Oh, God. Why do I feel like I want to throw up?
“He makes you feel like you’re the only person who matters.”
I’m going to vomit.
“Wow.” That’s all I say.Wow.
“But when I pressed him if this could be more… You know, I don’t usually sleep around with guys I’m not in a relationship with…” She says this quickly, like she doesn’t want me to get the wrong idea of her.
If she only knew about Jackson. Will.
Slut D.
“He… freaked me out.”
Scared me.That’s what she means. I know it is, the way her knuckles go white around her glass.
“Freaked you out how?”
She stares at her drink, as if she’s debating on telling me. “God, it’s so embarrassing.” She glances up at me, as if pleading with me to forgive her misjudgment, which I do, because I’ve gotmy own. “I might have texted him way too much. Anyway, he said if I didn’t leave him alone, I’d disappear.”
I feel cold at her words, because in my head, his violence with both me and Will flashes into my mind.
Faust was right. Will deserved it. Deserves worse. I got away lucky from him and Jackson both, as much as it might be wrong to say that about half the dead. But it’s true.
Still, I have a feeling that wasn’t because Sylvan felt something in the goodness of his heart to save me.
I realize Tas is staring at me and I need to say something before she starts to read my mind or piece together my innocent questions as something more leading than that.
“Was he joking?”
Tas takes a deep breath, downs the rest of her vodka cran, and I don’t need her answer out loud to know the truth of it.
“No.” She stares at the ice in her empty drink, one hand still wrapped around the glass. “I mean, probably, but it sounded eerie.”
Before I have to respond, a guy behind her glances down her shirt, then lifts his eyes to me and smirks.
“You two want another?” he asks, flashing big, blocky white teeth.
I open my mouth to say no, but Tas whirls around in a flash and answers for both of us.
“Vodka cran and rum and Coke, please.” Her voice is sultry, nothing like the faraway tone she had a second ago.
The guy’s grin widens and he jerks his head to a friend behind him in a pile of guys.
I want to roll my eyes as the guy leans in toward the bartender, splaying both hands on the bar top to order for us, but then I catch a glimpse of his friend.
He’s tall, dark-haired, tattoos around his throat, leather jacket.
Exactly my type to fuck. Just what I need to get Jackson, Will, Sylvan,andFaust out of my head.
The tattooed guy’s eyes connect with mine and I hear Tasia giggle as his friend pushes drinks our way. Tonight, I’ll take the distraction.
Clay—theguy who bought the drinks—and Ace, the one with the tattoos, join us on a U-shaped couch in the corner of Castle’s, a back room behind it half-hidden by a gauzy partition.
Our drinks are on the low table in front of us and Tas and I are beside one another, the boys bracketing us.
My gaze finds Cyn’s and she grins at me as she leans in toward a guy, too, and Karter is—unsurprisingly—actuallytalkingon her cellphone as she completely ignores the man across from her. But somehow, he’s still staring at her as if he has a chance.
