When Light Leads to You

by C. R. Ellis

  His eyes quickly swept down and back up. To the untrained eye, it wouldn’t have meant anything. But I was more in tune with Dean than I cared to admit, and his subtle glance told me I wasn’t the only one affected by our proximity.

  “You don’t?”

  “Uh, I guess we can manage to go a night without driving each other crazy. As long as there’s alcohol involved.”

  A ghost of a smile traced Dean’s lips, and I smiled back. I had to divert my eyes before they started mentally undressing him.

  “Emmett’s buying, so there will be plenty of booze to go around.”

  “You’re right. I might actually be excited to go out now.”

  Dean’s eyebrows rose. “Can I get that in writing?”

  “Ah, man. I don’t have a pen,” I said, patting my workout shorts.

  He laughed. “Figures. See you later, Jas.”

  Jesus. I forgot how sexy Dean’s laugh is. It was the first time in recent memory I’d evoked something other than indifference or contempt from him, and it made me realized how ill-prepared I was for tonight if we were truly going to have a ‘normal’ night out together.

  Like it or not, Dean oozed sex appeal. Despite his status as the most maddening human being to ever walk this earth, he was also one of the hottest. Unfortunately for me.

  Chapter 6

  Dean

  Beautiful blondes with too little clothing and too much sass.

  Dean Preston, on what’s currently driving him to drink

  It took way too much restraint not to crush my mouth to Jasmine’s. Pretty sure the image of her standing in her living room wearing a sports bra and shorts will be haunting my dreams for a while.

  I had no idea what possessed me to agree to go out tonight. I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn’t help myself from wanting to spend time with Jasmine. Never mind the fact that she had a boyfriend. Or the fact that we were sure to end up at each other’s throats.

  I’m so fucked.

  I rearranged furniture in an attempt to keep myself from thinking about Jasmine and tonight. When that didn’t work, I decided to go through work emails. Compartmentalization came easy to me when it came to work, so I made it a couple of hours without a single thought of the gorgeous blonde across the hall or of how terribly tonight could play out. My reprieve from thoughts about Jasmine was short-lived when my sister brought me back to reality with a text.

  JADE:We’re heading over. Emmett’s coming to your place (weird to call it yours) while Jas and I get ready. So tell your booty call to beat it. ;)

  I rolled my eyes. Since breaking up with Natasha, Jade was convinced I’d reverted to my perpetually short-lived, love ‘em and leave ‘em ways. I could see why she thought that, but I couldn’t very well clarify to her that I was, in fact, not sleeping with every chick I met because I couldn’t stop thinking about her best friend. I’d rather be subjected to waterboarding than have that conversation.

  I barely had time for a quick shower before there was a knock on my door. Emmett was there with a six-pack of Dos Equis in hand. “I noticed you were out of beer,” he said, stepping into the apartment.

  “You don’t miss much, do you, Sinclair?”

  Emmett and Jade hadn’t been together all that long, and normally I would’ve tried to intimidate the shit out of any guy Jade dated, but Emmett’s love for Jade had been obvious from the first time I met him.

  “Speaking of not missing much,” he said hesitantly. “What’s with you and Jasmine? And don’t say it’s nothing, or that you two just had an argument. I know it’s more than that.”

  Before I could answer, my phone rang. I was relieved for the get-out-of-jail-free card until I saw “Natasha” on the screen.

  I grimaced.

  “You need to take that?” Emmett asked, looking down at my phone where it sat on the coffee table.

  I shook my head. I was trying to set boundaries with Natasha, and since we’d already had a lengthy conversation about Nate earlier today, I had a feeling she was calling for more personal reasons.

  “Oh…kay,” Emmett said slowly, like he was mildly curious, but wasn’t going to ask. Instead, he shifted the conversation back to his previous question. “So…you and Jas?”

