“Hey, Sammy!”
A young man with cropped blond hair and a sharp jawline turned from the vast wall of liquor. “Poppy!” he said with a full-blown smile. “Long time no see.”
“Eh… you know how it goes. Listen, Fin said to take care of us tonight.”
A wicked curve tilted Sammy’s smile. “Oh, I bet he did.”
She giggled. “How about your specialty for me and my girl Prim?”
Sammy placed his unwarranted attention on me, and I immediately wished I’d just stayed home. “Don’t let her pull you down the rabbit hole, Prim. She’s crazy.”
Leaning across the bar, Poppy punched him in the arm.
“Ow,” Sammy said, chuckling. He reached for two glasses and began making drinks, eying me every so often in such a way that heat brewed behind my cheeks.
“He thinks you’re cute,” Poppy said.
My eyes dipped down to the bar, fastening on the many scrapes left behind. “Please.”
“I’m serious. He’s sweet, you know. He’d be a good hook-up.”
“Poppy.”
“Sorry.” Her hands shot up. “I forgot, okay? Mother Mary,” she said, crossing herself.
I rolled my eyes.
A second later, our drinks were pushed across the bar. As I grabbed mine, Sammy’s pinky brushed over my fingers. “Drink it slow, beautiful. Like you, they’re very potent.” He punctuated the statement with a wink.
I froze for a moment, then grabbed my drink and turned. “Oh my God.”
“Told you. You’re hot, Prim. I bet you don’t even know it, do you?”
Keeping my thoughts to myself, I followed her to the back of the bar where plush couches sat facing each other. Close to the same spot Grayson and I sat that first night out.
My stomach swooped.
Once seated, Poppy lifted her drink. “Cheers to making Grayson Pierce look like a little bitch.” Her glass clinked against mine.
“Cheers,” I added with hesitation before taking a sip. Subtle notes of citrus and cream masked whatever alcohol was in the glass. Sammy was right—this drink could be lethal.
With a large sip, I let out a small smile.
“Good, right?” Poppy said with a proud grin.
“Better than good!” My voice fought to be heard over the loud music screaming notes of nineties’ nostalgia. I hid behind my drink, taking another large sip. Warmth moved like a weight throughout my body, sinking into each of my limbs, anchoring me to the moment. “So what now?”
“We find you a guy.”
For the next thirty minutes, we sat in a corner booth, watching the front door. We tossed back fruity drinks I’m sure were more lethal than napalm. They stuck to my brain, waiting for Grayson’s smile to set fire to my thoughts.
Poppy already scouted out two men to sit with us who spent the better part of the next hour talking about themselves or trying to grope us. She swore we’d only need to use them to make him think twice about his little post-interview outing.
Somewhere in the midst of listening to football plays and how the length of a dick could be determined by the length of an index finger, I slid out of the booth and slipped away to the bar.
If I was going to get through this night, I’d need a water.
“Hey,” a handsome man said. He sidled up to the bar as I squeezed my way in.
“Hi.” I gave my attention to the bartender, who backtracked a step to greet me. “Can I get a water, please?”
Within seconds, the water was passed over the bar, exchanged with a ten-dollar bill. I didn’t hesitate to unscrew the lid and down it.
“That kind of night?” the guy asked.
“Don’t even get me started.”
His chuckle was warm, a spindly smile forming on the side of his mouth.
I caught sight of Poppy in the booth we’d taken residence in, standing, eyes scanning the crowd for me. With a small smile, I nodded at the man and made my way over to Dipshit One and Two.
“Where’d you go?” she asked, but her words barely had time to float my way when Dipshit One, the man assigned to me, decided to stand and grab me by the waist, pulling me against his side.
“Hey. You’re sexy, you know that?” he slurred. His breath reeked of liquor.
Leaning back with a wobbly smile, I managed to break free from his grip while Dipshit Two made a move on Poppy.
