Page 81 of Dare to be Different

“Someone touches his ass again, I will fucking snap.” I slam my whiskey and order another. Remy won’t make me a Sarah, but I might make some of these pricks dead if they don’t back the fuck off his body.

“Count me in,” Four says with a strained laugh.

This is Gen’s night to let off some steam. Everything with her dad has been messing with her so much that she's a ball of tangled stress. She’s here to let loose and have fun with Remy, who has become one of her besties, and her boyfriend, who is standing beside me trying to let her have that fun. Typically, I’m all about blowing off steam in the form of drinks and dancing, but I don’t really like where my mind is going.

Just because I’m half-ass in a weird but not fully outlined relationship with Remy doesn’t mean we can’t have fun together. Tons of couples go to bars and dance. Tons of people get off watching their partner get a bunch of attention; I’d know because I used to be one of them. When my next drink hits the bar, I grip it and try to relax. I should go dance with him. Show all these fucks that he’s mine. Make him happy and turn him on with a flirty game.

“Why aren’t you out there with her?” I ask Four.

“Because I’m trying to let her have some fun with Remy. If I go out there, I’ll get all growly.”

I turn around again, watching Gen smile her pretty face off at my… Remy. He’s got both of her hands in his, and he’s twirling her around and laughing his ass off at whatever cute shit comes out of her mouth. Probably calling herself a floozy for the night. They’re both drunk as shit, and to be honest, they’re so focused on each other that they aren’t even aware of the swarm of people crowding around them, pushing to get closer. I’ve seen Remy get hit on a lot over the years. By any gender, and I even asked for it last time with Cami, but tonight… no. I’m not in the right frame of mind after the whole failed Cami and Sarah being cheated on thing.

“Remy’s got her, man,” Rydan tries to cool us off again. But then Maddyn skips over from the bathroom, takes a quick sip of her drink, and goes to join them. As soon as she’s in, a hand lands on her ass and Ry’s jaw clenches. “Fuck.”

“No longer the peacekeeper?” I ask him with a grin. I’m not sure how hard he’s in with Maddyn because he doesn’t say a whole lot about it, but it’s enough to make him tense at the sight of her ass in someone else’s hands. Maddyn doesn’t swat the hands away, but Genevieve is shooing the guy away with a literal shooing motion.

Remy pulls both Gen and Maddyn in tight so they can dance in their own bubble, but that bubble is about as close to bursting as my resolve is. For whatever reason that is new and completely unexpected, I’m itching to go over there and rip Remy away. If my mood wasn’t so dark and it wouldn't ruin his fun, I’d do it.

But then…

Some guy grabs Gen around the waist. Remy tugs her back and shoves the guy away just as Four stands straighter beside me. Then a different guy, who seems to be part of the same group, wraps his arms around Remy from behind. I take a step in their direction but stop when Maddyn pulls Remy back and spins him so she’s between Remy and the guy. But then the guy grabs Maddyn.

Remy throws the first punch. That’s my boy. Knew I loved him for a reason. I’ll think on that later. Right now, I have a bar brawl to participate in.

Grinning now, I follow Four and Rydan to the dancefloor. I’ve been itching for this fight all night, and when another guy goes to grab Remy off his friend, I throw my first punch. The guy lands on the ground between us, and for a fraction of a moment, with music blaring in the background and adrenaline pumping through our veins, our eyes meet and grins are shared. Rydan’s knocking out some guy who’s trying to tug Maddyn away, and Four is protectively standing in front of Genevieve like he’d murder the world for her. Her hand is over her mouth and her eyes are wide, but her other hand is latched onto the fabric of his shirt, using him as a shield. When Four throws the guy to the ground, Gen gasps.

“Forsyth!” Gen grabs his fist, checking his knuckles. “Be polite!”

“Told ya you’d get me in shit tonight, Genevieve.” He wraps an arm around her.

But then I’m being yanked back by the guy on the floor’s friend. I stumble a step, but Remy grabs the front of my shirt with one hand, simultaneously pulling me toward him and throwing a hit with his other hand. He’s a lefty, so he shakes out his hand before wrapping it around my throat.

“I wondered when you were gonna give in,” he says against the side of my face.

“To what?”

“Your possessive bullshit.” He pulls back to smirk at me. “Sexy, Zahn.”

I’m still reeling from that as we’re thrown from the bar by a bunch of bouncers. I don’t give a shit. Throw us out. We haven’t even paid our tab yet. We’re all half-ass laughing by the time we hit the sidewalk.

“Fuck, I’ve wanted to do that for an hour!” Four shouts into the cold night air. “I needed that shit.”

“Such a hero,” Gen mocks him.

“Defending your honor, sweetheart.” He smiles at her.

“I can defend my own honor, thank you.” She tucks into his side and he pulls her into the backseat of Rydan’s truck. He stayed sober for us tonight.

Maddyn sits up front with him, and me and Rem squish into the back with Four and Gen. But the energy in this truck cab is all adrenaline and sexual tension, and when Rydan and Maddyn start making out, I look over to see Four with his hand between Gen’s legs.

Maybe in the beginning of this whole thing, I needed a chick there to staunch my hesitations with Remy. But not now. I look at him and find him already looking at me. We’re not a secret to my brothers, but we’ve never outright done anything in front of them. Tonight, it doesn’t appear to matter to Remy. He grabs the back of my neck like the bossy bastard he is and pulls me in, kissing me with as much aggression as he threw into that punch.

I taste the whiskey on his tongue and feel the tension in his body, wanting nothing more than to have my goddamn way with him. Sex. I’m thinking about it. Wanting it. The scratch of his stubble against my jaw is fiery perfection, and his unrelenting grip on the back of my neck is on par with the level of possession I felt earlier. He’s mine. I don’t exactly know how it happened, but I’m not even close to wanting to give him up or share him anymore.

“You possessive fuck,” he whispers against my lips.

“I warned you,” I say back. “No other guy. No other anyone.”

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