“What did I do?” I asked.
“You’re oblivious.”
“Oblivious to what?”
Michelle slipped on a stool beside Hector, sharing a look with her brothers, which meant that they all knew something that I apparently didn’t. It wasn’t unusual for me to greet people who attended Radiant, was it?
“What?” I asked, brows furrowed.
“You have a wedding band on your left hand,” Steven noted.
I glanced from Steven to Hector and Michelle, who nodded in agreement. “And?”
“And some women like to take that as a challenge,” Michelle said. “In my opinion, I think it’s gross, but if you’re here alone and without Athena, then girls like that are going to flirt with you to see if they can get with you.”
“Why?” I asked, scrunching my nose. “I’m not interested.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Hector said. “They will.”
“Does it happen to both of you?” I asked Hector and Steven.
“I really only ever come here with Sierra,” Steven said. “And when I don’t, it’s with him.”
Hector nodded to Michelle. “And Michelle doesn’t leave me when I’m here alone, so I don’t see that type of flirting much anymore. Thank God. But if I didn’t own this place, Heather would probably be in jail for how possessive she’s become over me.” He smiled. “I like it.”
I gulped. Athena was more insecure than possessive. She wouldn’t hit anyone, but she’d hold it all in and not tell me that something was bothering her until it was way too late. It hadn’t happened before we started dating, but maybe I had never noticed it.
“You have one of two options,” Michelle said, holding up two fingers. “Either you don’t come here without Athena or make it a thousand percent clear that you’re off the market and you don’t entertain anyone, not even with a smile.”
“What about Athena?” I asked. “She has a ring on her finger.”
“It doesn’t happen as much with women,” Steven said.
Michelle raised a brow. “Is that what you think? She’s pretty. People will hit on her either way. The last wedding I attended with my ex, an older gentleman came up to us with his wife and told my ex that I was way out of my ex’s league. It will happen.”
“It’s not Athena that you have to worry about,” Hector said.
Oh, believe me, I knew that with Derek. I trusted Athena one hundred fucking percent, but I wasn’t sure she trusted me as much. I had more experience than her in the bedroom, and there were hundreds of videos of me floating around the internet with other women.
I couldn’t even let her think I had something with another woman.
Michelle was right. Either I came here only with Athena or not at all.
“You’d best be careful, Easton,” Michelle hummed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Nadia came back and started trouble between you and the missus. Girls like her are delusional and will do anything to win.”
I set my drink down. “So will Derek.”
He was probably the biggest threat that I had to worry about around Athena.
“True. Well, I’m off, boys,” Michelle called over her shoulder. “I have a hot date tonight. Have fun!”
“Wait, hold up,” I said, jumping off my seat. “You have some time to talk this weekend?”
Michelle raised her brow. “About?”
“Collaborating.”
“On?”