“Eww.” Poppy shoved the guy off with a palm to his forehead. Her eyes casted over to where Finley stood behind the bar, watching her as he had been all night.
Either the guy liked hard-to-get women, or he was too drunk to care, because all he did was laugh and take another shot.
“What if he doesn’t show?” I fretted as I sat beside her.
“He will.”
I don’t know how much time had passed, but I counted the four empty glasses resting upside down on the table in front of us, judging it’d been long enough to take all my cares and coat them in giggle juice.
“You’re a trip, you know that?” Poppy said as she tried to pry me off her lap.
Wrapping my hands around her neck, I squeezed.
“And apparently a very lovey drunk.”
“I’m so glad I met you, Pop. Can I call you Pop?”
“That’s a hard no,” she said, laughing and hugging me back.
“I’m sorry.” I pulled away. “I just don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before.” My hands shot up into the air. “This alive,” I shouted.
Poppy pulled my hands down to my lap. “Okay, Kansas.” Her giggle was contagious. “Why don’t we get some water and dance a little? Sweat some of that alcohol out.”
“Water,” I said with a swoon. “Did you know it takes about twenty gallons of water to process a pint of beer? Crazy, right?”
“Just mad.”
“And even crazier is that water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid.”
“Hmm… I could think of a few dirty puns to throw in with that.” A second later, Poppy’s eyes went wide enough to pop out. Her hand found me, tugging. Slapping. “He’s here!”
I followed the direction of her gaze. My blood froze to ice the moment my gaze landed on Grayson making his way through the crowd, a scowl to his lips. Fire rose with a vengeance in my brain. My thoughts were almost too big for my head, fuzzy and dulled by all the alcohol.
“Remember that vibe I told you about?” Poppy said, already pushing me and Dipshit One forward. “The I-don’t-need-you vibe? Now is the time to showcase that.”
I nodded as if I understood exactly what she meant. As if every fiber in my being wasn’t buzzing with electricity at the sight of him. As if my eyes weren’t trying to seek him out against my will.
“Come on, baby,” Dipshit One said.
Gag me with a wooden spoon.
I took his offered hand despite the chill to my skin, desperate for anything to distract me from Grayson, Poppy, and the entire situation. I knew the guy I was with was already three sheets to the wind. He was a touchy-feeling type. Every few seconds, I had to move his hand from my ass where it kept slithering like a snake to its prey.
I didn’t have to look to know Grayson was close. I could feel him moving toward me. A magnetic pull that took residence in my core.
This is it, Prim. Play the part. Make it work.
We found a small pocket of space within the crowd. Dipshit One moved to pull me close, but I swatted at his hands, plastering a playful smile on my lips. Taking the extra shot helped loosen me up. Closing my eyes, I imagined I was dancing alone in my room, like I enjoyed doing. My hands wove through my hair. Sweat began to bead along my skin. For a moment, everything disappeared, and it was just the music and me. My hands and my body.
And then his hand slid over my shoulder. The smallest of touches that had the impact of a grenade.
I spun so quickly I collided into his arms.
“Hey.” His eyes were black. His shoulders tense. “Thought I’d bump into you here.”
“H-
hi,” I said like the idiot I was. “I… umm…”
“Who’s this?” Dipshit One asked, wedging an arm in between us.
Every instinct in me yelled to shove him out of the way. To keep him from interrupting. But that wasn’t what I was here for. I had to follow through. Time was running out.
“Grayson,” Grayson said, offering a hand with a smile as tight as a tightrope.
“Brian.”
So that’s his name.
“You two know each other?”
“Yes,” I said before Grayson could inch out a word. My senses slowly coming back to me. “He’s a good friend of mine.” I faced Grayson with a sickeningly sweet smile. “I hope you had a great trip.”
A dark shadow flickered through his inky gaze. “It went well.”
“I saw.”
I hadn’t meant to let that slip. Jealousy wasn’t my forte.
