Page 25 of Veiled

I cut him off before he feels the need to make up some lame excuse, “Should probably get going, yeah.”

“Uhm yeah, tonight was fun though. Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“Yeah, for sure,” I try to sound unaffected as he gathers his clothes and gets dressed.

I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment as he leaves my room. It’s dumb because we only met tonight, and I knew going into it that it was just a bar hookup, but some stupid part of me hoped it would be more.

I shoot Mattey my ‘All safe’ message before plugging my phone in and getting comfortable.

Luckily, Aiden really had worn me out tonight, and before I know it, sleep is pulling me under.

Chapter ten

Annalise

Brunch plans turn into lunch plans by the time our group is all up and functioning.

“I’m never drinking again,” James groans as we all walk out to the parking lot.

“How late did you stay out?”

“Antonio, Sasha, and I shut the bar down, but apparently, they were drinking something magical called water in between drinks, and no one thought to share with me.”

Antonio snorts, “Oh, I’m sure the water was in short supply wherever you wandered off to.”

We all pile into James’s car and head to Ray’s, a cute retro diner that the locals try to keep secret, as James tells us about the girl he almost left with that he is pretty sure is the one—except he forgot to get her phone number at the end of the night.

We barely wait two minutes before we’re being seated in a large U-shaped booth.

“You should have seen the way Lucas lost his shit right after you left last night,” Matt beams. “I swear it was almost as satisfying as if I got to hit him myself.”

“Nooo, seriously? What happened? Who pissed him off?” I jump at the drama because anything that makes Lucas miserable makes me happy. I don’t care how petty that makes me.

Everyone at the table looks at me like I’ve just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say it wasn’t anything that the poor guy that met his fists did…” Suggests Antonio.

“Okay, so what was it?” I push.

“Probably him seeing who you left with, since it started right as you were walking out the door?”

“Why would Lucas care who I left with? What am I not getting here?” I can’t hide my confusion. We have hated each other for so long; there is no love lost between us.

“Oh, babe,” Sasha’s soft tone immediately has me nervous. “Please tell me you knew who Aiden was before you left with him.”

I stare at her, waiting for more information as I sip my sweet tea.

With a gentleness only Sasha can achieve, she admits, “Uhm…Lee, Aiden is Lucas’s best friend.”

Water goes down the wrong pipe, and I’m coughing like crazy as Matt chokes on air beside me.

“I’m sorry, say that last part again?”

Bravo Company. Tattooed. Of course, he is Lucas’s friend Aiden. I hadn’t just seen him walking around campus; he was the last guy who joined Lucas’s friends while I had my nice chat with Lucas in the mess hall last weekend. That’s where I recognized him from.

James laughs. “Oh my gosh. You really didn’t know before you left with him?”

“I can honestly say I didn’t know until thirty seconds ago.” My palms connect with my face, both punishing and trying to hide the shame.