“Do you ever drink?” I didn’t care about being nosy. I was there to get to know him.
“No. Actually—” I saw him crane his neck. He kept massaging it with his fingertips. “It depends. But not now,” he hedged mysteriously.
“You don’t like it?”
William glared at me. “I just can’t.”
“Because of football?”
I must’ve pushed too hard because he stood up.
“I’m gonna order. There are lots of people here. If we wait, they’ll never get to us.” Perplexed, I watched him walk away. It seemed like his mood had changed suddenly, but that might’ve just been my imagination.
I sank into the back of the chair, trying to relax. Billie Eilish was blasting from the jukebox, but I could still hear voices in the distance.
“You fucked her in my car, James?”
I whirled around and caught sight of Jackson’s blond hair sticking out from the crowd.
“So?”
I trembled when I heard that raspy tone.
“So what if I did?” snarled James. I spread out on the booth hoping they wouldn’t realize I was there.
“Well, look who’s here,” Jackson commented as the two passed by my table.
Hunter didn’t even turn around; he just gave me a nasty look.
And now the night was going to hell.
“What the fuck is she doing here?”
“She” has a name, but maybe it’s too hard for your pea brain to remember that.
I pursed my lips and looked the other way, hoping that William would be back soon.
“Well, what an honor it is to have June White grace us with her presence,” Jackson mocked me.
“I don’t want her here.” Hunter’s tone of voice made me shiver. It wasn’t a joke.
“What the fuck did she do to you? Come on, leave her alone.” The clean-shaven guy was with him. He tried to push James to get him to keep moving. Hunter stayed still.
I didn’t let out a peep. If I provoked him, that would cause a fight, and he already seemed really on edge as it was.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m gonna get us a round of Cokes. I can’t fucking stand certain people around here,” I heard him mumble, as I saw a water bottle filled with what looked like rum poking out of his pocket.
“Of course, let’s blame everyone else for your future DUIs, you raging alcoholic.” I didn’t just think that. I said it out loud.
James jolted toward my table, but he didn’t scare me. Both his friends held him back before he could come any closer. He was so furious that I thought he’d destroy me with his eyes.
“And you guys defend her too. All she does is run her mouth.”
I covered my mouth. He was an animal, unlike his gentlemanly friends.
“Come on, James. Chill.” Jackson strained to hold him back by the arm.
“I’ll fuck you up. Do you understand? Talk to me like that again and I’ll make you never want to open your mouth again,” he threatened.
