Page 95 of Open To Negotiation

Yes. “I didn’t want to come here.”

She let out a sigh and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the car. “Listen, I know you’ve never been a big fan of going out but whenever you come here you let go and have fun. You feel safe here. Don’t let the asshole take that away from you.”

Since Aubrey and Max were fighting, she was in an all men suck mood. A train that I was okay to be on but I wasn’t mad, I was just sad. It felt like Theo ripped my heart from my chest and took it when he left. I was left with a hole and no way to fix it.

“He made me feel safe here.” I looked at the VIP entrance and noticed Dane was covering the door tonight.

“Do you know if he’s back?” Aubrey stepped in front of me and I bit my lip.

“Last I heard he was still in London. Not that it matters anymore.”

“It’s not Friday. It’s unlikely any of them are here,” she said encouragingly as she grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward Dane.

“It’s their business, they could be,” I muttered unconvincingly.

I knew that with construction about to break ground on the private club that they didn’t come here as much as they did before. I hadn’t replied to any of their messages aside from my brief conversation with Asher despite their constant pleas to get back to them to let them know I was okay.

But I wasn’t okay.

I’d been hiding from everyone, including them when they knocked at my apartment door. Asher was particularly insistent and had taken to calling me every day and texting. Leaving voicemails I hadn’t listened to and a constant stream of messages that I hadn’t opened after learning Theo was okay. Better to start my grieving of them now too.

I’d lost Theo, I didn’t want to lose them but it was easier for me to back off. Because despite their assurances I knew it was only a matter of time before they had to pick a side and it would be his.

“Hey Quinn,” Dane said warmly. He wasn’t looking at me differently which meant that Theo hadn’t told his staff or revoked my privileges.

Did that mean that he didn’t care enough to bother or because we weren’t over?

“Hey…” I said awkwardly as Aubrey passed him as he stepped aside but I stopped. “Are Asher, Noah, or Jaxson here?” He frowned a little before shaking his head, because clearly I should know.

“None of them are here." He answered like I hoped he would. "Do you need something?” His frown had deepened.

“No, I’m good.” I smiled.

I followed Aubrey in and we went straight to the bar. Mike was there when we walked up and he had our shots lined up quickly after we ordered.

“Men suck. Let’s get drunk.” Aubrey clinked her glass against mine as we took our shots.

“Should I be paying?” I asked after our third shot. I dropped my voice. “I’m not dating him anymore. Free booze seems wrong.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes, grabbed my hand and dragged me off to the dance floor.

We lost ourselves in the music, dancing and ignoring our problems. Men tried to come over but every time they did, Aubrey would scream that ‘men ain’t shit’ or ‘men suck,’ and then they tended to leave us alone.

We took a few pee breaks and then did more dancing and then had more shots.

Two hours after getting there, I was just tipsy enough to feel good but not enough to make any stupid decisions. Unlike Aubrey who hadn’t switched to water when she went to the bar the last three times like I had.

She’d been acting weird. She still wouldn’t tell me what her and Max were fighting about, but switching to water seemed like a good call seeing as one of us needed to be together enough to get us home.

“More shots!” Aubrey yelled as we made our way back to the bar.

“Don’t you want a break. And some water?” I yelled in her ear so she heard me above the music. The alcohol was wearing off faster as I chased my drunk friend around.

“Bartender, I need more shots!” she yelled at the women who stood in front of us.

“And two waters,” I added.

“That’s sixteen-fifty.” I frowned at the woman behind the bar. I wasn’t sure if I had seen her before, not that I spent much time down here.