Jenny’s stumbling all over the cracked pavement of the hotel parking lot, her boots catching on the cracks as she giggles into the guy’s shoulder. He looks far steadier on his feet than she does.
He’s tall, maybe even as tall as I am, but I can’t quite tell with the way he’s half-bent over as he guides Jenny toward the lobby.I’ve got him beat in sheer muscle mass, which is good, because I’m going to smash his face into the fucking curb if he doesn’t get his hands off her in the next two seconds.
His hand slides another few inches down, settling over her hip, and I shove the storage tub roughly into the backseat, uncaring if it breaks.
“Get yourfuckinghands off her, you creep!” I shout.
The guy looks up in surprise as I storm over, but he doesn’t have time to do anything before I send my fist flying into his face.
It connects with a satisfying crunch, and he staggers back, cupping his nose as he shouts out a wordless noise of pain. I smile, nasty and bloodthirsty, as he staggers to the ground. Jenny sways at the sudden loss of the body she was leaning against, and I step in between the two of them as she turns slowly. Blood spurts down his face, bright red against his skin as he looks between Jenny and I with wide brown eyes. I wouldn’t mind hearing more noises of agony from him. How dare this piece of shit think he can put his hands on a girl so drunk she can hardly even walk?
I don’t expect the fist to my fucking eye socket, and the surprise of it sends me stumbling back a few steps.
“Jenny, what thefuck?” I splutter, raising my fingers to dab at my cheekbone.
It wasn’t a particularly hard hit. At least, it wasn’t a well-coordinated hit, since Jenny is still swaying a little where she stands. Those honey-brown eyes are filled to the brim with rage, even if they’re having a hard time focusing on me. I have a split second to wonder how I fucked up before she’s screaming at me.
“What the fuck,you?” she screeches, her words near nonsensical with the liquor I can smell on her combined with her fury. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
She gets right up in my face and shoves my chest, slim fingers plenty sturdy enough to push me around with how utterly confused I am. I let her herd me back a few steps, trying to come up with something to say as she continues to slur things I can hardly understand.
My brows fly up to join my hairline when she turns her back on me and goes to kneel down on the pavement next to the guy I punched. He’s still just staring at the two of us and holding his nose, one ear stacked with piercings that glitter every time he moves. The two of them speak quietly enough that I only catch a few words here and there. My anger flares up again, brighter than before, when I catch herapologizingto the asshole.
“Go back to your fucking room, Lucas!” she bites out when I take a step toward them again. “You aresonot needed here!”
“Like fuck!” I shout right back, ignoring her warnings and hauling her up by her bicep. “I don’t know who the hell this guy is, but you’re way too drunk for him to be trying anything. Pathetic piece of fucking trash.”
Those last words are spit at the man slowly pushing himself back up. We’re about the same height, but I can absolutely take him in a fight, if that’s what it comes to.
I kind of hope it does.
Jenny seems real fucking dedicated to surprising me tonight, because instead of the gratitude I expect, shelaughsat me. Worse, so does Tall, Dark, and Handsome. I bare my teeth at him in warning, but quickly refocus my attention on Jenny when she tugs her arm out of my grip.
“Want to clue me in on the joke?” I ask waspishly.
“I’d call you a dumb blond, but I’m not sure you’re smart enough to understand,” she snaps back, just as vicious. “Are you blind, or just an idiot, huh? Or are you just looking for an excuse to stake your claim? I’m not yours anymore, remember? Go piss somewhere else, you stupid mutt.”
I rock back at those words like she hit me a second time, so shocked that I can’t form a single word. Jenny’s new beau comes to the rescue, ignoring the blatant threat of my hands curled into fists.
“Babydoll, this is real sweet, but I’m pretty sure he just doesn’t recognize me,” he soothes her, his voice thick with what’s likely a broken nose. He turns his attention away from her, eyes hardening as he sneers at me. “Hi, there, Lukey,” he says blandly. “It’s Elias. Eli. We went to high school together? I’m yourex-girlfriend’s best friend, remember?”
Two for two. Fuck, I really wish I could stop getting slapped in the face with reminders of how I lost Jenny.
Once the veil of anger lifts as I parse through Elias’ words, I’m left with horror and a growing sense of guilt. Now that I really look at him — as something other than a threat — I do recognize him. He was shorter back then, pimply-faced and awkward, but there’s no denying it’s him. Which means I just fucked upcatastrophically.
Not only will Jenny probably kill me for laying hands on her best friend, my argument of him trying to take advantage of her just went entirely out the window.
Unless she has another best friend from high school named Elias, the man is quite firmly gay.
Fuck.
God, I’m such an idiot. Haven’t I learned not to make assumptions yet?
“Eli, let’s go get your nose looked at,” Jenny says, tossing a hateful glare in my direction.
I can’t even say anything in my defense.
“I’ll have Artur take me,” he says, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her to face the hotel. “You need to go sleep all that whiskey off. I’ll be fine. You have your own room, right?”
