I watch her walk away, unsure what to make of that offer. For a split second, my brain screams, “Go for it.” Even in my drunken state, I know I’m still yearning for Liv.
I smile as she walks away. My eyes are on her, but I’m thinking about someone else. However, when I turn around, I’m met with a very disapproving stare from Emma. Although she is conversing with Jameson, she witnessed what just happened with Simone, and she’s clearly not happy about it. The expression on her face makes my stomach bottom out, and I can’t have another strike against me with Liv.
I know it’s wrong, but I whisper shout to Jameson and place my hand on his shoulder to steer his attention and Emma’s. “Simone stopped me to say she gets off at one if you are interested, and she’ll make it worth your wait.”
It is what she said, just not to him. He gives me a shake of his head and snarls, which immediately lets me know that he fully understands how I displaced the facts in front of Emma. Emma rises off the chair and grabs her purse.
“And with that, I’m out. See you later, guys,” she shouts at us over the music to no one in particular as she makes her way through the crowd straight out the bar’s door.
Jameson watches her leave and then rounds on me in a fury. “What the fuck, Dax?”
I look at him apologetically and say, “I’m sorry, but I panicked. She saw Simone come up to me, and I couldn’t have her tell Liv that I’m a piece of shit that can’t keep my dick in my pants.”
He picks up his drink. “Well, if the shoe fits…” he trails off as he takes a large gulp of his drink.
“What was I supposed to do, Jameson? I meet this girl I like, and then everything in the universe tries to prevent us from getting together.”
Jameson just shakes his head and downs the rest of his drink. “So what is she then?”
I look at him and can’t seem to explain what it is about Liv because I hardly know myself. “I don’t know what it is. But there’s something about her. We connected at Padre Island, and I want to see if it’s real, you know?” I slump back into my chair, grab a beer, and throw back half of it.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, dude. She seems like she went through a terrible ordeal from what we saw that night and what Emma told me so far.”
I look at him quizzically. “What has Emma told you so far?” I ask, mimicking his words.
He shakes his head. “Look, you just need to talk to Liv.”
That pisses me off, and words are flying out of my mouth before I can stop them. “I know, dick, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
He shakes his head at me. “Let’s get one last drink here then.”
We ordered another round of drinks and decided to make a night of it. Might as well since I don't feel like being alone with my thoughts. Jameson downs the rest of his drink and signals to the guys that we are heading out.
“Come on, Dax, let’s get out of here. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”
I go to pick up the tab. It’s the least I could do after ruining Jameson’s chances with Emma tonight. I don’t know what is happening with those two, but I know they must have hooked up during spring break. Liv and I saw them returning from the sand dunes with their clothes half off. He never admitted to it, but I have a pretty good hunch. Not wanting to leave cash on the table, I see Simone walking by and wave at her. She smiles seductively at me and puts her tray down at the bar.
“Hey, what’s up.”
I hand her my tab and a couple of hundred bucks. “We are leaving, and I didn’t want to leave cash at the table.”
She arches an eyebrow.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m not interested in meeting up later.”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “Your loss,” she says as she retrieves her serving tray and moves with ease through the crowd.
I make my way out and push through the doors. The cool breeze immediately hits me and sobers me up a bit. Jameson eyes me suspiciously.
“I told her I wasn’t interested,” I say flatly.
He smiles at me and laughs. “Where to now?”
“Want to hit up a club?” Theo asks.
Eric agrees, and I can’t disagree because I still need a distraction, even if it’s just more booze and loud music. Jameson pulls out his phone to Uber us a ride to a club. “My frat brother from college owns this club downtown, not far from here. We can VIP there if you want.”
VIP treatment sounds precisely like what we all need. Five minutes later, we got into the Uber and started the quick drive to the club. Pulling up, we see a massive line at the door, but Jameson tugs us through the line and goes straight up to the bouncer.
