The bartender passed me a glass, which James quickly took out of my hands.
“You want to stop this? Seriously?” I shot him an incredulous look. He bent his head down in response. “I’d never be such a hypocrite.”
“Oh no?”
I motioned for him to give me the cup back. I didn’t actually want to get drunk.
“If you wanna have fun, I won’t stop you.”
His eyes darted quickly around the crowd and soon landed on William.
“Jamie!”
Not even two minutes went by before two girls approached James, whispering something in his ear.
“Besides you’d be too busy,” I muttered, now sure he wasn’t listening to me anymore.
“Exactly, White. And tell me, since when have you become so irresponsible?”
He put the cup he’d just taken from my hands on the sticky counter.
“And since when do you pretend not to be?”
“Look, do what you want,” he grumbled, now sick of my banter.
“I always do.”
I left him with the two girls, but when I was far enough away, I turned around to look at him. I inevitably asked myself ridiculous questions. Did he bathe in gold or honey? Why was it that bees always flew to him like it was time for pollination as soon as he set foot anywhere? Was it possible that those girls didn’t care about his bad-tempered attitude and just about what he looked like? I looked for Tiffany in the crowd, but to my surprise I was drawn in by a tall, tattooed figure.
“Brian.”
“Hey, June. I didn’t think you were coming.”
Tell me about it.“You disappeared last night.”
“Based on what I heard, that’s for the better.” Brian’s dark gaze intensified.
“So you found out.” I fidgeted with the still-full cup.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Brian.”
“I’m starting to think breaking up with her was the right decision.”
His mouth said one thing, but his eyes said something completely different.
“They don’t deserve it, do they?” I tried to downplay the situation unsuccessfully.
“No, they don’t.”
Brian seemed harmless, almost defenseless. Maybe because James raged against him so much, my curiosity inevitably grew.
Because when it comes to telling Little Red Riding Hood not to talk with the wolf, of course she will.
“What exactly did you find out?”
“That they made out because of seven minutes in heaven?” snarled Brian. His tone of voice changed suddenly, showing all his rage. How could I blame him? But honestly, Ari had done even worse behind his back. I got distracted by Jackson’s tall figure walking past me with James. I instinctively straightened my back.
