“I was watching your location.”
“Stalker.” I swipe the drink off the table and take a sip. “Shit, that’s good. What is it?”
“No clue. I told the waiter to surprise me with something with vodka in it.”
“Look at you, Lou. Really letting go of those control issues.” We clink our glasses together, with matching pink drinks. Her eyes tell me she’s annoyed by my targeted comment, but her smile says otherwise.
I sit down in an open chair between Bear and Sam and slip off my jacket. The nice thing about my work is that I get to dress how I want. So, on nights like this, when I come straight from the office, I’m already dressed for a night out. Obviously, a little more modest than other nights, but I still look hot enough to draw attention.
And as the night continues, I get exactly that—lots of attention.
Throughout the night, I use my charm and flirt up a storm, trying to distract myself from the memory of Kass. It works for the most part, until around midnight when I check my phone.
"Shit." I stare at the screen, trying to understand why I have a missed call from Clover.
The timestamp on the call was only ten minutes ago. What the hell is she doing up so late? It’s past midnight. I open my messages to make sure I didn't accidentally open a text from her and not notice. Nope. No text. Maybe it was an accidental butt-dial. While I stand on the side of the dance floor, looking at my phone, perplexed, it starts to ring.
"Hello? Clover?" I quickly try to make my way toward a quieter part of the bar. "Clover, can you hear me?"
"B?" Her voice is quiet, and I can't tell if it's because it's loud in here or if she's trying to whisper.
"What's going on, kiddo?"
"I...I ummm. Never mind."
"Clover? Talk to me. Why'd you call?"
I plug my other ear so I can hear her better and turn my volume up all the way. I hear a sniffle on the other end, and my chest tightens.
"Is everything okay?" I press.
"If you're not busy, could you come pick me up?"
Pick her up?
"I'm going to need a little more detail than that. Are you at home? Where's your dad?"
I instantly regret my question. What if she's staying with someone else? That means that Kass is likely out on a date. Fuck me. I can't handle this right now.
"Clover?"
"I'm not with my dad."
My stomach turns, and a pit of jealousy starts to bubble up. Calm down, B. This is not about Kass right now. This is about Clover.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at my Auntie Jade's house."
"Are you okay? Why do you want to be picked up?"
"Well...I don't really want to say."
"Clover, if I'm going to help you, I need you to talk to me. I'm not just going to come pick you up from Jade's house because you asked me to. Why don't you call your dad?"
"Auntie Jade put me to bed a little while ago, and I woke up because I was thirsty. I just wanted some water." Another sniffle.
Panic startsto set in.
