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Once we got to the club, the dynamic was weird, to say the least. Tia continued to stick by me, even though I tried my best to seem uninterested. My eyes wandered over the club as she talked my ear off, and I was looking anywhere but at her. This girl just did not take a hint. Clearly, she also couldn’t see that she was pissing off her friend. Lala had a permanent look of annoyance on her face.
Tia returned from the bar with a drink—I’d declined her offer to get me one. “Would you want to dance, Holden?”
“No, I’m good,” I told her. “Thanks for asking, though.”
That was finally the beginning of the end. Tia now started to gravitate away from me—thank fuck—spending more time talking to Lala while scoping out the place for fresh meat. Brayden had already started chatting up some girl he’d met, so he’d given up on Tia a while ago.
When Lala and Tia took off to the bathroom, Owen slipped into the spot next to me.
“I assume someone’s getting laid tonight?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “That Tia chick has made no secret of the fact that she wants you.”
I tried not to make a face as I responded. “Yeah, well, I’m not interested.”
He arched a brow. “Oh yeah? Why ever would you not be interested in a hot piece of ass like that?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. Why aren’t you interested in her?”
“Come on, Holden. Cut the shit. You know you don’t typically come out and not flirt with a zillion women. You haven’t so much as looked at anyone because your eyes have been on Lala all night. Once again, you’re setting yourself up for trouble.”
Brayden suddenly appeared next to us, placing his hand on Owen’s shoulder. “Who’s in trouble?”
Owen was about to fill Brayden in when Lala and Tia returned from the bathroom, stopping all further conversation on the matter. I wore a scowl on my face for the next several minutes. Owen had once again managed to piss me off, so I decided to take it out on him by asking Lala to dance. That killed two birds with one stone: piss Owen off and get a few minutes to talk to Lala in private, something I hadn’t been able to do all night.
“Lala, let’s dance.” I pulled her gently by the arm to the dance floor. We could barely move to the music amidst the crowd of sweaty people. “I’m sorry,” I told her.
“Sorry for what?” she shouted through the noise.
“Sorry for ruining your night. I know my coming out made you uncomfortable. It was a dick move. I got pissed that you invited Brayden and not me. But I should’ve trusted your judgment on that. You wanted to set him up with your friend and didn’t need me around messing that up. I should not have acted like a fucking child about it.”
“Pretty sure I’m the one acting like the child, because she wants you, and it’s pissing me off.” She wiped her forehead. “I don’t have a right to gatekeep you, Holden, just because you and I have had some awkwardness lately.”
“For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be interested in her anyway—even if she weren’t your friend. She’s not my type. And I get why you didn’t try to set her up with me. I sure as fuck wouldn’t have set you up with someone.” I clarified, “You know, if you weren’t already engaged.”
Lala had been carrying her bag with her all night. Right now it acted as a barrier between us as we danced.
I looked down. “Is that a vibrator in your purse, or are you just happy to see me?”
She clutched it tighter. “Very funny.”
“I try.”
“You are funny.” She rolled her eyes, swaying her hips a little. “I wish I didn’t find you so damn amusing.”
I leaned in and spoke into her ear, “I think you find me a little more than amusing.”
She shook her head slowly. “Admitting my attraction to you was a huge mistake, not to mention completely inappropriate.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll go back to Philly—or worse, California—and all this weird tension between us will be a mere memory. Out of sight, out of mind.”
While that was meant to reassure her, the words left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Because they were the truth.
I was just the fuckboy she found tempting, not the guy she’d end up with.
***
By the end of the night, Tia was sloshed. Owen was even more bored and unimpressed. Brayden had exchanged numbers with that girl he’d been talking to. And me? I was painfully sober. Not sure why, but I felt like if I’d gotten drunk tonight, I might’ve said or done something even more dumb than I already had. So, I’d limited myself to one beer. Lala had one vodka cranberry, followed by a Shirley Temple she had no idea was a Shirley Temple.
