was paralyzed. Yes, please.

  “I would like nothing more than to do just that tonight, Evie… If you want me to fuck you, all you have to do is tell me.”

  I nodded once and finished my drink.

  “That’s all you’ve got for me? A nod? I’m gonna need more confirmation than that,” he said, the corner of his mouth curving up. “Another drink?”

  “Yes, please, but make it something I can drink fast.”

  “A shot it is then,” he said.

  I watched him disappear into the crowd again. Grabbing my phone from my bag, I texted Sophie.

  He just told me he wants to fuck me tonight.

  And you’re surprised by this?

  Yes, and no.

  Wait, why are you texting me instead of fucking his brains out right now?

  He went to get me another drink.

  We’ll leave you to it, but you owe me major details. Please be safe, and call me if you need me.

  You got it, babe.

  As I sat there waiting for him to return, the feeling that someone was watching me made my skin crawl. My eyes scoured the room trying to find the culprit. I wasn’t surprised to find the trollop who’d been hugged up on Jet before coming toward me a couple minutes later. Smug-looking bitch.

  “Mind if I join you?” she asked as she sat herself down on the chair beside me. A thick layer of makeup covered her face. She’d done up her eyes in an attempt at sultry and smoky, but it seemed to me like she was hiding something underneath the layers of eyeshadow. Her swollen bottom lip wasn’t as easy to conceal. The pungent smell of old perfume and cheap cigarettes assaulted me, causing me to turn my face away. “I just want to give you some friendly advice, girl to girl.”

  “Okay.” I held my breath—partly in anticipation of what she had to say, but mostly because the stench was overwhelming—waiting for her “friendly advice”. It would more than likely be anything but. I really didn’t want to have to tell her to fuck off, but I was ready to if necessary.

  “You seem like a nice girl, and I don’t want you to get hurt, so I’d advise you to stay away from Jet Flanagan. He’s an asshole who likes to make women think they’re special and then disappear when he’s done with them, like he’s never met them before in his life. Don’t go down that path, honey. You seem too good for his hit it and quit it game.”

  Too late. I’d already traveled that path with him. “Thanks for the advice, but Jet is just an old friend. I’m quite familiar with his ways.” Too familiar.

  “I’m sorry, what was your name?”

  “Evie,” I said between clenched teeth.

  “That’s weird. I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s never mentioned you before. I’m Jerney,” she said. “Nice to meet you. Hope you have a good night… without Jet. I’m sure you can do better.” Smirking, she got up and walked away, taking that gag-worthy smell with her.

  What the fuck was I doing? He’d obviously been with that piece of work by the way she was staking her claim. Was she an ex? Was she the ex? The one he’d apparently been so in love with that he had to dump me and immediately get engaged to her?

  He finally returned a few minutes later with no drink in hand.

  “I’m really sorry. I’ve gotta split.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said and stood. I pushed my way past him and began to walk away.

  “Evie, wait,” he said, touching my shoulder. “Can I see you later?”

  “Later? It’s already late.”

  “I just have to do something really quick, and then I can come to your hotel in about an hour.”

  “I don’t even know if I’ll be there in an hour. I doubt Sophie and Alex are leaving anytime soon. They’re my ride since you’re bailing on me.”

  “You’ll be there. Let me get you a taxi or something before I go. I don’t want to end the evening this way, and I don’t think you do either.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’ll either be there or I won’t,” I snapped and walked away. I didn’t like that you’ll-be-there bullshit, like he had some say over what I did or didn’t do. Nope. Wasn’t doing that again. I had enough of that during my short attempt at marriage to last a lifetime. I certainly wasn’t going to take it from someone who’d just walked back into my life only hours before.

  The room began to shrink as the walls felt like they were closing in on me. The concoction of sexual frustration, disappointment, and air so hot I could barely breathe got to me and I had to get out of there, if only temporarily. My throat felt as if it were closing up from lack of oxygen. I had to find Sophie and Alex. After searching for a few minutes, I finally found them after I pushed my way through the crowd to the bathroom line.

