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“Oh you asked for it, Lennox,” I grin.
Cole’s shoulders bounce as his body moves, increasing in pace, completely in sync with the music. Shrugging one last time, I think to myself fuck it, and join right in. Before I know it though, I’m lost in the music entirely, which results in me doing some seriously weird shit. Some kind of running man meets a cross between a fist pump and the sprinkler? I don’t know really, but he said to let it go.
So I do.
Cole spins back toward me and the most adorable smile I’ve ever seen creeps all the way up to his eyes just before he breaks into the most infectious fucking laugh I’ve ever heard. He’s holding onto his stomach as he loses his breath and tears pool in the corners of his eyes. Before I know it, I’m laughing too, so hard that I can’t even breathe. My sides ache, and my stomach hurts like I just finished ab day at the gym.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Beached seal. I see it now,” he cackles as he wipes the tears from his eyes.
“Well now that I’ve sufficiently made an ass out of myself for several songs, how about we get a drink?”
He nods his head and I slip my hand into his as we weave through the mess of bodies, making our way to the bar. I flag the bartender down and order us a couple of beers and we each perch on nearby stools. As the bartender returns with our drinks, I pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock it, pulling up my messages.
Me: Are you coming?
Text message bubbles populate across the bottom of the screen and my heart clenches in my chest, but then they stop. I wait, and I wait, and I hold out hope, but after a few moments, there’s still nothing. Radio silence.
“He’ll show,” Cole says with a remorseful look in his eyes. I already know where this is going, and the last thing I want is him blaming himself. We’re having fun, and this moment right here isn’t going to ruin it.
“Not even worried about it,” I shrug as I bring the bottle of beer to my lips.
“Riot,” he says with a serious look on his face, “I don’t want to be a consolation prize. I mean it, we can just go if you want.”
Turning to fully face him, I nudge my knee between his thighs and grip his shirt, pulling him into me close enough that I can feel his heartbeat. “Cole Lennox, that is not what this is, not even a little bit. Zeke will come around. He will dislodge his head from his asshole at some point. Am I upset that it’s not happening at this very moment? Of course. But this,” I motion back and forth between us, “does not hinge on that. I’m having the time of my fucking life… so shut up and kiss me.”
I’m not sure what’s come over me, because I’m never the one to take the reins, but when he caves and plants his lips on mine, I don’t regret a single word. He parts my lips with his tongue, and I welcome him in, tasting the remnants of beer that linger on his breath. The DJ slows it down just a bit and ILLENIUM filters through my ears. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect moment.
Slipping my hands into Cole’s thick sandy blonde hair, I tug gently as he moans into my mouth, and suddenly there is no music. There are no people. No lights. No club. It’s just me and Cole, and the emotions are bubbling over, spilling everywhere like an overflowing glass of champagne. Every cell inside of me zaps my skin as we move our lips together and I devour him like a starving man.
In some ways, maybe I am.
Chapter eighteen
Zeke
Tugging the hooded sweatshirt down over my head, I walk into the bar from the back office, after setting up the last piece of surveillance equipment. It’s taken me all day and most of the night, but I’m finally finished and all I want is a drink. I’m supposed to be meeting Riot and Cole at the Underground, but I don’t think I can do it. Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m so irreparably damaged, and I can’t help but think maybe Riot would just be better off without me.
Setting my backpack on the bar-top, I perch myself on the nearest stool and with my elbows resting on the slick wooden surface, I drop my head into my hands.
Maybe it’s time for me to just let him go.
The thought infects my mind like a parasite, and I can’t let go of it. Tears pool in my eyes but I blink them back quickly and just as Spencer approaches me, I swipe my face with the sleeves of my hooded sweatshirt.
“Hey Zeke, you ok?” she asks softly.
“Yeah, all good Spence.”
“Okay,” she eyes me cautiously and I know she suspects something, because Spencer is anything but soft and gentle. She’s usually giving everyone shit, but I let it go, because I don’t really want to talk.
“Can I get a beer? Bottle. Please.”
“Sure,” she crouches down and pulls one out from beneath the bar and pops the cap off, setting the bottle in front of me.
I’m not thinking straight today. Last night after Riot left, I spent the remainder of the night, into this morning trying to wipe away any digital trace that I may have left when my break-in went belly up. Simultaneously I berated myself for the physical evidence I left at Grove House. It’s only a matter of time before someone ties me to that.
Taking a sip of the beer, I stare off into space, barely registering my surroundings.
“Nope. You’re not gonna do that.”
