Page 38 of Savagely Scarred

I glance around for Dorian. “Did you leave him in the wild to fend for himself?” I chuckle.

“Oh, don’t worry. He’s having a blast.” Liv jerks her head behind her.

I find Dorian surrounded by three women, grinding all over him. The biggest smile I have ever seen is plastered on his face. When he sees me, his eyes widen and he gives me a thumbs up. I smile and shake my head at his excitement.

When the current song ends, the singer grabs the microphone out of the stand and walks to the edge of the stage.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight!!!”

Cheers and applause fill the entire room. Reluctantly, I join in and clap along. Lorenzo just crosses his arms over his chest and stares at Ava’s ex-boyfriend like he's plotting his death.

“We are going to take a quick break. But when we come back, we have a special treat for you!”

Liv stiffens in her chair next to me.

“We have some special guests in the audience tonight and one of them is celebrating her birthday!”

The cheering and clapping crescendos when he points to Ava, and she stands and waves at the crowd. Liv is looking up at her and grinning. That is… until he opens his mouth again.

“One of them used to sing with us and she’s going to perform a song with us tonight! Grab some more drinks and we’ll be right back!”

Chapter Ten

Sage

“Ava! What the fuck did you do?!”

“You’re going to sing?” Dorian pants, returning from the dance floor.

Liv doesn’t even pay him any attention and continues to glare at Ava with pure hatred in her eyes. If looks could kill.

“You told me maybe and I took that as a yes.” Ava shrugs.

Olivia turns back to the table. Resting her elbows on it, she places her face in her hands and groans. Her right leg is bouncing up and down incessantly. I place my hand on her thigh to still her.

“Baby, you don’t have to. Relax.”

She peers at me between her fingers. “Really?”

Yes. Really. Because I don’t want her anywhere near her ex.

Lorenzo clears his throat. “Yeah, mana. No need to embarrass yourself if you can’t sing.”

I whip my head at him and he grins menacingly. Is he seriously using reverse psychology on her right now? If there is one thing I have learned from dating an independent woman, it’s that telling them they can’t do something just makes them want to prove you wrong.

Ava’s smile widens, a gleam in her eyes showing that she won. Liv scoffs and stands. She picks up her drink and completely drains it in one go.

She takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. “Okay. Let’s do this before I run out of here at warp speed.”

Ava squeals and grabs her hand, leading her away and to the stage.

I look at Lorenzo again. “Fuck you, man.”

“Oh, I think you’ll be thanking me later.” He winks at me.

Ten long agonizing minutes pass. My leg is now bouncing up and down in anticipation, our last round of drinks grasped in our hands. Every second I don’t have eyes on her is torture.

I should have gone backstage with her.