“Easy there, if your head gets any bigger there’ll be no room left in here.”
“Whatever. So, how’s school been?”
I got more comfortable, resting my head back against the seat. “Good. Busy.”
“Same,” she said with a sigh.
I chuckled. “You better get used to it. Law school isn’t going to be any easier.”
“I know.”
“You don’t sound excited.”
“I am,” she said, perking up a bit. “It’s just going to be hectic.”
“Yeah, but when you’re done, you’re going to be a super successful lawyer.”
“You forgot hot,” she said with a grin.
“Sorry. I meant a super successful, hot, lawyer. If there’s anyone that’s meant to argue for a living, it’s you.”
She laughed. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not. But I’ll take it.”
We talked about what had been going on around home, and before I knew it, she was pulling into my building’s parking lot.
“Do you want to come in for a bit?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I need to get back home. I work the early shift tomorrow.”
“Does it take a lot to pour people coffee?”
She pushed me. “Shut up. The diner, I’ll have you know, is super busy Saturday mornings. It’s not easy.”
“If you say so,” I said with a laugh. I got out, leaning down to look at her before shutting the door. “Get together for coffee soon?”
“Absolutely,” she said.
“Night, Perrie. Thanks for the ride.”
“Good night, Billy Elliot.”
I slammed the door shut, shaking my head at her dreaded nickname, and that awful accent.
As soon as I got into my apartment I let out a slow, relieved sigh. It was good to be home. Kicking off my shoes, I dropped my bags by the door and headed to the kitchen to microwave some soup and put some toast in the toaster.
As the food heated, I set up my Netflix and quickly pulled on my pjs to enjoy a nice, relaxing night to myself.
I’d just sat down when there was a rapid knock on my door.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. Putting the bowl on the coffee table, I walked to my door, peering through the peephole. Cat’s bright eyes looked back at me.
I opened the door, taking in her made up face and sexy clothes.
“Hey,” she said brightly, waltzing in.
“Hey,” I replied. “What’s up?”
She took in my little scene before turning to face me.
“What are you doing tonight?” She asked.
I glanced over at my uneaten food and paused TV. “Uh, this,” I said, gesturing to it.
“So, nothing?”
“No, I’m watching -”
“You need to get changed and come out with me,” she interrupted.
I faltered. “Come out with you where?”
“The Devil’s Cup. There’s a bunch of people going.”
I was in no mood for a loud, crowded bar right now. “Why do you need me to go then?” I asked.
“Because I don’t want to go alone.”
“But you just said -”
She waved me off. “I know. But I don’t have anyone to actually go there with. Chloe is out with my brother, and I don’t want to walk in there by myself.”
I pinched my brows together, looking down at my clothes. “I’m not really ready to go anywhere, Cat,” I said. “And to be honest, I’m beat. I just got home now. I don’t really feel up to going out anywhere.”
“Please, Honor,” she begged. “We’re in university, this is what we’re supposed to do. You can stay in and eat soup when you’re an old, lonely lady.”
I grimaced. “That’s a lovely mental picture.”
She giggled. “Come on, pleeeease. I really don’t want to go by myself.”
“I don’t know,” I said, looking back down at myself.
“Just throw on some jeans and a nice shirt. You don’t have to wear anything fancy.”
I opened my mouth to say no again, but froze when I saw the pleading look in her eyes.
I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine. Just give me five minutes.”
She clapped happily, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug.
I really needed to learn to say no to people.
***
The bar was crammed. Cat and I pushed our way through the sea of bodies, her hand gripping mine so we wouldn’t lose each other.
“I think I see Kelly,” she yelled at me over her shoulder. I just nodded. Talking was pointless in this place. We made our way toward the back wall where a few pool tables were set up.
I didn’t know Kelly very well, but I’d seen her a couple of times on campus with Cat, because they had a few classes together. She seemed like a nice enough girl. As soon as her eyes found us, she broke out into a wide smile, waving her hand high over her head at us.
“Hey, girlies,” she said as we finally reached her. She hugged Cat quickly before doing the same to me. “I’m so glad you could make it,” she yelled.
Why would anyone want to come to a place where you had to yell just to be heard? I decided just to smile.
“Honor took some convincing,” Cat said. “But my persuasive ways won out.”
“I bet,” Kelly said with a laugh. I gave her a knowing grin. “Do you girls want a drink? I’ll get the big guy to grab us some.”
“Absolutely,” Cat said. “I’ll have a martini.”
“I’ll just have a Coke,” I said.
They both shook their heads at me.
“I have to work in the morning,” I defended.
Cat pursed her lips at me.
“What? You should be happy I’m here.”
She rolled her eyes, turning away from me. Kelly just laughed.
“Okay, a martini and a Coke, coming up. Now I just have to find my boyfriend.” She went up on her tiptoes, scanning the crowd. I followed her look, having no idea who her boyfriend was.
Then he walked away from a couple of guys, heading our way.
Grey.
He stood out, even in a crowd of this size. He was just so much bigger than everyone else. And mean looking.