  I quickly debated what all to tell Emmett. I’d never talked to anybody about my entire history with Jasmine, and it occurred to me that it might not suck to get an outsider’s opinion. But then again, I knew he’d probably tell Jade everything I said. “It’s a long story,” I answered cryptically, more so to buy time, not because I thought he’d let it go.

  “We’ve got time. The girls will probably be a while.”

  I took a long swig from my beer and plopped down on the spot opposite Emmett on the couch.

  I launched into the Jasmine saga before I could talk myself out of it. If he did tell Jade, at least she’d understand why we both shied away from spending more time together than necessary. “So, now that I’ve spilled my guts like a 12-year-old girl at a slumber party, I’m just going to toss my man card into the fireplace.”

  Emmett laughed and shook his head. “Jesus, you weren’t kidding when you said it was a long story. I’ve gotta admit; I was expecting something similar, but damn. You do realize Jade is going to flip when she finds out.”

  I grimaced. “Which is why this should stay between us.”

  Emmett nodded. “I won’t tell her, but you know it’s inevitable for her to find out. Especially now that you and Jasmine can’t easily avoid each other.”

  I stared at him blankly.

  “Because of the wedding—you’re both big parts of it,” he clarified.

  “Yeah, I know. The situation isn’t that bad, though,” I argued, not sure if I was trying to convince Emmett or myself.

  He gave me a “you’re full of shit” look. “Uh huh. You and your sister’s best friend are now torn between eye-fucking each other and wanting to push each other off a cliff. How is it not that bad?”

  “Fuck, man. You’re right,” I mumbled, scrubbing my hands over my face. “Look, can we just turn the game on or something and pretend this conversation never happened?”

  “Sure thing. But Jesus, you and Jasmine are a lot alike,” he added with a laugh.

  I groaned. “Not fucking helping.”

  Thankfully, that was the end of our conversation about Jasmine, but unfortunately she stayed on my mind the rest of the time we waited.

  Before moving back from New York, Jas and I had come to treat each other like nothing more than passing acquaintances, maintaining the kind of indifference usually reserved for your co-worker’s slightly annoying spouse. My arrival back in Austin inadvertently signaled the end of that. The illusion of indifference was gone, shattered beyond recognition, and replaced by a mixture of fire and heat and tension. She could deny it all she wanted, but I knew she felt the shift too.

  Chapter 7

  Jasmine

  I used to think exercise was the worst form of self-induced torture. That was before Dean Preston strolled back into my life with the nonchalance of a teenager in health class.

  Jasmine Winters, contemplating the night’s events

  Being the borderline alcoholic that I was, Jade didn’t suspect anything unusual when I threw back a couple of shots before we left. I was convinced the coconut-flavored tequila was the only reason our car ride wasn’t awkward. We arrived at the restaurant early enough that the wait wasn’t long, though I had a feeling our hostess moved us ahead of a few groups when Dean laid on the charm.

  “Right this way,” she said, beaming as she unabashedly ogled Dean. A knowing smile flashed on his face, giving her a view of his stupid dimples. I rolled my eyes behind his back, but Emmett and Jade were too wrapped up in each other to notice.

  We sat down, and Emmett whispered something probably ridiculously sweet into Jade’s ear, eliciting a girly giggle from her. She leaned into him and whispered something probably equally nauseating back into his ear. What is this, junior high?

&
nbsp; I sighed audibly. “So, are you two going to come up for air soon, or should I just go ahead and start drinking heavily to cope with all the nausea your unrelenting cuteness is causing?”

  Dean fought to hold back his laughter. His whole frame shook as he lost the battle to hold it in. My lips curled into a smile at the sight.

  Okay, so maybe tonight won’t be so bad after all.

  “Oh, whatever. Have you seen yourself with Paul?” Jade smirked.

  Dean’s smile fell completely off his face and his eyes quickly found his menu.

  Or not.

  I was spared from responding when our waiter arrived and asked for drink orders. After giving our order, Jade and I started talking about decorating their house, and Emmett and Dean started talking about basketball and who was going to win the playoffs this year.

