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“Have you seen Claire?” she asks, panicked.
“Claire?”
Her nostrils flare at my confusion. “Yes, Claire. You know, the girl whose throat you had your tongue down. Maybe you remember her: beautiful little thing, copper hair, perfect tits, and a smile to match.” She rolls her eyes and throws her fists on her hourglass hips.
I put my hand on her shoulder to try and get her to tone back the bitch just a little. “Calm down. She wouldn’t tell me her name.” But Claire suits her perfectly, and her friend’s description of her is spot-on.
Those creases marring her forehead smooth out, and she takes a deep breath. “Sorry. Aaron and her were talking. I left for a minute—a minute! When I came back, they were gone.” She shifts on her feet. “I’m worried. He’s an asshole.”
My jaw tics. “I thought you said she could take care of herself.”
“She can, normally. It’s just…” She scratches at her hair, averting her gaze for a moment. “He’s drunk and really angry. It’s not a good combo.”
I scrub my jaw on an exhale. This is exactly why I said she shouldn’t talk to him right now.
Wyatt’s watching the entire interaction with curiosity and maybe a bit of smug amusement. It doesn’t take much to guess that he thinks I care about Claire a little more than I normally would.
Tossing back my drink, I set the glass down and stand. “Alright. Let’s find our girl.”
She smiles up at me with big brown eyes. “Thank you so much. I’m Charlee, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Charlee. I’m Avery.”
I hold out my hand, but she surprises the hell out of me by wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me in for a hug. My eyes must be huge because Wyatt snickers behind Charlee.
She tugs on my hand, pulling me through the crowd. “I looked everywhere. I went in the girl’s bathroom and the boy’s bathroom.” At the face I make, she giggles. “I’ve been through every inch of this bar. I asked the bartender because he’s had his eyes on her all night.” Another giggle, this time at the small growl that rumbles involuntarily in my chest. “But he said he hadn’t seen her since she disappeared off the dancefloor with you. I don’t know where else they could be.”
“Did you check outside?”
She smacks her palm off her forehead. “Oh! Duh! That’s where I found you two! God, I’m not thinking.”
I chuckle. “It’s fine; you’re just stressing. How about I check out back and you check out front, and we’ll meet back here in five minutes?”
She nods. “Thank you, Avery.” She squeezes my hand before heading for the front door.
Outside, the air is colder than it was twenty minutes ago, or maybe it’s just the lack of heat from Claire’s body against mine. But it’s dark and quiet. She’s not out here.
I take a moment to lean on the railing, wondering if maybe she went home, or if she left with him. I hope she didn’t. He doesn’t deserve to ever touch her again, and I hope she respects herself more than that.
And that’s when I hear it. It’s faint, off in the distance, but I hear it.
“I’m not blind, Claire! Who the fuck is he?”
“How about you go screw yourself and leave me the hell alone?” Well, she sure doesn’t sound like she needs anyone’s help.
I can’t see much of anything aside from a dim glow pouring out an alley. I move toward it.
“He was touching you!” Sure was, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
“So what?”
“We broke up five fucking days ago!”
I hear her laugh. It’s dark and threatening and if he knows what’s good for him, he should probably back the hell away. But he cheated on her, so I doubt he knows the first thing about what’s good for him.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re upset because you saw me dancing with a man that wasn’t you, even though we’re no longer together. But it was perfectly acceptable for you to fuck other girls while we were together?”
“Fuck, Claire, it was an accident! How many times do you want me to apologize?”
