The waitress arrives and sets the tequila shots down on the table. I ignore them as well.
Thankfully, for once, Jensen keeps his mouth shut, and he leans back in his chair quietly.
I check my phone quickly, in case a vibration didn’t come through with the message. But there’s nothing.
Every second that ticks by feels like forever without a response from Cole. He’s giving me the cold shoulder, and I understand why, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Maybe I should just call him real quick. We can sort it out and be on the same page again.
“I’ll be right back,” I murmur to Jensen before standing and strolling out of the private section without overthinking it.
But I slam to a halt as I approach the front door, finding my brother tongue deep in the blonde puck bunny’s mouth. “You have got to be kidding me, Luca.”
Luca’s eyes fly open, and he steps back nervously, his voice drawing every word out. “Hey, Lain.”
The blonde waves her fingers at me like she’s winning a war, clearly not realizing that I’m his sister.
“A word,” I state, striding past both of them and stepping outside, excited to feel the cold air on my skin.
Luca giggles as he follows me out. “Lain, don’t be mad.”
“At what? The fact that you begged me to come out tonight to end up ditching me for a quick date? Or that you’re making out withherwhen she was throwing herself on Jensen not five minutes ago?”
He holds his hands up in defense. “Look, I’ve never said I had good taste in women, okay? I’m a single guy, on the road. It’s not my fault if I meet someone every now and then for a little fun.”
“That’s fine. You can do whatever you want, Luca. But I’m going to go home.” His face falls, and this time, it’s me lifting my hands in defense. “It’s seriously not a big deal. You guys play us again in a few weeks; we can do something then. I want you to have fun, enjoy your night. Just do me one favor.”
I know he won’t protest because we saw one another not three weeks ago when I was still in Vegas. I’ll survive a little longer. Besides, I don’t know how good of company I’d be if I stayed, knowing that Cole’s mad at me.
“Name it,” he insists.
“Tell Jensen to go fuck himself.” I smirk as a smile breaks across his face.
He pulls me in for a big hug and kisses the top of my head. “Anything for you. I love you, Lainey Bug.”
“I love you too,” I say into his chest before he turns away and rushes back inside to his new date.
She’s probably not that bad. I’m just being judgmental because she was all over Jensen. Buthe’snone of my business for the rest of the night. I’m going home, where I should have been all along.
But first, I want to call Cole and clear the air. I should tell him the truth that I was also out with Jensen; the guilt is eating me alive.
I call him, and the phone rings six times before going to voicemail. It does the same on the second call. But I refuse to give up, so I try again.
RING.
RING.
RING.
RING.
God, he’s not going to answer again.
RING.
The line opens, but he doesn’t say anything for a moment, so I take the lead.
“Look, babe, I know you’re mad that I went out. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you when you guys come to town. I love you, okay? I don’t want to fight.”