  By the time I finished dinner and my margarita, I was back to feeling like I could handle a night with Dean. Talking with Jade always put me at ease, and it had been a while since we’d seen each other outside of work.

  Emmett paid the bill, but none of us made an effort to leave just yet. We sat around, talking and finishing our drinks, and eventually I looked up from my conversation with Jade and caught Dean smiling at me. It should’ve unnerved me; not knowing the reason behind his smile (like imagining all the ways he probably knew how to kill me and get away with it), but all I could think about was how enjoyable it was that we weren’t ready to strangle each other.

  “Dean, how was your trip to New York?” Emmett asked.

  “Oh yeah, D. How’s Nathan?” Jade asked, whipping her head around to face Dean.

  “Nate’s fine, just hanging in there until June. I can’t believe he’s graduating. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that he was a crazy little hellion in fifth grade.” Dean’s lips formed a loving smile that spread from ear to ear.

  Since I didn’t know Nate or Dean’s relationship to the kid, I felt a little left out, but found myself smiling along.

  Dean shifted his gaze to me, and before Jade could get a word in, said, “I met Nathan ten years ago through the Big Brothers program.”

  I didn’t even try to hide my surprise. “Oh, wow. That’s…interesting.”

  “Yeah. He’s a really incredible kid, despite having a pretty rough start in life. Dad’s in prison, mom’s an addict, and his older sister Lilly…died. Nine years ago.” Dean dropped his gaze and picked up his beer, and something in the tone of his voice gave me the feeling this was a sensitive subject for him.

  “That’s awful,” I said, genuinely saddened. I carried the pain of losing my mom every day—it was engrained in the essence of my soul. But this kid had essentially lost his entire family. I didn’t even know him, and yet I immediately felt my heart carve out a little place for him there.

  Sensing the melancholy dive the mood had taken, Jade quickly turned the conversation around. “Dean made sure he stayed on top of his studies and did well in school, and now he’s going to MIT in the fall.”

  That brought a smile back to Dean’s face. “That was all Nate. The kid’s something else. Nothing stops him. I just made sure he knew all his options and kept his eye on the prize. He did the rest.”

  I was speechless. I didn’t know how to handle this version of Dean. The version that didn’t fall into the clear-cut “arrogant asshole” category I’d so positively put him in.

  “Let me know if he needs a tour guide when he gets to campus,” Emmett said.

  Dean nodded. “I will. I think he’d love that. Maybe we can set something up when he comes to visit this summer.”

  “So he and Natasha are getting along better? Mom told me Natasha called her yesterday,” Jade said. “Which, for the record, is kinda weird. Why is your ex calling our mom, D?”

  Jade stole the words right out of my mouth.

  Dean sighed and muttered something under his breath. “She said she wanted to talk to someone who had raised a teenage boy. They were fine when I was there. It’s not exactly an ideal situation for either of them, but they’re making it work. Natasha just gets overwhelmed. It’s not like she had a lot of time to prepare before Nate moved in with her.”

  Nathan lives with Dean’s ex-girlfriend? What the fuck?

  “I guess that’s true. I still think it’s weird though. Just throwing that out there,” Jade replied with a shrug.

  I had a lot of questions about all of this new information, but the look of annoyance on Dean’s face was enough to warn me away from asking them.

  Instead, I eventually broke the heavy silence that was settling over the table by clearing my throat and looking around the restaurant. “So, should we go? I think they probably want our table.”

  Everyone agreed, and we quickly made our way toward the car. The conversation had moved on to something about Emmett’s friend Harrison and his new baby, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I was still thinking about Dean and everything I’d learned about him.

  I couldn’t comprehend how this kind, compassionate, sweet, loving man could be the same man who had once shattered my heart.

  “Three shots of tequila, please,” I shouted to the bartender as I leaned over the bar. I noticed his eyes linger on an area south of my face. He was cute in an Abercrombie and Fitch model kind of way, but I wasn’t even a little bit tempted to flirt back with him when he gave me a wink in acknowledgement of my order. If a little cleavage meant getting the drinks faster, I wasn’t above pushing the girls out. My margarita-induced buzz was fading, and I wasn’t ready to sober up.

