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“It involves Lex and Charlie. The kitchen. And fingering—”
Addison slaps his arm. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What?” Eric drags. “It was hot.”
“Maybe, to you. I don’t need to know these details.”
Nash pulls his phone out, having received a text. He types back quickly, then tucks his phone back into his pocket.
“Just got a message from Cruz. He’s coming to After Dark.”
Addison stops mid-step. “He’s here? In Manhattan?”
“Yeah, but he couldn’t make dinner since he had an important meeting today and had to catch a later flight,” Nash informs her. “You didn’t know?”
I’m drawn to the way her shoulders tense, and how she avoids my persistent stare. Something is not right, but I have no clue what it is or what happened. If Addison has been staying at her parents’ house, I’m assuming she got into a fight with Cruz.
A big one for her to make such a drastic move.
The curiosity begins to eat away at me. There’s no chance to pull her aside and ask because we arrive at the club.
Will speaks to the security team who let us all in. Inside, it’s your typical club scene—dark with neon lights and loud music. There is a VIP area upstairs that Will has organized for us during the short walk here.
We get ourselves settled inside the gold booth, waiting for the servers to bring us drinks. Most of us order the same drinks, and notably, Addison barely takes a sip from hers. She’s unusually quiet, but once again—I’m unable to pull her aside to talk.
“Let’s do shots,” Nash announces.
“Shots?” Amelia complains. “I’m breastfeeding.”
“Me too,” Ava says.
“Did you guys have to be so gross?” Nash scowls.
“Gross?” The girls repeat in a high-pitched tone.
Will hides his smirk behind his glass. “You’re in trouble now, boy.”
Nash is saved by Cruz’s arrival. He greets everyone with hugs, stopping when his eyes fall upon Addison. She stands up, but her body language is far from accommodating. The embrace is quick, the two of them pulling apart swiftly.
I glance in Ava’s direction as she shrugs. My instincts warn me something has happened and judging by the way they’re interacting, it’s not something good.
And can possibly destroy me.
My mind begins to wander to a dark place, despite the vibrant energy inside the club. Everyone is busy chatting over the noise, yet the stiff air makes it difficult for me to breathe. I lean over to Nash to tell him I’m going downstairs.
There’s a lot of people here tonight, bunching up in small crowds. I walk in solitude without looking at anyone else, displaying a hard expression to avoid the female attention making eyes at me. When I reach the bar, I order a double shot of whisky straight away.
The liquor goes down nicely, so I order another, but then a familiar hand reaches out in front of me and takes my drink.
Cruz drinks it without even asking, slamming it on the counter to order another.
“That was my drink, in case it didn’t register.”
“I need it more,” he replies in an agitated tone.
This is my chance to find out what the hell is going on. I highly doubt he knows anything is happening between me and Addison since he’s standing here next to me.
Resting my elbows on the counter, I take the next drink served but nurse it instead.
