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He smirks knowingly and gestures towards the bar stool beside him, nodding for the bartender to pour us a round.
“What is so funny?” I sit down, keeping my back to the bar top and scanning through the crowd to keep Ava in my sight.
He handed me a whiskey with a grin. “In all the years I’ve known you, I have never seen you get so worked up over a woman before. You have always been the level-headed one, and I’m the hothead.” He took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Shit, you’ve saved my ass more than I can count in bars and from angry boyfriends. I can’t say that I don’t enjoy seeing you like this.”
I grind my teeth in anger as I see Ava, the woman of my dreams, being groped and held tightly by her ex-boyfriend at the bar. Fury boils in my blood, and my hands curl into tight fists at my sides, ready to march over there and show him who she truly belongs to. But instead of making a scene, I sit here in silence as I witness the girl I want in the arms of another man.
“You should go and talk with her,” Everett says.
But I know it won't make any difference - not yet. She's still mad at me for how I handled things between us; there's no way to deny that.
“And say what?”
Everett takes a sip from his glass. “Beats me. But I think a sorry is a good start.”
A deep sigh escapes my lips as I look at my hands – a reminder that this is all my fault. If only I had been more open and honest with her about how I felt, then maybe this wouldn't have happened at all. My friend places an arm on my shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Be a man and go talk to her. Give her your apology before blondie gets her pregnant with all that thrusting.” Everett snickers at his joke, but I know he is trying to help.
I crack a smile. “Thanks, dick.”
Taking a deep breath, I steel my resolve and put on my big boy pants. With one final glance towards Ava, I take off into the crowd.
NINETEEN
AVA
Colin whispers in my ear, “Do you want to get out of here?”I look past him and see James, his gaze piercing through me with a feral intensity. Everett speaks loudly to him, but he keeps his eyes fixed on me alone.
My body hums with anticipation as I nod at Colin. A spark lights within me, begging me to take a risk.
Fuck it.
He gives me a wicked grin and presses a soft kiss to my lips before heading towards the restroom.
Taking a deep breath, I turn to go back to the bar—but before I can take more than two steps, someone grabs me hard from behind and yanks me back into their body.
Startled, I feel their hands groping me painfully and squeezing my ass. I cry in pain, shouting for them to stop, but it's too late. Before I can react, a hot tongue snakes its way into my ear.
Furious and terrified all at once, I knee them viciously in the groin with what little strength I have left, and they keel over with a roar of rage.
My heart races as they drop their grip on me and stumble backward. Gasping for air, I spin around and crash into someone else dancing behind me who helps steady me once more.
The man who had grabbed me rises again with fire in his eyes, face reddening as he clutches his crotch while spitting out an insult.
“You fucking cunt!” He looms over me like a vengeful beast ready to strike.
The air around us hummed with electricity; a single spark could ignite the charged atmosphere. With dizzying speed, James' fist made contact with his assailant's face, sending him flying across the dance floor in a blur of clothing. The ferocious rage that thrashed inside James was shocking, and I watched in awe as he defended me.
“Don't fucking touch her again, or I'll break your fucking arms off and beat you to death with them!” he growled menacingly, blocking my view of the stranger. His voice thundering through me like an electric surge.
Everett wrapped me up in his protective embrace, steering me away from the scene. “That knee strike to the groin was impressive, by the way," he praised me proudly. But I couldn't think about that now - James consumed all of my thoughts.
He reached out to brush a strand of hair from my face, his calloused fingertips caressing my skin gently, sending warmth spreading throughout my body like wildfire. His gaze smoldering with primal desire, threatened to consume me in its intensity. I trembled beneath his touch, conflicting emotions swirling inside me until I had to break our physical contact for fear of losing control completely.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" His voice is husky and deep; it resonated through my core as though he had touched my soul itself.
I pulled away quickly, trying desperately to fill my head with something other than memories of his embrace. But before I could formulate any reply, Colin stepped forward and draped his arm around my waist possessively.
I don’t look at him but instead keep my gaze firmly on James, who is seething with rage. His eyes shoot burning flames at Colin, and his jaw tightens until the muscles in his neck bulge like hard lines of steel. I can see his displeasure, but he doesn’t speak it out loud.