His forehead dipped a little, a question appearing, then disappearing from his eyes. “Well, I just thought I’d say hi. You two have fun.”
He left before I could read him. Before I could figure out if it was working or not.
“You dance like a goddess,” Brian said, pushing me back down into my reality.
“Thanks.”
“Want to take another shot?”
“Please.”
From that moment on, the night began to slip through my fingers like sand as the room spun. I was glad for it. I didn’t want to see Grayson, who sat in the corner of the club, concealed in shadows. Though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was watching me. Felt his eyes on my skin like liquid fire.
I danced until my thighs hurt. Until sweat poured down the crevice of my chest. I wanted to dance him out of my system. Dance the hurt I felt when seeing that article. The ridiculous notion that for even a moment, he might have truly been into me. And I think I was succeeding because I didn’t mind when Brian grabbed my waist and pulled me closer anymore. I let him dip me. Spin me. My eyes closed, imagining someone else.
Someone who’s skin shone like gold and lips tasted like sin.
It wasn’t until it was time to go when reality splashed over me like a bucket of ice. I glanced over to where Grayson had been sitting, only to find the spot vacant.
“It didn’t work,” I said when Poppy found me, clutching our purses between her arm. “He left. He didn’t even try.”
“Maybe you wounded his pride. He’ll recover and contact you. Just wait and see.”
I didn’t like the disappointment that spread like tar in the pit of my belly. A horrible mix that didn’t bode well with the liquor.
“Hey, you.” Brian grabbed my arm as we made our way toward the exit. “I liked tonight.”
“It was fun,” I said, trying to pull my hand away.
His grip was firm.
I searched for Poppy, but she was already ahead of me, being ushered forward by a small crowd.
“I want you to come home with me,” Brian continued, pulling me toward him. “I know you want it. I felt it out there.”
“You’re mistaken. Please let go.” I wiggled my arm free and started forward, but then his hand landed on my shoulder and spun me around.
“Don’t tell me you’re a cock tease.”
The glare in his eyes cut through me like a dull knife. Jagged and ripping.
He pulled me against his hips. My eyes widened when I realized he was going to try to kiss me. When his lips puckered and his head moved toward me.
But the kiss never came. One second, he was leering down at me. The next, he was on the ground.
A Fucking Delight
I never expected my stomach to twist at the sight of another man’s hands on Prim. But then again, I’d never felt anything like that before. The wrenching twist of envy and anger. Of possession and passion.
I spent the entire night watching her. Trying to figure out why I couldn’t stop. Why I didn’t take any of the offers to dance that came my way.
The truth was, I was scared of getting any closer to her on that dance floor. Of how I’d act, because keeping calm while watching another man look at her the way I’ve longed to didn’t sit well with me. Not when I knew there was a reason she was doing this.
And that reason could only be formed by one name—Poppy.
There was no doubt Prim felt for me what I felt for her. And I had half a mind to just pry her from Brian’s hands and steal her away so I could make sense of what was going on.
But that wasn’t how I reacted. I’d wait, in earnest, until it all came to light.
And when the night came to an end, and I left the bathroom intent on finding her so I could drive her home, that was when I realized Brian was just some sort of distraction.
It all happened so fast. The fear on Prim’s face as she tried to free herself from Brian’s grip. The way he kept touching her as if she were his. My jaw was clenched so tight it burned.
I couldn’t control what came over me. A black rage that screamed to bury him. I barely registered punching him. When Fin was pulling me off him, yelling at Brian to take his ass somewhere else.
The world didn’t start to rotate again until I heard her voice.
“What the hell are you doing? Put me down!”
“Get Poppy, would you?” I shot at Fin as I hoisted Prim over my shoulder, carrying her toward the back of the club where I’d parked next to Fin’s ride.
Fin took off with a swift nod.
