“I have a question.” Aiden’s voice cut through the mood. “I’ve noticed from your fights that you’ve got a woman’s face on your side. It’s Medusa, right?”
Dean’s jaw clenched slightly as he dropped his arms and slid his hands into his pockets. “It is.”
“Aren’t Medusa tatts for chicks? Female empowerment or some shit?” Aiden chuckled, taking a swig from his wine glass.
Seb smiled a little. “I don’t think we need to talk about it—”
“Did I ask you?” Aiden hadn’t looked at Seb when he said it.
Kira gently held his arm. “Aiden, please—”
“What? We were all talking about tattoos. I just want to know why he has that one?”
Kira began talking with Aiden quietly on the side; Seb muttered an apology to Dean for bringing him into the conversation; Dean remained silent, offering Seb the faintest of smiles.
I interlaced my fingers with Dean’s again and squeezed gently.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Aiden muttered from nearby before Kira tried to shush him. His eyes glazed with the effects of the alcohol and subtle amusement as they landed on Dean. “Kira said it represents victims of sexual assault. Is that what you are?”
My heart dropped.
“No, that’s not—” Kira quickly turned to Dean. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he would—”
“It’s fine,” Dean lied, dragging his icy glare to Aiden. “But you should go.”
Aiden scoffed, raising his hands defensively. “It was just a question.”
“Yeah, but it’s also none of your business,” Seb added before Aiden shot him a glare.
Kira gently tugged at Aiden’s arm. “Let’s just go—”
He shrugged her off quickly, eyes on Seb. “I’ve been watching you all night, you know."
Seb frowned in confusion. “Sorry?”
“Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you’ve been looking at her all night.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder in Kira’s direction.
Seb’s frown deepened. “No, I haven’t.”
“What is it, huh? You want to fuck her or something?”
Jen interjected. “Ooohkay. Maybe we should all take a breath.”
Aiden kept his eyes on Seb, even when Kira looped her arm through his and convinced him to move away. She didn’t get a chance to say goodbye as she spoke quietly with Aiden, trying to get him to calm down as they headed to the front door.
I stole a glance up at Dean, but his eyes were on the crowd, monitoring the direction Aiden was in. A calmness had settled over him as he kept his jaw tight. Whatever he was seeing—
“What the fuck was that about?” Seb asked, completely stunned.
Dean suddenly released my hand, stepping away from me as he jerked his chin in the direction of the front door — of the crowd. “Seb, heads up.”
It all happened too fast.
In an alcohol-induced rage, Aiden came back, directing all that anger towards Seb. He grabbed the back of his collar, just as Seb made to turn on Dean’s warning. Then he threw a punch. It didn’t land as Seb ducked and shoved Aiden away.
Xavier was hissing at Jen to save the wine bottle before it happened to be used as a weapon. She swiped it off the bench before they backed up towards my end of the stone bench.
“I’m not going to fight you,” Seb said, voice unusually serious. Until he couldn’t help himself. “It wouldn’t end well for you anyway.”
