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AVERY
“Yo Ave,” Preston calls out over the loud music as he waves Chloe and I over to the table he and a group of guys from ATO are sitting at.
I take Chloe’s hand in mine and work my way through the crowd cursing myself for accepting Preston’s invitation to hang out tonight.
Today was supposed to be our night off and in reality I was looking forward to maybe taking Chloe out on a date. An actual date. Dinner, a movie, possibly a drink before heading back to our condo sounded like the dream evening between the hectic shifts we’ve been working all night this week.
But when he called I immediately said yes.
At first I was surprised he still wanted to talk to us after the whole shit show that happened back at the ATO house but I figured he was probably so drunk he hardly remembers.
“Hey there beautiful,” Preston says as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in close for a hug. After an awkwardly long moment he releases me and his haze shifts behind me toward Chloe, simply giving her a friendly smile. His dark blond hair has grown out since the last time I saw him and along with the unbuttoned linen shirt he’s wearing in the same shade of blue as his eyes, I hate to admit the boy looks fucking good.
Chloe smiles back although I can tell she feels slightly uncomfortable. She was hesitant at first to come out tonight after I told her it was Preston who’d invited us but after our run in with Zane last week, I can tell she could use the distraction.
This time I won’t push her into anything she’s not ready for.
Seeing Zane for the first time in so long was nothing like what neither of us expected. Of course I was angry, especially when he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason for breaking Chloe’s heart the way he did. All he did was make up some bullshit excuse why he kicked us out and treated us so horribly.
We’d been through too much to just forgive and forget so easily.
Beside me Preston reaches for a pitcher of beer in the middle of the table and fills two ice cold glasses before tuning and handing us each one. Chloe doesn’t hesitate this time and quickly takes a long chug of the beer before setting it down on the table half empty.
“Slow down there pretty girl, the night is early,” one of Preston’s bros, Teags, jokes as he wraps his arm around her shoulder.
She doesn’t flinch nor roll her eyes like I’d expected her to, instead she cozies up under his arm and seems oddly interested in whatever it is he’s saying out of earshot.
Preston leans in closer to me and lowers his mouth to whisper in my ear. “Didn’t think you were going to show Ave.”
I laugh out loud making more than a few heads in the vicinity look up in our direction. “Didn’t think you’d want me to after what happened the last time.”
His arm slinks around my waist and grazes the skin under the crop top I’m wearing making goosebumps appear all over. “Trust me, beautiful, that minor hiccup would not stop me. Why do you think I brought my boy Teags? I knew he’d be the best option to distract Chloe so I could get you all to myself tonight.”
The bar is crowded as usual, every inch of the rectangular shaped room packed with college kids looking for trouble and a good time. Barely a foot of space is visible between the Red and white barstools and booths surrounding checkered printed table tops that match the black-and-white checkered pattern of the tiled floor. Exactly like what you’d expect to see in the movie if the Queen of Hearts had a ballroom.
The Rabbit Hole may be a less than pristine establishment but I absolutely love everything about it.
Despite the loud music playing and the hooting and hollering of the college crowd, I can still hear my heart thundering in my chest. But it isn’t because of the way Preston’s fingers are digging into my flesh, nor the way his tongue slowly grazes my neck, or how his erection is pressing into my ass as he pulls me closer.
It’s that the moment I close my eyes I can picture the way Zane looked at me, his eyes full of desire and want as if he couldn’t erase the memory of what Chloe and I did for him from his mind.
From his heart.
Fucking asshole.Even when he’s not around, he ruins me.
I should enjoy the way Preston is touching me, clearly turned on and down to do whatever the hell I want him to do. He’d be good at it too. The way his lips felt against mine the night we almost fucked is proof he’s good at what he does. Beauty, brawn, maybe not as much brains but who am I to judge what's inside his pretty little head. All I need is what’s in between his legs and by the feel of his erection pressed against my ass, he’s aced that test.
I look up to find Chloe’s ditched Teags, who doesn’t look at all bummed now that he’s moved on to a pair of dark-haired sorority gals at a table a few rows down. Instead of looking back at me Chloe’s staring down at her phone in her hand while refilling her now empty glass of beer. She looks lost, completely out of touch with reality and the fact that she’s in the middle of a crowded bar with a load of hot as hell frat guys who’d give anything to get in her pants.
She’s been this way all week since we saw Zane.
He left shortly after our argument, well I kind of kicked him out and threatened to have Bruce - the new scary as hell looking bouncer Brayden hired after Chloe and I nearly were attacked that one night - drag him out of the bar. But as we drove home that night, Chloe was eerily quiet. More than her usual post-Zane somberness. Then when we were getting ready to go to bed, she slipped on a pair of comfy sweats and a baggy t-shirt only to get into bed and immediately fall asleep.
Or at least she pretended to.
I didn’t push her to talk to me, didn’t try to distract her from whatever it was she was feeling after seeing him again. After realizing not only was he back but he had been for three months and not once tried to reach out and apologize, I was trying to deal with my own raging emotions that kept going back and forth between sadness and anger.
Hurt.