“Not until we’re outside. Besides, you’re drunk, and that guy wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”
I wouldn’t risk her taking off. Running into that jerk again. I needed to know she was safe and okay, and with the way she’d been tossing them back, I doubted she was able to get herself home safely.
“You didn’t have to hit him. And where are you taking me?” She wiggled furiously, but her small frame was no match for me. It was like carrying a sack full of feathers.
“To my car, and then to my place.”
I felt her stiffen. “Your place? So much better than being groped.”
I stopped. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Who’s the blonde?”
My thoughts were desperately trying to keep up with her drunk rant. The blonde?
As if she could sense my confusion, she continued, “Tight shirt. Curls. Your arm wrapped around her. You two made the headlines. Congrats.”
Laughter shot deep from my chest. “I take it there was another article? What was it this time? Serial Dater Back at it Again?” Ignoring her grumbling, I continued, “She’s Harrison’s daughter, Prim. I’ve known her since grade school. She set up the interview I did with a friend of hers. She helps me out from time to time.”
She grunted. “Oh, I’m sure she helped you out.” Her fingers wiggled in air quotes.
It clicked then. The tone of her voice. Jealousy practically dripped off her words. “You’re totally jealous.”
Another heavy grunt. “As if.”
“You know… you could have just talked to me. Asked me about it. The gossip blogs and tabloids don’t always get it right. It would have been much easier than all this tonight. “
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I already felt pounds lighter, knowing it was all a show. A ploy out of the oldest of playbooks meant to make me jealous.
The crazy thing was… it had worked.
“This is kidnapping, you know.”
I chuckled. “And here I thought distressed damsels liked it when they were rescued.”
She stopped fidgeting, propping her elbows on my back. “Maybe they do, but I doubt being hauled over a shoulder like a piece of meat is appealing.”
Stopping, I set her down. “There. Better?”
She rubbed her stomach, her hair matted to her forehead as her eyes pinned me with a tragic attempt at irritation. Pausing for a moment, a flicker of panic took over her features. “Shit!”
“What?”
“I lost a contact!” She grabbed my
arm. “I’m blind without my glasses, and Poppy has my purse.”
Shit.
I really didn’t want to head back in there, but I couldn’t leave her blind. “Call her. She can meet us around back.”
After she finished with her phone, she put it into the bosom of her dress, which made my mouth water. Damn her tits were hot as fuck.
With her hand on my arm, we headed to my car and waited. It didn’t take long for Poppy to appear around the side of the building.
“What the hell, Prim! You had me scared to death!”
“Poppy? Scared?” Prim said with a weak laugh. She was clutching her stomach.
I knew that look. Regrets were climbing up the base of her throat.
“Here.” Poppy gave me a half-ass glance as she handed over Prim’s purse. “Grayson.”
“Poppy.”
Prim took her purse and pulled out the container for her contacts, setting it on the hood of my car.
“I suppose you want to take her home?” Poppy’s arms were folded, her bitchy tone cocked and loaded.
“It’s better than her being groped back there. At least one of us was looking out for her.”
“How sweet. The man-slut steps in and saves her from the potential rapist.”
I met her tone. “And the best friend sets her up with a douche bag, only to leave her alone with him.”
Poppy’s finger came flying up. “Hey, now. You listen—”
“You know I can hear you both,” Prim said, sliding on her glasses.
There she was. The Prim I’d taking a liking to. Glasses suited her. They were a part of her. Not all that makeup on her face.
“This was no one’s fault. Poppy was being shoved out by the crowd, and that douche bag would have got a swift kick to the nuts had he taken it any farther.”
I think both Poppy’s and my mouth fell open at the same time hearing her talk like that.
“What? I took self-defense classes before coming here. There was no way my dad would let me go without doing so.”
“Well, then,” Poppy said with the swivel of her head. “Then I guess she’s safe to leave with you.” She opened her purse, then handed over a small bottle of mace. “Spray it in his eyes if he tries anything.
“Gee, thanks,” I said with an eye roll.
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