"Wait, wait," he pleaded as he tried to dig his heels in. I ignored him and continued to push him towards my front door.
"My clothes," Simon begged. He was butt naked, save for his towel, but I didn't give a shit. I opened my front door, and with one last push, I had him stumbling into the hallway of my apartment complex.
"Here!" I threw his phone at his bare feet. "Call Lissa; maybe she'll take you in." And with that, I slammed the door in his face.
And then promptly burst into tears.
Chapter 19
Brian
"Here we go." Light cheers rang around the table as a tray of tequila shots, lemon wedges, and a salt shaker was placed on the middle of our table.
I grimaced at the sight. I hadn't done tequila shots since my college roommate's bachelor party, only to be reminded the following morning exactly why I hated the stuff.
"I ain't fucking touching that."
"Aww, c'mon man." James picked up a shot glass and downed it before immediately coughing. He quickly swiped at a lemon wedge to suck, screwing his face up again at the taste. Yeah, no thanks.
I tipped my Guinness toward him. "Think I'll stick to this, thanks."
"Fine, old man," he wheezed.
I laughed and shook my head at his antics. If he thought I'd bow to peer pressure over some weak name-calling, he was sadly mistaken.
I was having a good night, though. I always enjoyed coming to The Homestead. Sometimes I bumped into Sofia and Simon and often joined them for a few drinks. Since Simon's cousin owned the place, he usually had his drinks or meal tab taken care of. That was always a bonus.
Simon was a cool dude—funny, generous, if not a little arrogant. It was also clear how in love and overprotective he was of Sofia. And since I used to sleep with his woman, he never fully warmed up to me. There were times I had to purposely ignore his glower whenever Sofia and I talked—as if he was waiting for me to say,"Hey, Sofia, remember how much fun we had in bed?"
And whenever I leaned in for a hug, his arm would tighten on her shoulder, so I was left hugging her one arm. Admittedly, I also enjoyed provoking him. He was just so easy to rile up. One smile at his precious Sofia had his hackles rising.
I knew first hand what the poor sap was going through, though, so I really should stop torturing him. The first time I visited New Haven, Hannah introduced me to her former high school boyfriend. He was nice enough, and I tolerated him as her friend, but I would still grit my teeth every time he smiled at her.
And whenever I squeezed the body of my beer glass, I would imagine squeezing Logan's –
Fuck!
I scrubbed a hand down my face.
So, yes, I could understand why Simon was so unreasonable when it came to his fiance. I was familiar with that heavy feeling of territorial jealousy that sat like a cloak over your shoulders. Unfortunately, it was an emotion that had been rearing its head lately. I didn't like it.
I jerked out of my thoughts when an arm landed around my shoulders. A familiar, strong perfume tickled my nose, and I knew instantly who it belonged to. When I turned, I was immediately engulfed by skin; my nose almost buried in ample cleavage.
"Brian!"
"Uh, hey." My voice was muffled against Lissa's chest as I fought to steady her.
She stumbled further into me, and my arms instinctively wrapped around her waist, holding her in place.
Still leaning against me, she flashed a sultry smile around the table, fluttering her fingers. "Hi, boys," she greeted.
Choruses of"Hey, Lissa, join us"went around the table. Most of them were present the night we met her.
Her blue eyes found mine, seeking my acceptance. She was more than welcome, if only so she would stop leaning so heavily on me.
"Sit next to me," I offered. I felt bad about how I'd left things with her, and a part of me looked forward to reacquainting myself with her. We did have a good time, especially after her shift ended, but I'd be lying if I said I’d thought about her since.
Everyone shuffled down until the seat next to me was vacated. Lissa slid into place, her dress riding high on her creamy thighs. Her knees brushed mine before staying. "You disappeared on me the other night." She pouted up at me, her hand caressing my shoulder.