  Carrying the shots, I pushed through the crowd until I got to the table where Jade, Emmett, and Dean were seated on the far side of the bar.

  I handed Dean a shot, letting my eyes linger on his face. It must’ve been the alcohol impairing my judgment, but I could’ve sworn I saw something other than annoyance swirling somewhere in the depths of his irises. Clearly I needed more booze in my system. Because that’s how to responsibly handle the situation, right?

  “To the Tres Amigos living in the same city again,” Jade said, smiling at both of us. I smiled involuntarily at her use of the name we’d dubbed ourselves as kids.

  We clinked our shot glasses and threw the liquor back.

  When a particularly catchy song by Zedd and Hayley Williams came through the speakers, I grabbed Jade’s hand. “I’m not even going to give you the chance to refuse, we’re going to dance! We’ll be back,” I spouted over my shoulder to the boys.

  Jade rolled her eyes at me, but I could tell she was feeling the effects of the alcohol too because she didn’t put up much of a fight. We found a spot on the dance floor and started moving our hips and laughing and belting out lines of the songs to each other.

  I lost myself in the music, not giving a single thought to anything other than moving to the beat until a set of large hands traveled the length of either side of my waist. The feeling stopped me in my tracks. I craned my head around. I was wearing heels, and this asshole stranger was only a couple of inches taller than me, so I quickly came face to face with a very drunk guy who had no business being on the dance floor.

  I shot Jade a “let’s get the fuck out of here” look, and she nodded and grabbed my hand to lead us back toward the guys. The hands tightened almost painfully on my waist, effectively halting my movement.

  Jade’s face filled with concern, but I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked torn between an unwillingness to leave me alone with the strange guy on the overcrowded dance floor and wanting to get Emmett or Dean over here to interfere.

  I appreciated her concern, but it wasn’t the first time I’d had to deal with a drunk pervert. Turning, I shoved his hands off just as they closed in on my breasts. “Hope you enjoyed that because if you touch me again, you’ll regret it.”

  I tried to move away from him, but he grabbed my wrist. “You’re playing hard to get? If it looks like a whore and dances like a whore, chances are…you’re a fuckin’ whore,” he slurred into my ear before closing the gap betw
een us and openly ogling my boobs while licking his lips.

  My jaw clenched in anger. I leaned in like I was going to whisper into his ear and pulled my knee up to connect with his junk. He instantly groaned and doubled over. Before his outstretched hands made contact with me, a different, rough set of hands quickly pulled me away.

  Dean hauled the guy up to his feet. His chest heaved rapidly, his hands fisted at his sides, and his eyes burned with rage.

  “Dean, don’t,” I pleaded, wrapping both hands around his arm and pulling. “It’s okay. Let’s just go.”

  “Be glad she got to you first, motherfucker,” Dean growled over the man as he struggled to stand and stumble away. “Come near her again and I swear to God your nuts will be the least of your worries,” he vowed. Dean didn’t wait to see if the man disappeared from the bar completely before he took my hand and dragged me behind him off the dance floor.

  “Dean, slow down,” I hissed, trying to pull out of his death grip. “I could’ve handled it myself.”

  He kept walking, even as we passed our table, only stopping when we were in the small hallway where the bathrooms and the doors to the kitchen were located. It was impossibly narrow, so we were forced to stand only inches apart. Dean’s broad chest was right in front of my face, hypnotizing me by the way it rose and fell in rapid pulses.

  “Jesus, Jasmine, are you okay?” he asked, inspecting every inch of me. His eyes flared when they reached my waist. I was annoyed that Dean went all caveman and practically dragged me off the dance floor and away from the situation, but seeing the anger in his eyes was a shock to my system. He was seriously pissed, and for once it wasn’t directed at me.