Page 53 of Fire in You

“How about we grab something to eat tomorrow? Yeah.” Brock’s smile could stop traffic. Right then it stopped my heart. “That would work better.”

“What?” I breathed, thinking I didn’t hear him right, because he wouldn’t be home tomorrow. He wouldn’t have time.

“We can grab dinner then,” he continued, lifting the shot glass with an easy grin. “Spend some one-on-one time together.”

My body flushed hot and then cold as realization sunk in. He was ditching me. He was ditching me for his friends and for Kristen, and there’d be no dinner tomorrow night, because he wouldn’t be here. He was flying out with Dad, and Dad liked to get to the airport early.

“Jillian,” Jax said, his brows lifting.

Flushing to the color of my lipstick, my gaze darted around the group frantically. Reece was looking away—looking at his long-time girlfriend Roxy, who was down at the other end of the bar. Colton was studying his shoes. The guy I didn’t recognize was smiling at the group of girls, oblivious to everything except the girls. And Kristen . . . Kristen was looking at me the way every girl looks atthatgirl, the one who has no clue—the one who gives you second-hand embarrassment.

Oh God.

“Yeah. Um, that’s cool.” I backed up, blinking back the sudden tears in my eyes. This was so humiliating. I needed to go. I needed to leave right now. “Tomorrow is fine,” I croaked out, knowing that tomorrow wasn’t going to happen.

Tonight was no different than any other night, and I’d been so dumb to think otherwise.

“Jillybean.” He turned to put the shot on the bar. His mouth was drawn in a tight, flat line. “Hey, let me walk you out.”

I smiled, kept on smiling even as his face began to blur. “No. That’s not necessary. It’s okay. I have to go anyway.”

Brock started to frown as his eyes narrowed. “Jillian—”

“Bye!” I chirped out, giving Colton and Reece a quick wave. “See you guys later.”

They might’ve said goodbye or they could’ve said nothing. I didn’t know. Blood pounded in my ears, and I couldn’t hear anything as I hurried through the bar, dodging the crowds of people talking and laughing. My hands shook as I pushed open the door and raced out into the balmy night air.

A light tap on the door dragged me out of the memory. Feeling shaken and sick to my stomach, experiencing all that messy and raw heartbreak like it was seconds ago instead of years ago, I looked up and saw Brock standing there like he’d been called up out of the mists of the past.

Why did he have to be here right now? Why? Because seeing him right now would be just as bad as seeing him immediately after masturbating to thoughts of him. Painfully fucking awkward.

He took one look at me and concern pinched his features. “Hey, you all right?”

“Yeah.” I swallowed down the knot clogging my throat as I watched him walk into my office. “I was . . .” Trailing off, I didn’t have a good excuse to why I was sitting at my desk, staring at the wall like someone had kicked my cat into oncoming traffic. Lifting a hand, I tucked my hair back. “You haven’t been standing there long, have you?”

“Long enough.”

I tensed.

Brock’s dark gaze roamed over my face, missing nothing. He said nothing as he came forward and then sat in the chair across from my desk. Several seconds passed and then he said, “Sometimes you get that look on your face. Like you’re a thousand miles away. As if you’re someplace else. And I think I know where.”

Oh God.

My eyes widened.

“And I’ve seen that look before,” he continued, his gaze finding mine. His broad shoulders tensed. “Because I . . . I put that look on your face before.”

Sucking in a sharp breath, I pushed back from the desk using my toes. I gripped the arms of my chair. “I wasn’t thinking about that. Not at all. I was just lost in thought. Seriously.”

His brows lifted in surprise, and he stared at me like I’d just admitted to secretly being Batgirl or something. “You . . . you never cease to surprise me.”

I laughed nervously. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

Shaking his head as if he was almost stuck in a bubble of wonder, he then leaned forward, pressing his hands together. “You protect me.”

“What?”

“Youprotectedme back then,” he said, his voice oddly hoarse. “And you are still doing it now, aren’t you? You don’t want me to think about that night, because you don’t want me to be upset.”

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