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Chapter1
ALEX
"Alex,you have to let this go." My roommate, Sasha, trailed behind me as I marched toward The Hornet’s Hole bar just off campus.
"I can't let it go. I think he's lying to me. He's been cagey, weirdly unavailable. I am getting paranoid."
"So of course, you come to the bar where he works, just to see if he's… what? Flirting with someone on shift? Come on."
I hated rational Sasha. I really did. I needed someone who was going to be just as crazy as I was and back me up. "You didn't have to come."
"Yes, I did. I'm your roommate. I can't let you do anything insane."
It wasn’t like I was going to cause a scene.
Who are you kidding? Of course you’re going to cause a scene.
"It's not insane. I know something is off. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t."
"Correction, youthinkthat maybe because he's been busy with class or homework, something is off. You don'tknowanything. I'm a good, supportive friend. And look, if you're right, I'll ply you with liquor until you feel better, then we’ll go home, okay?"
That hardly seemed like a satisfying outcome. "I don't know. If I’m right, I want his head on a pike."
"Look, you knew it was going to happen when you went out with someone like Mark. Honey, he's gorgeous. And he's an athlete. You know what I mean. He's got a certain appeal. You are going to have to fend off lots of bitches."
"Why would I fight someone over a guy?"
"Well, maybe that's it. Maybe Mark just doesn't feel like you're in this. Maybe he wants someone who would fight for him."
"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Who's going to fight over a man?"
Sasha pursed her lips. I had a startling realization that she would possibly fight over a man.
Thank God, we didn't even have the same type.
The blast of Imagine Dragons playing on the sound system met us before we even stepped into The Hornet’s Hole. The bar, aptly named for our school mascot, boasted a giant hornet’s head above the door, dark crowded booths along the wall, a packed bar, and a movement-stifling, postage-stamp-size dance floor. As well as the ever present smell of stale beer, cheap cologne, and bad decisions.
Needless to say, this close to finals week, the place was packed. I raked my gaze over the bar and could see there were two bartenders working, but I didn't see Mark. I recognized the emo girl with the inky black hair and a tattooed sleeve. The other guy I didn't recognize. He was lanky, moderately good-looking, with a kind of charming smile that immediately elevated him from a seven and a half to a solid nine. He probably cleaned up in tips.
I knew for a fact that when there were two bartenders working, they didn't have another backup. So, had I gotten it wrong? Was Mark not working today?
Then I saw him in the corner, tucked away with his arm around some girl.
She was pretty, with her deeply tanned skin and raven-dark hair.
What the hell?
She said something to make him laugh, and jealousy tried to claw its way out of my chest. Then he tucked her long straight hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her. Not like a peck, but like something passionate. And I was frozen as I watched them, unable to do anything about it. Unable to even breathe.
Oh, God.
I was right.
The last couple of weeks, I hadn’t been crazy thinking something was off with him. Even though I tried to talk myself out of it. All it would have taken was for him to break up with me. That would have sucked, yes. But this? This was infinitely worse.
But there was also an odd satisfaction in knowing that I had been right. That I hadn’t imagined what I’d been feeling all along.
I was right. That cheating, lying asshole.
