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As much as I’d been hoping for this outcome since the topic came up, the realization of the implications sinks in, causing me to get frazzled. I sure as hell don’t want Jackson seeing me taking a body shot off of his fucking sister, no matter how long we’ve known each other.
“Patio,” I demand, walking away from her, not waiting for a response.
FIFTEEN
HANNAH
I stare up at Sage with my mouth agape at what just transpired. He can’t be serious…can he?
The hand that has been wrapped around my waist since Liam walked over is now slack, a tenseness in his expression that I can’t quite place.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Noah says just before he gulps down the second half of the beer in his hand. “I need another drink.” He taps my leg, instructing me to stand up so he can make his way back over to the bar.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, I notice Sage’s eyes still on me.
“What?” I can’t resist the snippiness that settles in.
“Are you going to head out to the back patio?”
“Of course not!” I huff, adjusting in my seat to divert my eyes from hers.
In true Sage fashion, she doesn’t allow this as she sits down in the seat in front of me. “Go.”
“I said I’m not doing it.”
The glare pinning me in place heats my skin. My hand balls into a fist as I turn my attention to the patio door, an overwhelming sense of cognitive dissonance settling as I remind myself this is a bad idea, but also feeling myself being pulled toward the door to find Liam outside.
“I’m not here to judge, or even tell anyone, but you and I both know you want to go out there…so just do it.”
I’ve been biting my inner cheek so hard it’s starting to feel raw; I need to make a decision. I either fall victim to the same reality of allowing him to touch me that fucked me over nine years ago, or I resist exactly what I want to do.
My desire to do it wins as I stand and move toward the door, Sage’s voice fading into my periphery.
“Don’t forget the lime!”
Fuck off, Sage.
Wind hits my skin the moment I step out onto the completely enclosed patio.
“Took you a while.” Liam grins, the shot of tequila sitting on the glass tabletop in front of him, the lime taunting me with what comes next.
“Didn’t want to come.” I refuse eye contact.
“But you did anyway.” He continues to grin, standing up from his seat, shot in hand as he approaches me. His eyes don’t break from my own as he encroaches on my space. I back away from him instinctively until my back is flush against the concrete wall of the bar and he’s mere inches from my face.
“Have you done one of these before?”
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. Liam’s eyes linger on the way my neck moves before darting back up to my face.
“Once back in college.”
“Good.” His voice grows husky, but I wonder if I’m reading too much into it.
“Good,” I whisper.
Liam lifts the shot, urging me to grab it from him. I do as he requests with little resistance, pushing the cold shot glass into my cleavage until it’s secured between my breasts. His eyes follow my movements. While normally I’d reprimand him for looking at me there, my skin heats on contact as I bathe in his focus.
