“Thank you. It's a highlighter blush. It gives me a bit of a glow.” She places her hand under her chin and smiles.
I lift my head and give her a sheepish smile.
“Well, it looks beautiful on you.”
The lighting in here is dim, but I feel like I can almost make out her cheeks turning red. She’s blushing and trying to hide her smile by covering her face. Well, I can’t let that happen. I gently grab her wrists and pull her hands away from her face.
“Don’t hide that smile from me.”
She locks her eyes with mine and tugs at her pillowy bottom lip. My hands still hold on gently to her wrists while we enjoy this moment alone together under the moody lights of the nightclub.
“I comebeeringgifts.” A smile tugs at Riley’s lips. “Get it?” She holds up the five beers in her hand.
“Very funny.” Ellie grabs her beer from Riley and starts to drink it.
“Great joke, Riley.” I grab mine and salute her in thanks.
She deadpans and walks past us, glaring as she sets down her sister’s beer.
The music changes to something upbeat. Ellie takes another swig of her drink before Riley tells her to go to the dancefloor with her.
“Wanna come?” she asks.
“Nah, I’m good.”
A hand lands on my shoulder, and I turn to see August standing next to me. I follow his gaze, and he’s looking right at Riley.
The way August looks at Riley is the same way I look at Ellie. I don’t know what happened between the two of them. They were close, best friends, years ago, and then, one day, they just stopped talking.
I trail my eyes back to Ellie, her skin glistening under the dance floor lights, her hair moving gracefully as she turns her body.
The song is halfway finished when I see a guy move his body closer to hers, and knowing Ellie, she isn’t going to shy away from someone wanting to dance. He’s tall, not as tall as me, but enough for Ellie, and she smiles at him.
My grip tightens around my beer bottle, and if I don’t relax, it’s going to shatter in my hand. I loosen my grip and instead put the pressure into my jaw, tightening it while I clench my teeth. My jaw will be sore tomorrow, but I can’t help it. Seeing Ellie with another man makes my blood boil, but I know I won’t do anything to stop it.
The guy turns his hat backward, letting me get a better look at him, andwhat the fuck. He looks like he just left from a modeling gig and decided to go dancing right after. He’s putting me to shame dancing withmy girlwhile I’m standing here like a fucking dumbass.
The song fades and goes into the next one, and my eyes almost bulge out of my head when he reaches for her to give her a hug.She returns an awkward side hug with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. I attempt to control my annoyance and remind myself that she’s friendly. I watch him gesture his head in the opposite direction of us while I continue to watch this interaction.
Ellie smiles politely and shakes her head. I can see her trying to walk back toward my direction, but the guy is being relentless. I can feel my jaw muscles pop while my chest rises and falls in an unsteady rhythm. She holds up a hand toward him, and her facial expression changes from pleasant to irritated.
I set down my beer on the round high-table, and when my eyes connect back to them, his hand tugs at her wrist, and all I see is red. My body moves fast as I approach the two of them.
“Hey.” My voice comes out threatening, and I can feel my pulse quickening by the second.
He turns his head to look at me, and I have a slight height advantage, making his chin tilt up to speak to me.
He signals to Ellie with his head. “Do you mind? I’m talking to someone.”
“I do mind, actually,” I say, keeping my voice steady.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am. Why the fuck are you touching her?” My hands clenched into fists, my nails biting into my skin.
The man looked at Ellie and then back to me. “Look, man, all we were doing was talking.”
Ellie chimes in, “Yeah, and then you wouldn’t let me go back to my table.”