  “I need some air,” I said. “I’m gonna go outside for a few minutes.”

  “We’ll just come with you,” Alex said. “This line isn’t moving anyway.”

  We headed outside to find the line had dwindled some. Whether or not those people just gave up or actually made it inside, I didn’t know, but judging by the influx of people in the club, I’d say some of them did.

  “I thought there’d be some hotter guys here,” Sophie said. “I’m a little disappointed. I mean, I thought it was great until I got a good look at the options, and then, not so much. The place is full of fuckboys tonight. Wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t so sleazy.”

  “I’m pretty much ready to go,” I said as I tried to decide just how much to tell them about what transpired with Jet… and Jerney. I was eager to get back to my room, but I wasn’t sure if I’d actually open the door when he showed up. I more than likely wouldn’t know until the moment arrived.

  “Where’s lover boy?” Sophie asked.

  “He had something he had to do…”

  “So that’s it? No hot summer fling?”

  “I don’t know. He wants to come to my room, but I’m not sure.”

  “Jesus God, Evie. You’re giving me whiplash. You were all for it a little bit ago, even getting this one to take your side and make me back off, and now nothing. What happened?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “It was nothing.”

  “Okay, even I know it was something,” Alex said.

  “Some crack whore-looking thing came up to me, staking her claim when he went to get a drink.”

  “So? It doesn’t mean she even really knows him.” Sophie said, pulling her hair back and fastening it into a messy bun. “I’m telling you, he was the only hot guy in the whole place. She was probably desperate.”

  “No, she knew him by name.”

  “Again, so? I get the feeling a lot of people know Jet by name. Did you forget he just walked right over to us and told the bouncer to let us in, and the guy actually did? Maybe he’s just friends with the guy and he did him a favor, but a lot of people have been giving him plenty of space. Something is up with that man.”

  “Maybe, but it felt like there was more to it than that.
”

  “Just text him your hotel number and be done with it. Go have a mind-blowing orgasm or three and call it a successful night. Alex can drive us over there. She hasn’t had anything to drink. We’ll drop you off and get our own room. Maybe go grab a bite to eat.”

  “Well… an orgasm would be a nice way to end the night, right?” I asked, pulling my phone out.

  “The best, babe.”

  I’ll be there. Room 206.

  The three of us walked down the street toward Sophie’s car, dodging a myriad of catcalls as we went. Had anyone in the history of womankind ever heard a strange man shout out, “Hey, baby, sit on my face,” and actually said to herself, “Yeah, sure. Why not? Seems like a good time.” Seems to me that it works just about as well as a dick pic does.

  We hurried as fast as our heels would take us to the safety of Sophie’s Prius.

  Just as we got to the parking lot, the sound of a motorcycle caused my head to snap to the left. There, to my absolute surprise and utter disgust, was Jerney, sans helmet, on the back of a bike that looked a hell of a lot like Jet’s, clinging to a helmeted man wearing the same jeans and dark shirt Jet wore. They sped by without so much as a glance in our direction.

  Son of a bitch. I stopped dead in my tracks, locking my jaw together in an effort to keep the contents of my stomach from making an appearance.

  “What’s wrong?” Sophie asked.

  “Yeah… That was Jet and that crack whore-looking thing that just went down the road on that motorcycle.”

  “How do you know?” Alex asked. “It went by so fast I couldn’t see who was on it.”

  “Trust me. It was them.” One didn’t forget being on the back of a bike with a man like that or the face of the bitch who’d claimed him.

  “Fuck him,” Sophie said. “You don’t deserve to be dicked around by this guy again anyway. You’re so much better than that… Let’s go get something to eat and forget all about him.”

  “Just take me to my room, please. I’m so done with this day.”

  “Do you want us to room with you or get our own?”