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Brianna jumped off of the motorcycle and I went back to the pinball machine, running my hands against the metal flippers when Chase opened the curtain wider for Brianna and they exchanged pleasantries. He was gorgeous in his navy blue t-shirt, light hoodie, and premium blue jeans that hung off his narrow hips and made his torso look wonderfully longer. The muscle on his hip that I knew lead to a V shape in his navel area was clear as day through the fit of his shirt. I knew how solid his chest and legs were. Last night, only harsh words and an interruption from outside could have broken the scant space between us that had crackled with ceaseless energy.
***
Chase
“Beth.” I closed the curtain. Bri had mouthed that she’d try to ensure that no one came into the arcade section. People were more focused on having good drinks and securing a bedmate for the night than playing some old games. I had the same urges as everyone else coursing through my veins, but I reeled them in. Meaningless sex had been a habit for me, after all. However, only Beth would do now. The stern way she was studying me conveyed that there’d be no funny business between us for now. Or, God forbid, for a longer period of time.
“Hey, Chase,” she said, trying to be casual. “What brings you by? I thought you weren’t gonna come here.”
I missed that husky quality her voice had when we no one else was around us. I bet she didn’t notice, or she’d try to change it.
“So, you wouldn’t have come if you knew I’d be here?”
“I would’ve come regardless. I’ve heard a girl can freely let her hair down here.”
I gesticulated toward her beautiful hair. “By all means, don’t stop on account of me.”
“You answered my question with a question,” she told me dryly.
“I came to you like you said I could when I needed to talk.”
The vacant look in her eyes was replaced with warmth she was fighting to hide, much in sync with the sound of her voice. My cock twinged as I perused the swell of her tits from the scoop neck of her black sleeveless top. Her hair was in a loose ponytail with strands of loose curls lying on her shoulders, but it didn’t cover the birthmark on her right shoulder that I’d zeroed in on when I’d first seen her in a tank top.
I walked over to her, remaining five feet away. Midnight blue eyes seduced me with every intake of her breath. She leaned back against the machine as if there was nowhere else she could go. Her nipples strained against her shirt. Goose bumps formed on her arms and I felt the air conditioner kick in.
I took off my hoodie and opened it up. “It’s chilly in here and I am warm.” I could’ve just given it to her, but I wasn’t an honorable guy. I wanted her to have something that would remind her of me, and I wanted her in my personal space when she put it on. I wanted guys to see her wearing my hoodie. I was working toward being the only friend of hers who had the benefit of having her in my arms like I had the night before. It was unfair to think I could have any claim over her, but I was greedy.
Swallowing, she walked towards me. Some pain and contentment warred within her as she put her arms in the sleeves of my hoodie. She wanted to believe me, but it was hard to fight what masqueraded as fact. I was about to zip it up for her when she brushed my hands off and did it herself. It was an impulse on my part that had only been brought to my awareness when she stopped me.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I. Never. Ever. Wanted. Cassidy.” I punctuated each word. “She’s been hassling me and I should’ve done more than I did to stop her.”
Shivering, Beth crossed her arms. “Cassidy doesn’t have to hassle guys.”
“It’s easy to assume that I am one of those guys who have a stupid fascination with her—”
Beth cocked a brow and interrupted. “You’ve never done anything with her? Hmm?”
“Never.”
“Then how come you didn’t do something proactive? Go to Pierce? Go to Mr. Pruitt? Heck, go to Aunt Deborah, since she’s been the only person who I’ve seen put Cassidy in line.”
For some reason, I flinched and took a step back. Beth began toying with the zipper of my hoodie, but her gaze bore into me, daring me to hedge.
“I ignored Cassidy because I thought she’d back off. She came on strong a lot, and there were days when she didn’t bother me. I knew Mr. Pruitt wouldn’t believe me. And I don’t know about Pierce. Still don’t, actually. I shouldn’t have been afraid that Mr. Pruitt would think of me as nothing, because today he made that clear. I wasn’t only a charity case to him, I was just a means for him to mold Pierce into whoever he wants his son to be. I wanted to hang on to what I had with your uncle and Pierce. I wanna see what can come of us. Don’t tell me some part of you hasn’t felt like you could have something with me.”
Beth fluttered her eyes closed, and when I thought she was going to let silence build between us, she said, “I won’t, because it’s true. And I’ve never wanted a guy to know everything about me. I mean, who really wants that? Apparently, me.” Slowly, she opened her eyes. She was asking me not to mess with her head, and her lip curled in a tired smile, and she continued. “I refuse to fall for the dream, to fall for who I dreamt you to be. I may have been dreaming last night. Or you may be keeping it real with me—”
“Hey, guys.” Millie shyly smiled. Her head popped up between the curtains. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“It’s okay,” I said, looking at the clock. “I should go check on Brianna. She should’ve been back with our drinks, but I guess she got sidetracked.”
Millie let out a nervous laugh. “Gavin is waiting for you up front, and he can’t leave his post because the other bouncers are inside,” she told Chase. “And I’ll take you to Bri.”
***
Bethany
