Page 118 of Drawn Together

“What about the video they showed me with you admitting everything, asshole?” I said, accepting the drink from the bartender. “Let’s go, Tami.”

“What an idiot,” Tami said, her cheeks already pink from the alcohol as we walked away.

My eyes unwittingly searched for Sebastian. Had he noticed the guy who’d just come up to me was the same dude who’d forced himself on me at that party?

I finally spotted him beside one of the windows, a blond woman standing next to him, very close.

Flirting on the job?

I finished my drink and went back for another. When I returned to the table, I saw that Liam had sat down beside Tami and was talking to her. She was staring straight ahead, scowling, her third drink now half empty. Liam seemed to be proving her right about him, talking to her in a tone somewhere between angry and annoyed. Tami saw that I was watching them, said something to Liam, and jumped up. “I think I need more of this,” she said, pointing to her now-empty glass.

I walked her to the bar, where we ordered another shot. If we continued on like this, we were going to get trashed. I could see it coming.

“Hey… what’s up with you and Liam?” I asked very seriously, or at least as seriously as the alcohol would allow.

Liam observed us from the sofa with an unfriendly expression.

“Nothing,” she said, turning her back to him.

“Tami, I’ve seen the way you look at him. It took me a while to realize it, but I’m not a total idiot,” I said, trying to ignore the scene taking place across the club: Sebastian was still talking to the blond girl, and she seemed to be moving closer and closer to him.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about that right now, okay? But I promise I will when I’m ready.”

That’s just how Tami was, very reserved. Liam needed toknow that getting through to Tami was going to take a lot more than a bit of flirting and a few compliments.

“Fine, let’s dance,” I said, jerking her arm.

The music was good, a mix of rock and Latin hits. I don’t know how much time went by, but before I knew it, Liam had joined us on the dance floor. The problem was that, instead of dancing with my friend, he pressed his body against mine.

“Liam…” I said, trying to pull away, but then his mouth moved down to my neck, to the spot where I still had a mark from the hickey I’d received a few days ago.

Tami stopped, gave me a heartbroken look, and then walked away.

Both Liam and I stretched out our hands to stop her, and Tami had no choice but to stumble back to us.

“Don’t get me wrapped up in your mess!” I shouted at them, stepping away.

I left them arguing and, trying to gather the courage I didn’t feel, went directly to the corner where my bodyguard was about to hook up with some random girl. When I reached them, I stuck my fingers through the blond girl’s belt loops and pulled her away from him. She tripped, spilling her drink onto her dress.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she said, shaking herself off.

I stepped beside Sebastian. “Get out of here,” I said, looking her in the eyes.

She was a bit taller than me, but I didn’t care. I knew martial arts now thanks to Sebastian, or at least that’s what I told myself as she lunged toward me and I grabbed her by the hair.

Sebastian immediately picked me up me by the waist and carried me to the other side of the club. “Have you lost your mind?” he shouted over the loud music, setting me down.

“You’re working!” I shouted back, furious that he seemed to be on her side.

“Why do you care how I do my job?”

I crossed my arms. “Because my life depends on it, genius.”

“You’re drunk, Marfil. I assure you that I haven’t lost sight of you for a second.”

“Oh, okay, so you can look at tits and watch me at the same time? Very talented.”

Sebastian exhaled through his nose. “Marfil…”