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This time I didn’t answer. I wasn’t even capable of moving my head anymore. Holden’s hot breath at my ear had my body trembling with need.
But he stepped back. An angry smile spread across his face.
“I didn’t think so. Enjoy the rest of your dull evening, Laney.”
He unlocked the door and walked out without looking back, leaving me standing there like a puddle of mush.
It took people banging on the bathroom door to get me to come out after that. I was an emotional wreck and needed to get the heck out of the club and away from Holden. But when I walked back to the table to tell Warren we needed to leave, I found Holden sitting in my chair. And now he wasn’t alone… A scantily clad, beautiful woman was sitting on his lap. It stopped me in my tracks. Out of the corner of his eye, Holden noticed. He flashed an evil smile and nuzzled his face into the woman’s neck. Coming out of the bathroom, I’d been a sad, emotional mess. But seeing Holden that way flipped a switch inside me. Sad and emotional became angry and jealous. I marched over to the table and spoke to Warren.
“We need to leave. I have a migraine coming on, and I just got sick in the bathroom.” I turned to face Holden and glared at him, ripping my jacket from the back of the chair as they continued to canoodle. “It must’ve been the loud music. Enjoy the rest of your night, Holden. Though it looks like you already have that covered.”
CHAPTER 16
Holden
A week later, the fog of jealousy had barely lifted.
Sure, I felt like shit for what I’d pulled at the club last weekend. It was immature and selfish. But every word out of my mouth had been true. And every reaction from her proved how she felt. I still had no right to act like a jealous dick, though. Warren showing up had caught me off guard and brought to the surface just how strong my feelings were.
Once again this week, I’d had to remind myself to take a step back. Luckily, I’d successfully avoided running into Lala since that horrible night, because if I’d done or said anything else stupid and gotten her into some kind of trouble with him, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. Even so, at this point, I stood a very good chance of losing Lala as a friend forever.
I desperately needed to get out of my damn apartment before I lost my mind. Thankfully, this afternoon was poker with the guys. It was Brayden’s turn to host.
When I showed up to his apartment, I’d apparently done a crappy job of hiding how I was feeling.
“You look down. What’s going on?” Brayden said as he stepped aside for me to enter.
“Nothing,” I muttered, heading straight for his kitchen to grab a beer.
I then took a seat at the table, where Owen and Colby were already situated. The usual pizza boxes were stacked off to the side. The smell of pepperoni made my stomach growl.
Everyone had been busy lately, so it had been a while since the guys and I had caught up, just the four of us.
Colby dealt the cards. “So what’s new with everyone?”
“I’ll go first,” Owen said, grabbing a cigar and lighting it. “I currently have a client looking for a building to house his, wait for it…” He paused. “Private sex club.”
“Well, damn.” I laughed.
“I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement in regard to the exact nature of the establishment. So keep this among us. But this is certainly a new one.”
“What type of space fits that criteria?” Brayden asked.
“There are apparently certain necessities, like enough private rooms and a certain ceiling height for sex swings in the common area.”
Brayden bent his head back. “And I thought I was going to be the one with the most interesting story to tell tonight.”
“Why? What’s up?” Colby asked.
Brayden spoke as he arranged his cards. “So…I went on a date with this girl last night who I met on Tinder, and apparently she didn’t trust me, so she brought her friend as a buffer. The entire time, all I could think of was how beautiful and funny her friend was. I wished I was on a date with her.”
“Well, that’s awkward.” I laughed.
“Yeah, tell me about it. I got a vibe from her friend, too—you know, that the feeling was mutual.”
“That’s a tough spot to be in,” Colby said. “What can you do in that situation?”
“Pretty much nothing.” Brayden shrugged.
“Do you know the friend’s full name?” I asked.
“Only her first name, Julia. But what would it have mattered if I had her last name?”
“You could look her up online after some time passed. Slide into her DMs,” I said.
“Yeah, well, so much for that.” Brayden chugged his beer.