If college guys were a pack of horny dogs, Grey was a wolf. An alpha that made every other guy seem small and insignificant next to him.
“There he is,” I heard Kelly say. “Babe! Come over here.”
Grey’s head turned in the direction of her voice. A strange feeling of disappointment slithered through the pit of my stomach. The ‘big guy’ comment suddenly made a lot of sense.
His eyes trailed over to me, locking in. We stayed that way the entire time he approached. Even if I had wanted to look away, I doubt I could have. Grey was Kelly’s boyfriend. Why did that irk me so much?
Because you two kissed, and it was the best kiss you’ve ever had, my traitorous mind helpfully pointed out.
It was just a kiss. What was the big deal? So what if it made my entire body feel more than any other guy I’d been with.
He finally reached us, and I had to swallow the distaste in my mouth as Kelly wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing those lips I’d just been thinking about.
Finally I looked away, resolved to not get upset over this. I knew I should have stayed home instead. Why didn’t I ever listen to my gut?
I heard Kelly giving him our order, and suddenly I thought, maybe Coke wasn’t strong enough after all. If I was going to get through this night, I might need more than sugar and caffeine.
Chapter 8
Grey
Kelly was speaking to me, and I was half aware of Cat also saying something to me, but all I could do was look over at Honor. I was trying my best not to be obvious about it, especially since my girlfriend was currently snuggled up to my side.
Why did I have such a hard time around this girl?
She was the last person I had expected to see standing with Kelly w
hen I’d walked over. Even dressed down compared to the other girls here, Honor stood out. Maybe that was because you could tell she hadn’t spent hours trying to look sexy. That in itself made her more appealing. She didn’t need all the fancy clothes and make-up to look sexy, she had a natural beauty that caught your eye.
Caught a lot of eyes, actually. I stood against the wall, nursing my beer, as Kelly and Cat talked rapidly in high pitched squeals, like girls seemed to do in these settings. My eyes kept watch as more and more guys looked Honor’s way. She didn’t seem to notice much as she played pool with Rannon and Greg.
Rannon was flirting with her, but I could tell it was just in a friendly way. He seemed a bit distracted, which was odd for him. I’d only met Rannon when I started working at the shop. He was Kyle’s friend, but he hung around enough that we’d become friends too. Same with Greg. Except Greg was watching Honor a little too closely for my liking. And I didn’t think there was anything simply “friendly” about it.
I gripped the bottle in my hand tighter, looking around to catch more guys glancing her way. I knew I should have stayed home tonight. Why had I let Kelly convince me to drag my ass out here?
“We’re going to go dance,” she said in my ear.
I nodded.
“Do you want to join me?” She asked, nipping at my neck.
“Not right now, Kel,” I said.
She leaned back to look at me with a pout. “You’re not going to stand here all night and be boring, are you?”
“It’s a possibility,” I replied honestly.
“Come on, Grey. Don’t be a drag. Come dance with me, otherwise other guys might try.” She leaned into me, gripping my shirt as she rubbed her tits against my chest. “And I know you wouldn’t want others touching what’s yours.”
My eyes flickered over her head at Honor.
“I’ll join you when I’m done my drink,” I said, my voice hoarse.
I needed to stop this shit. I couldn’t be lusting over some young ballerina when I had a girlfriend already.
She smiled happily at me, making me feel like an even bigger ass.
***
Kelly pressed her ass against me as we moved to the music. The dance floor was packed, everyone sweating and bumping into each other as the music blared. The chaos helped to keep me focused, and away from certain dancers I didn’t need to be around.
Turning in my arms, Kelly linked her arms around my neck. I splayed my hands on her hips as she reached up, pressing her lips against mine. I kissed her back, even though I wasn’t one for public displays of affection. This was me putting an effort into this relationship. It felt awkward and uncomfortable to me, but I knew it made Kelly happy.
When she pulled back, she gazed up at me with admiration. Guilt niggled at me somewhere in the back of my mind, but I pushed it away.
Cat appeared beside us, Greg close behind. Her face was flushed, her eyes slightly glazed. I was keeping a close watch over her. Kyle would kill me if I let his little sister get wasted in a bar full of college guys.
“Someone needs to get that girl out here,” Cat yelled at Kelly. The two of them looked at something behind me, matching frowns appearing on their faces.
Kelly stepped back, turning her focus to me. “Grey, go get Honor and ask her to dance. I feel bad for her.”
My body hardened. Glancing over my shoulder, I found her sitting on a stool in the far back corner, alone. The pool tables were now surrounded by a new group of people I didn’t know.
“Where’s Rannon?” I asked, loud enough so they’d hear me since I couldn’t look away from her now that I was.
“He left a while ago,” Cat said.
I turned then. “What? Why?”
I had assumed, when I’d caught sight of Cat and Greg dancing, that Rannon had stayed behind with Honor. I didn’t know she’d been by herself this whole time. Anger sparked in the pit of my stomach.
“He said he needed to get home,” Greg said. “I think something’s going on with his mom.”
