While making a beeline for Marcus, I signal for the waitress to bring me another whiskey. When I plop into the empty seat next to Marcus, his eyes stray to me. “Who invited her?”
“Who?” He sounds as if he has no idea who I’m talking about. I have no fucking clue why. If anyone knows the shit Kylie put me through, it is him.
When I jerk my chin to Kylie and her blonde friend, he shrugs. “All I know is that Emily invited them to sit with us.” His green eyes bounce between mine, his expression coy. “I’m the blonde’s baby daddy.”
I’d choke on my drink if the waitress was as eager to quench my thirst as she was to suck my dick.
When Marcus waggles his brows, I realize he’s joking. My slow uptake can be easily excused. He isn’t known for comedy. His humor is usually as dry as my throat feels.
Even though the blonde appears deep in conversation with Emily and Kylie, her eyes constantly dart to Marcus. “Are you going to tap that?”
Marcus doesn’t answer my question, but his smirk reveals he’s considering the idea. When the waitress finally arrives with my drink, I flash her a flirty wink, hoping it’ll have her jumping to my command a little faster next time. She licks her recently repainted lips while twirling her freshly brushed hair around her finger. When she saunters back to the bar with an extra bounce in her step, my eyes return to Kylie. Hers are no longer filled with the tears they had minutes ago. They’re narrowed into tiny slits, and her lips are hard-lined. I hit her with the same wink I just give the waitress. Her reply is nowhere near as frisky. She rolls her eyes before heading to the bar with her blonde friend trailing closely behind her.
I can’t help but run my eyes over her tight body. Her hair is shorter than it was when we were dating, her long, mousy brown locks replaced with a rich chocolate bob that sits two inches past her chin. A heavy coating of makeup hides her adorable freckles, and her tight black strapless dress seems out of the ordinary for her, but when I reach her feet, I realize the Kylie I know is hiding under there somewhere because she’s wearing cropped cowboy boots.
She and her friend seem to be having a heated discussion. How do I know this? From how many times the blonde’s hand continually gestures to me. When Kylie gets frustrated by whatever she’s yelling, she folds her arms under her chest, hoisting her fantastic breasts up higher in her dress. I’m not the only one noticing her improved cleavage. The bartender’s eyes zoom straight to her alluring display.
After smashing my back molars together, I glare at him. When my daggers hit their mark, he scurries away to serve other patrons waiting for his service. He’s smarter than he looks, saving another part of my body from becoming friendly with a Cue Ball waiter for the second time tonight. By friendly, I mean my fist was about to become chummy with his face.
When my focus shifts back to Kylie, I can’t hear a word she’s saying, but her friend’s huffs can’t be missed. She gives Kylie a disappointed look before storming down the wooden stairs in a hurry. Kylie sucks in numerous big breaths before she paces back to Emily and Jenni. She says a few words to them before focusing her attention on Marcus and me. “It was nice seeing you both again.” Her twang is less noticeable compared to the night we met.
Marcus hugs her goodbye. I remain seated, my gaze seeking anything but hers. When Marcus inches back, he inconspicuously nudges his head to Kylie, suggesting I say goodbye so we don’t again part ways with words unspoken.
Forever stubborn, I shake my head before my eyes drift to the dance floor. Kylie brushes it away quickly, but I don’t miss the tear sliding down her pale cheek. I may be a coldhearted bastard, but I wasn’t always this way.
Feeling bad that I’ve made her cry, my gaze lifts and locks with hers. I don’t get a chance to issue her a halfhearted farewell smirk. She spins on her heels and darts down the stairs before my lips reach half their potential.
I realize I’m not the only one who spotted Kylie’s tears. She bursts past the bouncers manning the VIP entrance at the same time Jenni’s questioning eyes stray to mine. Her face is marred with confusion and a slight hint of anger. Nick defuses her angry glare by running the back of his hand down her flushed cheek, but nothing can defuse the interrogation bomb she plans to hit me with.
Any plans to spend the rest of my night enjoying the company of my friends and unlimited alcohol while I battle to forget the girl I hope to never see again are lost when Jenni fills the seat next to me. “What happened between you and Kylie?”
I slouch into the booth with a groan before signaling for the waiter to bring me another whiskey. When Jenni’s head comes to rest on my shoulder, her giggles fan the cropped hairs covering my jaw. “I really liked her.”
“You weren’t the only one.”
I loved Kylie. She was the first girl I dated since Nikki, but she guttered me, convincing me that relationships aren’t for me. I never intend to be in one ever again.
“She told me how you wouldn’t boot scoot with her.” Jenni angles her head so our eyes collide. “I’ve seen you dance; you could have worked it.”
My laugh rumbles over the bass blaring from the speakers. I was mortified when Kylie suggested I join her on the dance floor that day. They weren’t dancing. They werelinedancing, like full-on cowboy shit. I was getting enough odd looks as it was, so imagine how out of place I would have looked while boot scooting?
“That’s not how I like to tap boots.”
Jenni laughs again. When it switches to a yawn, I glance down at my watch. I’m taken aback when I see it’s nearly 1 AM. I’m stunned for the second time when Jenni peers up at me. Her light blue eyes are an exact replica of my sister’s. Even without similar facial features and matching hair color, I could pretend I was looking at Serena. That’s how similar they are.
Serena and I were only eleven months apart. When our mom took us into town, people often mistook us for twins. We didn’t have the sibling rivalry everyone else experiences. She was my very best friend in the whole world, and I miss her every single day.
When Jenni notices the sullen look on my face, she nuzzles in closer. People think our friendship is odd—even Kylie was jealous at one stage, but they soon catch on that I treat Jenni as if she’s my sister, nothing more. She isn’t Serena, but I can’t help but treat her as if she is.
“Why were you running to the bathroom before?” My tone relays my concern. Jenni looks okay now, but she didn’t look so hot earlier.
This time, when her eyes flick up, her cheeks are bright pink, and her pupils are massive. When her eyes dart to Nick, he smirks and winks before nodding. “I’m pregnant,” she informs me after returning her focus to me.
“Again? Didn’t you learn after the first one?” When her bottom lip drops into a pout, I twang it. “I’m joking. Congratulations.”
I am joking. Jasper is one of the best kids I’ve ever met, solely because he has his mother’s personality—thank fuck.
Nick must have shared the baby news with Emily and Noah at the same time Jenni told me. Emily squeals before rushing over to engulf Jenni in a huge hug. They crash into the booth, spilling my glass of whiskey on my jeans.
