Fucking hell, Will, stop!
I give myself a stroke in the hope it’ll expel her whimpers from my mind. The way she called my name, gasped at my touch. We were so close. Then she got a call from that dumbass Luke, and I lost my temper. She was supposed to be on a date with him while I was making her moan. I lashed out, told her a bunch of BS I didn’t mean. I hurt her.
Trying to protect myself.
I know I made the right decision. I was being a good friend to Kendrick by walking away—fine, a slightly less awful friend—but then again, a good friend wouldn’t be beating his dick to his friend’s sister right now. It’s wrong. Kendrick would kill me if he knew, but I can’t change the fact that I want her.
Bad.
Maybe if I just get her out of my system.
Maybe if I just give in once.
All I know is I can’t stay away anymore.
And, so tonight…
I won’t.
Kassidy
The second Zoey, Morgan, and I step inside the piping hot, cramped club, the urge to charge back into the Uber slams into me. Zoey is quick to locate Sean and snatch mine and Morgan’s wrists, hauling us toward the bar.
“There’s the birthday girl.” Sean flirts over the music, earning himself a luscious kiss from Zoey, who flings her arms around his neck, hungrily devouring his mouth. Morgan and I make eye contact, exchanging Well, this is awkward smiles like the five-year-olds that we are.
“I still can’t believe you got us in. Are my friends all here?” Zoey gushes.
Sean directs a glance over his shoulder, most precisely at the man mid conversation with the bartender. His uncle, I presume. Sean says something I can’t hear, and the bald forty-something-year-old nods.
“Yeah. They’re here,” Sean confirms. “Bouncers took their names at the door.”
“Great, I’m going to go find them.” Zoey sees someone in the distance. “Mia!” she shrieks, stumbling off without so much as a warning. Sean trails behind her, smacking her ass and looping his arm around her shoulders as they push through the crowd. Mia. I never met the girl, but if I remember correctly, she’s the single friend Zoey is hoping to match with Alex.
I make “What the hell are we doing here?” eye contact with Morgan again and seriously consider jumping ship. Odds are Zoey wouldn’t even notice I’m gone.
Morgan tells me she has to use the bathroom before we can order a drink, and I offer to come with. I’d much rather hang in smelly, questionable bathrooms than stand alone in a crowd of horny guys that look at me like I’m an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The line is so long and the bathroom so tiny, I decide to spare myself the claustrophobic attack and wait outside. Morgan manages to get in after ten minutes, and I recline against the wall, arms folded over my chest.
Then I hear him.
“Remind me why we’re here again?”
Will.
I crane my neck to catch a glimpse of him and Alex holding beers right around the corner. They haven’t seen me yet.
“Because Zoey got me a hot date, and I’m not missing it.” Alex shrugs. “I’d tell you to go home, but… I know you won’t.”
“Want to bet?” Will drawls.
“Will you just drop the act already?”
“What act?”
Alex tips his bottle back for a sip, taking his sweet time.
“What, Alex?” Will grows restless. “What makes you so damn sure I won’t bolt?”
Alex snorts. “You’re not going to bolt because Kass is here.”
My pulse shoots up.
What I wouldn’t do to see the look on Will’s face right now. I only have a clear view of Alex from here.
“What are you talking about?” He feigns confusion.
“Save your breath. Phone died earlier, so I grabbed yours to call Blake. You’ve been texting her like crazy. What the hell is up with you two?”
“Remind me to put a password on that shit later.” Will sighs, backed into a corner.
“I’m serious, man. Are you… getting down and dirty with Kendrick’s sis?” Alex presses. “Because I’m not covering for you like I did with Blake. I can barely live with myself as is.”
“No, of course not. We’re just friends.”
“Look, you fuck whoever you want, but if you don’t tell Kendrick, I wi—”
“I told you we’re fucking friends,” Will snaps, his temper slipping away, but Alex doesn’t buy it for a second. “I mean it. Okay, yeah, we’ve been talking. We have shit in common. I feel like she understands me, but she’s like a sister to me.”
Instant gag reflex.
A tsunami of emotions sweeps me away. Rage, disgust, pain. They infiltrate my lungs, destroy every ounce of hope in my system. A sister? He’s going to play the sister card when he practically fingered me?
With awful timing, Morgan comes out of the bathroom.
“Kass!” She waves at me.
The sound of my name is enough to capture the boys’ attention. They whip their heads back, noticing me standing there, eyes locked on them.
Eyes locked on him.
I can confidently say I’ve never seen Will look so pale.
Swallowing the pain crawling up my throat, I don’t say a word, grab Morgan’s wrist, and drag her away.
Resting my elbows flat against the bar and rising to my tiptoes, I attempt to grab the bartender’s attention with hand signals. Poor guy is swamped right now. In his defense, the club has officially reached its quota and closed access to new arrivals.
I got stuck with drinks duty after Zoey spilled her Bloody Mary on someone’s shoes. I’ve personally stopped drinking over an hour ago as I’m not looking to recreate the last time I got wasted—wouldn’t want to accidentally make out with someone who’s not into me again.
“Shouldn’t you be with your friends?”
I twist my head to see the pink-haired girl who was crowding me less than a second ago has shifted into Will. I expected to be hurt, sad even, the next time I talked to him, but right now, the only thing I can feel is burning annoyance.
“Shouldn’t you be with yours?” I say dryly.
“Alex ditched me for Zoey’s friend. Haven’t seen him since.”
I don’t reply, gesturing at the bartender again, who nods, acknowledging my existence and walking over at last. I check my phone notes, where I put down Zoey’s drink of choice, and make sure to add in that glass of water for Morgan. She wasn’t kidding about never drinking again.
As soon as the bartender leaves with my order, Will buries me with questions: How are you, are you ignoring me, so we’re just never going to talk again? And that’s just a few of them. I give the performance of a lifetime, motioning to my ear and pretending I can’t hear him which pisses him off to no end. What did he expect? We’re not okay. Or on good terms.
He hurt me.
Bad.
“Kass… About what I said to Ale—”
That’s the line I stop being deaf for.
“Don’t,” I stop him. “It’s fine. Message received. You look at me like a sibling.”
I could gag just saying it out loud.