“Just don’t do it again.”
“I can’t make any promises,” I said. “But I’ll try my best.”
I kissed her lower lip, pulling it between mine.
She cleared her throat. “Let’s go find Veronica.”
“Sure.”
We walked back to the club, carefully navigating the mass of people. But not careful enough, apparently, because only a few steps in, someone bumped into me.
Phoebe shrieked, and I instantly tensed, zeroing in on her. The woman who’d bumped into me had spilled her bright blue cocktail right on Phoebe’s dress.
“Shit! I’m so sorry.” The woman was slurring her words a bit.
Phoebe pressed her lips together, waving her hand. “Whatever.” Turning to me, she added, “I need to change out of this. But I want to tell Veronica goodbye first.”
“We’ll find her quickly.”
We walked deeper inside the club. I noticed several guys checking Phoebe out. I took a deep breath, trying to rein myself in. My instincts were in overdrive when I was with her. Usually, it was so easy for me to assess a situation and react accordingly. But not tonight. Not with her. Telling Veronica we were leaving was the polite thing to do, but all I wanted was to throw Phoebe over my shoulder and take her to the car.
In the end, my rational side won.
But if that guy flirted with her again, I wasn’t liable for my actions.
I put an arm around her shoulders and focused on her and her alone as we entered the room. We found Veronica and that guy dancing in a corner.
She stopped moving when she noticed us. “What happened to your dress?”
Phoebe sighed. “Someone spilled a drink on me. I need to go home and change.”
“Sure, you two have fun. It was great seeing you again, Griffin.”
I nodded at her. “Likewise.”
“And you totally earn points for the caveman behavior.”
Phoebe stared at her with an open mouth. I started to laugh.
The guy smiled sheepishly at Phoebe and then at me. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to make things awkward. Veronica filled me in on everything.”
I nodded but wasn’t able to do more than that. For fuck’s sake, I had manners. Mom had taught me better.
“No problem” was all I said.
After waving at them both, we went outside to my car.
“I’m starting to feel cold,” Phoebe said once we were both inside.
“We’re gonna be at your place in half an hour tops, and you can change. Or… you can take it off on the ride. I definitely wouldn’t mind.”
She cocked a brow. “Really? How about all the people who would see me through the window.”
I gritted my teeth. “No!”
Phoebe burst out laughing. “Thought so.”
After a beat, I added, “I really am sorry about the way I acted back there.”
