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He started toward us, but Elijah held a hand up. “Not this one.”
“But—”
“Walden’s orders. Not this one.”
Not this one what?
The guy moved his head to get another look at me, giving me a different reassessing look and lingering on my lips.
I frowned. His gaze jumped to my eyes.
“I’ve seen you before.”
“Seriously, man. Not tonight. Not this one.”
He gave Elijah a distracted nod before turning my way again. “You’re friends with Montell.”
I frowned. “How do you know that?”
“I saw you here with her the other night.”
“You know Jess?”
“She used to work here, at that bar actually. That was hers that she manned.”
I looked down, giving it another perusal. I knew Jess had worked here, but I’d never come when she was working. Her or Kelly . . . a knot was forming in my stomach, a reminder about everything. All the bad stuff, but what brought some good stuff to my life. Ashton.
When this was all over, I’d go back to being just a bowling alley owner. Although, what was I doing? I used to be proud of that. I was. I am. Owning and running a successful business was nothing to sneer at. That was me. Screw anyone who made me feel otherwise, and in this case, that was me. Screw you, Molly.
You survived Shorty Easter—that alone deserved a commencement speech delivered by the president. Fist-pump in the air to yourself.
I raised my chin up toward this guy, who Elijah was still blocking and he was ignoring, trying to talk to me around him. “You knew Kelly too?”
I ignored Elijah’s quick glance my way.
The guy nodded. There was no reaction on his face. He didn’t warm up, but he didn’t look sad either. “I knew Kelly. She was a good shots girl. You know Kelly, then?”
Was he being serious?
He caught my look, frowning. “What? Those two fall out or something?”
That knot in my stomach jumped to my throat, lodging right there, smack in the middle.
Elijah must’ve read my face because he turned, completely blocking the guy from me. “For real. Step back. I’m not joking this time.”
The guy snorted. “Were you joking before? What’s your problem? I can’t do anything. My office is being used. Just let me talk to her. I kinda miss Jess.”
I folded my head down, but I sensed Elijah’s look before he said, more firmly, “I said no. You want to talk to her, you wait till Walden comes out.”
The guy snorted again. “Yeah, right. He’s probably dick deep in that chick—”
I tensed, pain lacing through me.
The way he said that, as if it happened all the time, as if it happened all the time with that girl or any girl, and me—I was a no one. That’s why I was feeling how I felt before, because that’s what this guy was thinking about me. He thought I was just another girl. He knew I was here with Ashton, but he didn’t care what Elijah was saying. That spoke volumes.
And I remembered, Not tonight. Not this one.
More pain was slicing through my inside, down my chest.
Ashton had done this before, brought a girl here, had her waiting for him, and this guy was what? What was he doing? Why was he saying these things to me?
I swallowed that knot. I was raised by a con. No one could hurt me unless I let them.
“Shut up,” Elijah hissed. “This one’s different.”
This one. Because I was one in a long line of ones. Just another girl.
No. No, “this one” wasn’t. End of the day, I was just Shorty Easter’s daughter after all. That said enough.
I cleared my throat, spying a bathroom sign beyond the bar. “I’m—uh—I’m going to use the ladies’ room.” I didn’t ask for permission. I grabbed my purse and headed over.
Later I would admit to being hurt and being irrational.
I’d blame some of it on the alcohol, or that’s what I was telling myself because as I went to that bathroom, I knew I was going to do something very, very stupid. Then again, I’d done a lot of very stupid things in my life, but I wasn’t so helpless.
And thinking all of that, not wanting to feel the pain that that guy’s words inflicted on me because they shouldn’t hurt as much as they did, I did something my instincts were telling me to do because I was in a situation where I was only going to lose.
Physical danger or heartbreak danger? I chose.
I ran.
Slowing down at the bathroom, I reached for it, pushing it open a little, and looked back. Elijah wasn’t watching. That guy wasn’t, either, and I sailed right past.
Yes. So very dumb, but I’d had an amazing night with Ashton, and hearing I was just another girl had way too much power over me. Too much power.
I’d been fooling myself.
Stay. Ride the ride as long as it lasted.
