AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hughie shot me a grateful look. He didn’t need to thank me for shit. His girlfriend was beautiful.
Gibsie rounded the table a few moments later, distracting me with a tray laden down with glasses.
“Bottoms up, Cap,” he announced, slapping the tray down in front of me.
“Cheers.” Not bothering to ask what was on offer tonight, knowing I’d drink petrol with the mood I was in, I grabbed two shot glasses off the tray and tossed them back.
And then, for good measure, I threw back another four shots before settling on my vodka and Red Bull.
I needed it because watching the floor show occurring at the table next to ours wasn’t fun. From where I was sitting, I had a perfect view of Bella straddling Cormac. He had his hands under her skirt, and her legs were wrapped around his waist. They might as well be naked and shagging, they were being that bleeding obvious.
Propping himself on the stool in front of me, Gibs thankfully blocked my view.
“I’m prettier to look at,” he announced with a wink and then proceeded to toss back shots like it was going out of fashion.
I could always depend on this fucker. Hail, rain, or snow, Gibsie had my back.
That was a comforting notion.
“Ryan’s a clown,” Hughie stated aloud, reading my thoughts. “She’s doing this on purpose to get a rise out of you, and he’s letting her use him to do it.”
“You had a lucky escape, Johnny,” Katie agreed with a sympathetic smile.
I shrugged and reached for another shot.
“She can do whatever she wants.” Pressing the glass to my lips, I tossed the drink back and swallowed quickly. “They both can.”
I meant it. I didn’t want her back. I would never go back there. But that didn’t mean that this was easy to watch. Because it wasn’t.
It was an intentional attack and it stung.
Mostly because Cormac was going along with it.
“Yeah, but rubbing it in your face like this is disgusting,” Katie replied, frowning at the pair. “If the shoe was on the other foot, and you did that with one of Bella’s friends right in front of her, she would lose it.”
“True,” both Gibs and Hughie agreed in unison.
For the next couple of hours, I ignored Bella and Cormac, focusing my attention on my friends and the live band playing in the corner of the bar. I tried to relax and let loose by joining in on the conversation, while necking back drink after drink, but it wasn’t coming easy to me.
I was too stressed.
When I wasn’t actively trying to avoid Bella and Cormac, my mind wandered back to the niggling concern that I tried so hard not to dwell on.
My health.
Problem was, the alcohol flushing through my veins was making it impossible for me to block out my fears.
What if I couldn’t get my shit together? What if my body didn’t heal? What the fuck was I supposed to do with my life?
Every theoretical egg I had ever possessed was firmly nestled in the basket labeled Career in rugby.
Right now, that basket was toppling and I was powerless to stop it.
In other words, I was completely helpless and utterly screwed.
“Okay, folks, this next song is from Reckless Kelly,” the lead singer announced over the microphone, distracting me from my drunken thoughts. He strummed on his guitar and then added, “‘Wicked Twisted Road.’”
Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on the table and strained to hear the lyrics over the noise of the crowd. One verse in and I was hooked.
