Page 31 of Remember Us This Way

I’ve never seen her like this before—like a fucking angel sent right from the heavens—and for the first time in three pain-filled years, I don’t feel plagued by darkness.

I inch toward her as she dances for me, and for some reason, nothing can hold me back tonight, and as I watch her, it feels as though we’re the only people in the room.

My heart thunders.

Zoey doesn’t dare take her eyes off mine, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s where those eyes have always belonged.

It feels so damn right.

She finishes what’s in her drink, and I take another step toward her, that deep, sultry gaze beckoning me, daring me to take everything I’ve ever wanted. She tosses her empty cup over her shoulder, and it hits the guy behind her, but she doesn’t seem to notice, her attention solely on me.

The guy turns around and steps into her, his arm slipping around her waist and forcing her attention up to his gaze, stealing those eyes away from me. He leans down and murmurs something into her ear, and the way she smiles up at him and laughs has a fierce jealousy pulsing through my veins.

My heart races, and I can’t help but watch as he pulls her into him, that perfect body of hers folding against his like it should be doing to mine.

My hands ball into fists at my sides, and while I’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve her, I’m not ready to watch someone else sweep her away.

I have no right to try and hold on to her after the last three years of pushing her away. It’d make life a shitload easier if she just pretended I didn’t exist, but this . . . no. I can’t fucking stand seeing her like this.

I force my stare away, needing another drink, and this time, it’s going to be something a lot stronger than a fucking beer. I turn away and stalk back toward the kitchen, my hand slipping into my pocket for a cigarette.

How the fuck could I let her get to me like that?

Zoey James has me weak, and I don’t like it.

Just before stepping out to the kitchen, I glance back and find her through the crowd, needing to know if this was all for show and if I still had her attention, but instead, my rage hits an all-new high.

The guy tries to kiss her, and I watch as she turns her face away, shaking her head and trying to tell him no, but he doesn’t listen. She pushes at his chest, but he holds her tighter, his arm locking around her waist and keeping her pinned against him. His other hand trails down to her ass, squeezing tight, and her soft cry for him to stop is like a knife right to my chest.

Zoey looks around for help, but her friends are nowhere to be seen, and then she looks for me across the room, but I’m already there, having crossed the dance floor in a matter of seconds, moving toward her before I can even fully comprehend what’s happening. Her eyes widen, finding me right behind the guy, and before she can say a word, I grip his shoulder and whip him around.

He barely has a chance to see what’s coming before my fist flies toward his face. The force of my punch throws him back, and Zoey jumps aside, narrowly avoiding being knocked out by his flailing arms.

The asshole comes back at me, roaring with anger before his friends rush into his side, pulling him back. They clearly have more sense than he does at the moment. “Leave it,” one of his friends urges. “That’s Noah Ryan. You don’t wanna start shit with him. It’s not worth it.”

The guy fights against his friends, trying to tear out of their grasp, roaring at them to release him, but I couldn’t give a shit about him as I turn to Zoey, anger booming through my chest. “You’re drunk,” I spit at her. “Go home. You don’t belong here.”

13

Noah

Zoey glares at me, venom pooling in her furious stare, but I turn away, hoping like fuck she has enough sense to get out of here before that asshole gets his hands on her again. The second I step away, Shannan moves back in front of me, and the moment she sees Zoey at my back, her eyes fill with heated anger.

Shannan looks between me and Zoey, and I see the very second she foolishly convinces herself that Zoey has tried to take something that belongs to her, something that was never hers to start with. A low groan rumbles from the back of my throat, knowing how this is going to turn out before she’s even said a single word.

Shannan fixes me with a hard stare before shifting her wicked gaze to Zoey and stepping around me. Her friends have her back within seconds as they surround Zoey. “Well, tonight just got a little more exciting, don’t you think, Zoey?” Shannan says, her gaze sailing up and down Zoey’s body as she looks back at her with disdain. “You’ve got a lot of balls showing up here.”

“Seriously?” Zoey laughs, waving around her at the overwhelming show of cheerleaders surrounding her. “Is this supposed to intimidate me? You’re a joke, Shannan.”

My brows arch. I’ve only been here for a week, and so far, Zoey has proven over and over again that she’s not the type to back down, and it blows me the fuck away. She always needed my protection when we were kids, and since I’ve been gone, she’s had to learn how to fend for herself, and damn, it fucking suits her. But unfortunately for Zoey, Shannan isn’t the type to back down either, and what’s worse, she likes to play dirty.

“I’m the joke?” Shannan throws back at Zoey. “Look at you, constantly throwing yourself at Noah. You’re pathetic. Tell me,” she adds, her hand waving up and down Zoey’s body, taking in her outfit and makeup. “Did you do this for him? Did you do your hair and makeup and pick out some whorish outfit in the hopes he might take pity on you and take your pretty little V-card?”

Zoey’s gaze flickers to me, embarrassment shining in her eyes, and it leaves me wondering if maybe she did do all of this for me. Was she hoping to get my attention? Because she already had it.

I see in her eyes that she’s waiting for me to step in, but I can’t. I’ve gotten too close already, and I made it clear on day one that I wanted nothing to do with her. The divide between us feels like it’s closing in already, and if I allow myself to open that door, I won’t be able to turn back. Besides, she made it perfectly clear in the school parking lot that it was too fucking late for me to try. If I step in now, Shannan will retaliate, and things will only get worse for Zoey.

Zoey doesn’t respond, and my stomach starts to feel uneasy as Shannan pushes harder. “He doesn’t want you, Zoey. You’re trash, and he’s way out of your league. Face it, you’re going to die a virgin.”

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