AllFreeNovel
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Wes and I stood there holding our cups while Max poured a few shots of vodka into each one.
Wes started to argue, but Max curled his hand around the back of his head and leaned in. Because he had to speak so loud, I heard what he told him.
“Be a good boy and drink what I gave you.”
My stomach dipped upon hearing the soft command, and I turned away as Wes turned his head to presumably kiss him.
The crowd was huge. Bodies were gyrating everywhere, the lights flashing, the music making me feel like I had an extra heartbeat.
Lifting the cup to my lips, I swallowed some of the vodka, my eyes tearing a bit at the burn. Before it even cooled off, I poured a little more in the back of my throat, letting it burn double.
Ryan and Jamie had their girls on the dance floor, Jamie with a beer in his hand but Ryan drink free. True to his word, Rush had replaced his two dates with two more, both of them squished up against him.
It was hot in here, the crush of sweating bodies making it humid.
Over the rim of my cup, my eyes fell on a group of girls, and I watched as they parted, a much larger body appearing.
My stomach dropped to my feet and the vodka on my tongue turned to dust as I watched the man in jeans and a white T-shirt turn. He was wearing mirrored aviators, the reflection taking on the same blue hue as the lights overhead. His hair was messy, flopping everywhere as he danced. And as I stared, one of the arms I so loved to be wrapped in reached out and wrapped around someone who was not me.
Pain so intrinsic cut through me that I actually glanced down to see if I was bleeding. I wasn’t, though, at least not in the way anyone else could see. It made me feel invisible, as if I could stand here and bleed out and no one would notice. No one would care.
Even as I bled and burned with pain, I stared, watching him dance with his arm loosely wrapped around a girl with dark hair. Her back was to his front, and her chin lifted, the back of her head hitting his chest so she could look up at him.
I tossed the rest of the vodka back, so much of it flooding my mouth that it dribbled down my chin. My eyes watered and burned as I forced gulps of the alcohol down.
Fuck him.
As I lowered the cup, he looked up. He froze in the middle of the crowd, seeing me, and through blurred vision, it appeared there were two of him.
And neither of them wants me.
Kruger and Prism appeared, my body jolting as Kruger slung his arm around me again. “Let’s dance!”
Win took a step toward me, and I yanked my gaze away. Dropping the cup at my feet, I stepped on it, the music muffling the sound it would make as it was destroyed. My stomach felt warm, my limbs buzzing with the alcohol I’d chugged.
“Let’s go,” I called.
They led me out onto the dance floor, some of the crowd parting for us to pass by. The music volume dropped, and the DJ’s voice flooded the speakers.
“Let’s give a warm Westbrook welcome to our newest Elite, Rush and Lars!” he roared.
Everyone in the place erupted.
Kruger and Prism grabbed my arms, raising them over my head, putting me on display. Something inside me shriveled as eyes turned to me. Everyone around us stared, and though they were clapping and cheering, I saw something entirely different.
A hot swell of panic burst in me almost in tune with the music, which pumped back up even louder than before. Red pulsing lights joined the blue ones, and some sort of fog was released into the air.
A hand connected with my cheek. It felt cold against my flushed face, and I recoiled but not because of the temperature. It grabbed at me again. This time my cheeks were captured by two hands instead of one.
“Hey!” Prism called. “You good?”
I stared into his eyes, focused on breathing for a moment, the fog making the air thicker than before. Prism watched me, concern written on his face. He had a calmness about him I found reassuring in that moment, the way he just stood there and waited me out like we weren’t in the middle of a rager.
He wasn’t Win, but it was enough.
Win.Just thinking of him and what I just saw was enough to snap me out of the impending panic attack.
Sucking in one last breath, I nodded at Prism. “All good!” I yelled.
