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I don’t miss the way his gaze scrapes over my neck and the distinct lack of a mating bite there. Not that not having one means anything. I could still be mated or dating someone. He doesn’t know.
“Connor, hey,” I say, my mouth feeling a little dry. Sadie presses into me with her back at my lackluster greeting, no doubt picking up that this is not a warm reunion. Not cold either, just tepid.
I glance around the bar, noting that the men who were making eyes at Sadie earlier are standing heading our way. I meet their gaze and shake my head. The last thing I want is a scene in the VIP area of the most trendy nightclub in town. They stop their approach, but don’t sit back down.
“Seriously,” my friend says, pushing again. “Back off, dude.”
Connor blinks like he just realized he’s still holding on to me, and he drops his hand like I burned him. He gives a sheepish smile to both of us. “Sorry. I just- I’m so surprised to see you here. Seven years is a long time.”
“Not long enough, apparently,” I mutter before forcing a smile to my face and waving off his apology. “No worries. I get it. It’s kind of like seeing a ghost, huh?”
He laughs and looks down, running a hand through his blond hair, artfully mussing the strands, and flexing his bicep at the same time. I don’t know if it’s for my benefit or Sadie’s, but either way, I’m pretty sure he’s going to be disappointed. Sadie’s already picked out her conquest for the night, and I am simply not interested. Never have been, never will be.
“Yeah, it’s exactly like that.” He looks up. “Look, can I buy you a drink to make up for… manhandling you?”
Sadie looks pointedly at our still full drinks. “I think we’re good.”
I swear a flush spreads over his cheeks. I don’t know if it’s frustration or embarrassment, but he keeps that sheepish grin on his face. “Maybe next round?” he suggests, hopefully.
The last thing I want to do is have a drink with Connor. He’ll probably try to tell me all about the younger Werth pack, and how someday soon they’re going to let him join. Eternally the optimist… or opportunist or whatever.
“Yeah, maybe,” I say noncommittally. His grin falls, and I immediately feel guilty. So I say. “I’m just here to hang out with Sadie, catch up. But I’ll be in town for a month at least. Maybe we can grab dinner or something.”
I regret the words as soon as they’re out of my mouth. It sounds a hell of a lot like I just asked him out on a date, which was definitely not my intention. I just don’t want to talk to him now. I don’t want to talk to him later either, but at least I can come up with excuses not to meet him.
He grins at me and nods, moving closer despite Sadie being between us. An immovable barrier. “I would love that, Vee.”
“Give me your number,” I say, before he can ask for mine. That way I can just pretend like I forgot this meeting and never talk to him again. I pull out my phone to dutifully enter it, but he holds out his hand, palm up, in silent request. Dammit.
If there was a polite way to get out of this, I would have. But there isn’t, really.
So I slide my unlocked phone onto his palm and he snaps a picture of himself, creates a contact and then texts himself. I watch it all happening with some kind of weird fog around my brain. Sadie eyes the phone like she wants to slap it out of his hand, but she refrains.
At the very least, I’ll just block his number. Or I can avoid following through on the promise of dinner. It’s not like it really matters, anyway. I’m not staying in the city. And even if I was, I’d never actually date him.
He grins when he hands the device back to me. “It was really great running into you, Vee. I’ll let you get back to your night.”
And then he melts into the crowd.
Sadie turns to me with an arched brow, her arms crossed over her chest. “What the hell was that?”
I sigh and turn back to my drink, downing half of it before I answer her. “That was Connor Bilkes. He, uh… he hung around us when we were teenagers.” I gulp the rest of my drink and motion to the bartender for another. She pours one with a smile on her face, though her gaze darts to the two men Sadie’s picked out for the evening.
I follow her gaze and find them sitting again, but they’re still watching. One of them catches my eye and smirks. Sadie snaps her fingers in front of my face, drawing my attention back to her. “Nuh-uh. Those two are mine. You have enough dicks keeping you company. Don’t take mine.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Yeah, too bad none of said dicks are actually dicking me down.”
Sadie snorts at my joke, twirling her straw in her drink. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I consider the question. I’d wanted to, wanted to spill out everything that’s happened. But now that we’re here with the thumping music and surrounded by people, I don’t think I want to anymore. I sigh, sip from my drink, and then lean toward her. “Long story short, I’m stuck in town until my grandmother’s house is renovated, if I want to get anything from the sale of the property. The pack that rejected me knows I’m here and, for some reason, they won’t leave me alone.” I shake my head. “I don’t know if… Maybe they think they owe me something, or they want to have me as a mistress.”
She tilts her head, brows furrowed. “First, you deserve better than to be someone’s dirty secret. You are amazing and beautiful and you deserve to live in the fucking light. Second, do you need the money, Vee? Maybe it would be better to just cut your losses.”
She’s right. Of course she’s right. I don’t need the money. Beth and her pack will give me anything I need. They’ve told me many times over that they’re happy to take care of me for the rest of my life, since I won’t be able to join a pack of my own. On top of that, I make enough from both of my businesses to be comfortable for the rest of my life.
But… I shrug and throw back the rest of my drink. “Maybe I’m being stupid or stubborn, but after all the bullshit she put me through, I deserve something from her.”
Sadie nods. “You’re not wrong.” She sips her drink and gets a shifty eyed look that I recognize as the one she gets when she wants to say something, but she’s not sure how it’ll be received.
