I lean away from her and lower my voice. “Stop.”
She giggles like I’ve said something especially flirtatious. “Women are simple creatures,” she says, tracing her finger down my cheek. I grimace, pulling her hand away and placing it back at her side. “She’ll respond if she thinks I’m sniffing around her territory.”
But Evie doesn’t respond. She’s pretending I don’t even exist. Why?
“Oh, Brandon,” Alison says, louder now, laughing as she brushes her hand down my chest. I am so uncomfortable right now that I contemplate bolting like the coward I am.
“Alison, stop.”
Alison stills. “Did you just call me Alison?”
I hesitate. “Isn’t that your name?”
She grimaces and drops her arm from my shoulder. “Are you serious right now? It’sAngela,you jerk!” At first, I think she’s genuinely upset, but then she winks, slaps my cheek, and storms off.
My eyes close as the sting of her slap settles into my skin. She struck me so hard my face moved to the side. I open my eyes and gaze dejectedly at my reflection in the mirror hanging above the bar, wondering how I found myself in this situation. It’s almost comical.
I doubt Evie finds it funny.
I brave a look at her. She’s staring at me now, her expression bemused. But I do spot a little bit of humor buried deep,deepwithin those gorgeous brown eyes.
“Yikes,” Adam says, chuckling as he watches Angela storm off. “Having a rough night, Brandon?”
I smile caustically, locking eyes with Evie. “It just got a little better.”
Her face pinches in distaste. In her childish bid to ignore me, she spins toward Adam, but an old friend from high school is pulling him aside to catch up. Frowning, she faces forward again. A painful minute of strained silence passes between us while Adam reminisces with his buddy about their time on the football team together. The glory days . . .
When Adam’s conversation continues to drag on, Evie yawns theatrically and taps her mouth twice. “Hey, Adam?” she shouts over their conversation, twisting in her chair. “I hate to do this, but I’msotired, and my back is killing me in these shoes.”
My eyes scan the length of her bare legs before settling on her high heels. Good grief, she looks good in those.
Adam frowns. “You don’t want to stay until the ball drops?”
She forces another yawn. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I took these antihistamines earlier because my whole body was itching all over. I think it was because I switched soaps recently, which was a dumb thing to do, considering I have very sensitive skin.” She drones on for another minute about her hives, intentionally dragging out this bore of an excuse to leave early. I can see Adam losing interest by the second, which was undoubtedly Evie’s intention.
It’s a relief to know she doesn’tactuallywant to be here tonight.
Suddenly, Evie spins in her stool, spreads her legs, and points to the inside of her thigh in a less than attractive manner. It takes all of my self-control not to laugh at the disturbed expression on Adam’s face. “Do you want to see? I keep wanting to itch them. Like so bad. I mean, the rash has gone down significantly after taking that antihistamine, but there’s still some blood—”
Adam pales and lifts a hand. “No, no. That’s okay. I believe you.”
She shrugs, grabs her clutch from the bar, and hops off the seat. She shimmies her dress down on her thighs, then pops her clutch and fishes around inside. “Okay. I’m gonna call a cab so I can go home and itch in peace.”
Adam’s friend stifles a laugh, patting him on the shoulder. “How about we catch up later, yeah?”
“Okay, man.” Adam scratches his neck, staring at Evie as his friend disappears. “Can I at least help you get home safely?” he asks, ever the gentleman.
“No need,” I interject, sliding off my stool. “I’ll take her.”
Evie glances at my empty glass. “You’ve been drinking.”
“I’ve only had one.”
She purses her lips, then shakes her head. “No. I’m calling a cab.” She glances at Adam. “Which one was the coat room again?”
He looks between us helplessly, and I suddenly feel terrible that he’s caught in Evie’s and my crossfire yet again. “Down the hall, the first bedroom on the right.”
“Thanks.” She strides off, and I stalk her like a shadow.