Well what the fuck? Why would they just leave her? I looked back over, my protective side rearing to life as I watched her stare at the ground, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. She looked so lonely.
“Go on, Grey,” Kelly said, nudging me. “I don’t mind if you dance with her for a bit. I need a drink anyway.”
I shook my head, looking away. “I don’t think so. Greg, you go dance with her.”
“Grey!” Kelly said, her eyes round as her mouth dropped open. “Don’t be a jerk. That poor girl. Go and ask Honor to dance, and don’t argue about it.”
How the hell was I supposed to explain why this was really not a good idea? Here I was trying to stay true to Kelly, and she was literally pushing me at the other girl who was testing me every time I saw her.
“Go,” she said again, pointing her finger.
I took a deep breath. “Fine,” I bit out.
Pushing my way off the dance floor, I headed her way, keeping my eyes on her the entire time. Man she was gorgeous. Even in simple jeans, that were tight and fit her like a glove, and a plain black shirt, she was still mouth-watering.
No. Not mouth-watering.
She was Cat’s friend, and Perrie’s cousin. I was trying to be a nice guy - that’s all.
Those grey eyes glanced up to lock with mine. Fear mixed with something else flashed there, setting my nerves on edge. My blood pounded as I drew closer. Whatever else had been there seemed to call to the desire that I struggled to tamper.
It was fighting its way up now, clawing at my insides. I reached her, watching her throat work as she swallowed nervously. She tried to hide it with a defiant look in her eyes, but I wasn’t convinced.
I smirked, knowing she wasn’t nearly as unaffected by me as she’d like to think.
“Honor,” I said, speaking to her for the first time tonight.
“Grey,” she replied.
“What are you doing sitting here all by your lonesome?”
She shrugged. “To be honest? I’m beat. I only came here to keep Cat company.”
I glanced over my shoulder where Cat was still dancing.
“Doesn’t seem like she needs it,” I said, turning back to her.
“Apparently,” she muttered, her lips pressing together.
I chuckled. There was something cute about Honor being all disgruntled. She reminded me of a kitten with its hackles up.
“What’s so funny?” She asked.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, biting back my smile. “Nothing,” I said. “Look, I don’t want to be here either, but since we are, how about a dance?”
Her mouth dropped open a fraction. “A dance?”
“Yeah, Honor. You know how to do that, right?”
“With you?”
“Is there something wrong with me?”
“No,” she said quickly, her cheeks flushing as she snapped her mouth shut.
We stared at each other in silence.
“Well?” I said, breaking it.
“What about Kelly?”
“She’s fine with it.”
She bit her lip, looking over me at the dance floor.
“I don’t think so,” she said slowly.
“Come on, doll,” I said with a snicker. “I promise you, it won’t kill you to dance with me for one song.” I reached down, grabbing her hand and pulling her off the chair.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” she said lowly, only the two of us able to hear it.
I searched her eyes, seeing the same uncertainty there that I felt when it came to being close to her. Was it possible Honor was as afraid of the chemistry between us as I was?
“One dance,” I said, knowing there was no way I could back down now. Especially not now that I held her thin hand in mine.
She bit at her lip again. Without waiting for an answer, I turned and led us to the dance floor, my heart beating a mile a minute.
Chapter 9
Honor
The al
arm bells in my head were going haywire. There was a small voice shouting “iceberg straight ahead”, and Grey was the iceberg. I was about to get in a whole shit load of trouble.
My hand in his felt small and clammy as he led us to the dance floor. I couldn’t help but follow, even though I knew everything about this situation was bad.
I quickly glanced about, finding Kelly at the bar with some people I recognized from school. She smiled at me, giving me a thumbs up. What the fudge?
Okay, so clearly she was fine with this. That didn’t mean I was. I’d been doing my best to stay away from Grey, avoiding him at all costs. I hadn’t even said a word to him until he approached me just now. Dancing with him had definitely been out of the question.
And yet...here I was, following him to the crowded floor like a woman being led to her ultimate demise. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Grey. He seemed nice enough. It was just, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him, and that was a problem.
It wasn’t even just that he had a girlfriend, which was a huge no, no for me. It was everything about him. He screamed trouble. And as someone who grew up in the rougher part of Bloomfield, I’d made it my life’s mission to avoid trouble.
So why was I allowing this? For exactly the same reason I’d been keeping my distance from him. I couldn’t help how I reacted to Grey. That kiss, the attraction that sizzled between us, it was too much.
We reached the crowd of dancers, and he pushed his way through until we were lost in the sea of people. Turning to me, his hands landed on my hips pulling me closer. I could feel the sweat drip down my spine as our eyes met. Despite the heavy beat around us, we stood still, secluded in our tiny bubble.
That same voice inside my head was now shouting at me to get out before I drowned in the blue depths of the gaze peering back at me.
Grey was too good looking for his own good. I both hated it and loved it.
We remained frozen as his eyes dropped to my mouth. I swallowed, knowing exactly what he was probably thinking. I’d dreamt about our kiss enough times, remembered the look of desire on his face. It was there now.
This was worse than bad. This was catastrophic.
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