“Barely,” he grumbles, then adds with a grin, “Maybe you need a distraction. Plenty of options. This is definitely a target rich environment.”
Girls notice us immediately. Eyes trail. Smiles sharpen. The usual. And I feel… nothing. Because she isn’t here yet. I hate myself for what I find myself doing; scanning the crowd like a lunatic, but I can’t seem to help it. It’s stupid and weak and exactly the kind of shit I’ve avoided my whole life.
Mikey leans close. “You looking for someone in particular, lover boy? Someone with brown hair and blue eyes? Camera strap around her neck?”
I flip him off. He howls with laughter as he disappears toward the bar, leaving me alone with the crushing fact that I’m turning into a cliché. I need a drink, possibly six. Then the air shifts. It’s so subtle that it’s almost indescribable. Like when the atmosphere rearranges itself before a storm.
I don’t even hear her footsteps. I just turn. And there she is. Sadie. Loose tendrils of hair frame her face, catching the soft gold of the overhead lights. Skin warm and glowing, her cheeks flushed a light pink. A short black skirt hugs her hips and a shirt that’s even shorter, reveals her bare midriff. All that skin makes my throat go dry.
She’s not flashy. Hell, she’s still wearing those damn combat boots of hers. She’s not even trying hard, but she looks fucking lethal. She glances up, sees me, and her lips, shiny and red, curve up into a smile. It’s small, it’s nervous, and it lands like a punch to my chest.
Mikey materializes beside me like he teleported, a low whistle sounding from him. “Holy shit. Is that Sadie or does she have a baddie twin we don’t know about?”
“Shut up,” I grunt, not daring to look away.
“No seriously.” Mikey tilts his head as he assesses her from head to toe. “She looks, yeah, damn hot, man.”
“Shut. Up.” I grind out through clenched teeth.
“I might have to try and hit that up if you’re not going to go there.”
He torments me with the suggestion, a growl rolling up from my chest unannounced. “She’s off-fucking-limits.” My gaze narrows as it locks on him. “End of.”
He grins and laughs like he knows exactly what’s happening and is going to make sure he enjoys every minute of my torture. Sadie joins our group, which now consists of Lily, Luc, Cherry, Hayden, and a couple of the crew guys. She’s laughing, completely at ease, asking Mikey what trouble he’s gotten into today.
She doesn’t look at me again. I hate it. I love it. I want to drag her away from everyone and ask her if she meant it - if she meant everything she said this afternoon.
But I stay put, hands in my pockets, pretending I’m not two seconds from combusting. Luc strolls over and hands me a beer. “Looks like you need this.”
I cut him a quick glance, take the offering, and gulp down a long, much needed swig. It doesn’t do much to tamp down the burn I’m feeling, but it’s a little better.
“You like her.” Luc tilts his chin in her direction, arching a single brow. It’s not a question but an observation he’s voicing.
“She’s just the help,” I drone out, trying harder than I should to make her seem unimportant.
“You fuck with that and things go sideways, we’ll all pay the price.” He takes a pull from the glass he’s holding, ice cubes clinking.
“You know I don’t do feelings,” I state, my tone hard.
“No one does feelings.” Luc scoffs. “Feelings do you.”
“Think everyone’s gonna go and fall in love now that you’ve got your happy little family with Lily and Larkin?” I’m being an asshole. I’m deflecting and we both know it.
He blinks lazily, one corner of his mouth quirking down. Not in a frown, but more like he knows I’m so full of shit that he isn’t going to bother fighting me on it. He sighs heavily. “It wouldn’t be the end of the world to open yourself up again, but just be careful man.”
“Don’t have to worry about me.” I suck back the rest of the beer. “I’m solid.”
He claps a hand on my shoulder. “I’m around if you want to talk.” Then he walks back over to Lily, who’s forehead to forehead with Sadie in deep conversation.
The music shifts to something darker and bass-heavy, and the group spills onto the dance floor. I hang back at first, but Mikey yanks me in.
“Stop being a wallflower.”
“I’m not-” He ignores my protest and doesn’t let go. And suddenly we’re in the thick of it; bodies moving, lights flashing, heat licking the air.
Sadie’s beside me. Not touching, but close enough that every breath she takes tugs at something low in my spine. I watch as our tech guy, a nice enough kid, and just drunk enough to not pay attention, spins her toward him with a grin.
Hand too close to her hip. His body angled toward hers. Nothing too inappropriate for what this is, a group of friends dancing together, but it’s just enough to make something primal and irrational snap inside me.
