I bid him farewell and prayed nobody else interrupted my solitude.
It didn’t last long.
Half of the frozen fruity drink Goldie had made me hit my stomach when someone slid into the empty chair next to me. It took one short side-eye for me to raise my hand, gesturing for them to wait before allowing words to escape those damned already parted lips. I chugged the rest.
“You done yet?”
My empty cup clinked down onto the counter. Slowly, Idragged my eyes to his. “Laken Augustus,” I said, releasing a breath. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore the loose brown tunic hanging on to his shoulders, hardly tied at the top and exposing a glimpse of his chest. He studied me, and a sheepish smirk curled his lips.
“Hellblazers give you trouble?”
I hated him. “No, actually.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
I held his stare for everything it stood for. My chin held high. Now, whatever rampage festered under my skin, I wouldn’t even begin to analyze. I actually pretended it wasn’t even there.
“I offered you my help. I’ll offer it still if you’ll admit you need it.”
With a frown and a knitted brow, I faked thinking his offer over, tapping my chin for extra emphasis. Then settled my glare on him. “Don’t need your help. Never did. Never will.” I laughed in my mind.If only he knew.
“Mm,” he hummed. “I can see that.” Laken shifted in his seat. Leaning back with an elbow on the counter, he grinned wickedly. I saw the options turning in his head, dissecting how to handle this. How to handle me.
I cut my eyes at him. “Whydo you insist on helping so much? Being aroundmyplace? You just love it or something?”
He tossed his hands up, his lips curling into a smirk. “Idon’t like helping. I like being a pain in your ass.” He winked, and I believed that. “I like seeing you all… flustered.”
“You don’t fluster me,” I defended. Except when I’d punched him in the face. Except now. My hands were clammy.
“And if being a pain in the ass is your goal, you can stop trying so damned hard; it comes naturally for you.”
The thing was, Laken and I had always known how to handle each other. Growing up side by side was one thing, but when we fell in love, everything fell into a mass synchronization. But he no longer knew me. And I no longer knew him. We were but two familiar strangers reuniting through something similar to déjà vu.
“Alright. If you won’t accept my help, let me buy you a drink.”
Goldie chuckled to herself a few feet away from us and we shared a brief look. Bringing the glasses our way, Goldie raised a brow. “Racking up the tab tonight, Reece?”
With a smirk, I shrugged. “Might as well.” Laken glanced between us, trying to catch up, and I surrendered. “Would you believe me if I told you I already added my drinks to your tab?”
A grin split from his full lips as he looked at the floor and shook his head. The gleam in his eyes when they met mine again irritated me further.
“Perhaps you haven’t changed that much.”
My smirk died, and an irritated glare took its place. “Don’t you have something to do? Some other damsel in distress to save?”
He aimlessly glanced around, searching the entire tavern. His hand rested on his thigh, the other leaned against the counter. The light from the flames cast a warm yellow hue over his hair; it’d grown darker since I’d last seen him. I forced my eyes elsewhere because I’d rather drag myself through a heaping pile of chicken shit before being caught checking out Laken. “I believe you’re the only distressed one here.”
My frown deepened. “What do you want, Laken? You want to sit here and catch up over an ale and pretend we’re best friends? You want to be the nice guy checking up on me? What is it? What are we doing here?”
Laken sat back, locking his eyes with mine, patient and pining, and my stomach turned to muck. The way his veins ran over his hands, his thighs strained against the fabric of his pants, the way he looked at me… it suddenly became too obvious to me that adult Laken washot. Not in the sweet, endearing way he used to be, but in a new, mature way. Filled out and thick with muscle. Hard lines and sharp features.
My chest contracted, and I remembered.He’ll break your heart. He’s already done it once.My guard jumped up from the shithole I’d left it in. He leaned forward, inching closer to me. That’s when I realized I’d accidentally positioned myself between his legs. “I want to apologize.”
Oh, fuck. Here we go.I choked on the air. My brows arched. “For?” Let’s see… ripping my heart from my chest and abandoning it on the cobblestone streets? Not reaching out for three years? Overstepping with the sanctuary? Truly, he had choices!
