AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He lifts his eyebrows, unimpressed, then his gaze finds me again. I’m getting the sense that he doesn’t trust me or is at least leery of me. Motioning to Winston, his indifferent gaze morphs into a small smirk. “Winston says you two have really hit it off.”
I quirk an eyebrow, and her eyes dart between Winston, myself, and her father. The playful attitude she just had vanishes, and she appears to be uncomfortable. “Oh, uh, yes.”
I remember what she told me about their situation. I’m guessing she’s still trying to navigate her way through this parental matchup, but it irks at me. I know the truth between them, and I’m the one who just went on an actual date with her, but I’m still jealous. Damn, I am a goner.
“Um, we’re actually going out next week,” Winston speaks up, really messing with my mind.
Cece’s eyes jump to me. Though my one-on-one time with her has been limited, I can read her eyes, begging me to stay quiet.
“Is that right? Fabulous,” Mr. Thornhurst says, uttering each syllable perfectly.
“Yes,” Cece adds, with a slight cringe.
“Well, we just wanted to stop by and finally visit your endeavor,” her father says. “We should probably be going.”
“Oh, you didn’t want to stay a little bit? Maddox will be starting his next set in a few minutes, and I can get a service for—”
“No, that’s okay. It’s a little too much,” Mr. Thornhurst interjects. “I couldn’t imagine spending more than a few minutes here.”
Cece pinches her lips to the side. Before anyone can add anything else, her father and Thornhurst turn and head back to the staircase. I watch on as her father says something to him, pointing in different directions. Thornhurst shakes his head as if he either can’t understand him or doesn’t understand the appeal of the club. Probably both.
Turning back at Cece, she looks back at me, biting her lip in an apologetic cringe. Winston eyes both of us and lets out a small chuckle. “Well, this is awkward.”
Cece slaps his chest. “You know, for as unassuming as you come off, you really pick up on all the small details.”
“I guess it’s from years of being in the background behind my father, afraid to establish myself.” He laughs, shaking his head. Then he looks at me. “I take it you two …”
“No.”
“Yes,” I say at the same time Cece tries to negate whatever we are.
Winston laughs again. “I’ll give you guys a minute to decide.”
Delivering a playful smirk to her as he walks away, I take a step closer. She narrows her eyes, but there’s a grin across her lips. “What are you doing up here?” she asks.
“Would you believe me if I told you I got jealous?”
“Absolutely not.”
“That’s too bad, because it’s the truth.”
Her gaze stays on mine for a moment as if she’s trying to believe me or not. “You were jealous? Maddox Barkley?”
“It caught me by surprise, too.” I glance back at Winston, who’s awkwardly standing next to the bar, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I mean, seriously, how the hell am I jealous?”
“Hey, he’s a nice guy. Don’t judge.” Stepping closer, she reaches over and takes my hand. “But I have to say, seeing this completely different side of the King of Bad is intriguing.”
“Intriguing enough to set up our second date?” I nod back to Winston. “Without Daddy’s pick?”
“I think that can be arranged.” Her smile stays in place for a moment. When she glances back at Winston, a sneaky smirk comes over her. “Oh! What if we made it a double date?”
“Excuse me?”
“If I can convince Stephanie and Winston to come with us, it could be us four. That way, I can tell my father I actually did go out with Winston.”
“What is it about you and this guy?”
The playful demeanor leaves, and she stares down at the ground. The light intermission music that plays between my sets is upbeat, and there are still people dancing on the first floor, along with people talking. But her expression is more somber than our environment.
