Page 11 of Ghosted By Texas

“Maybe, we’ll just get you a cute pair of kitten heels.”

It took some convincing, but once Clea realized she would get to meet my Mr. Texas, she was all in. Well, maybe not quite ‘all in’ but close enough.

~*~

When we got to the party, my nerves kicked in. What if Clea and Houston hated one another? Would that spell instant doom for Austin and me? My cold feet and worry about losing my boyfriend nearly made me text him our excuses and drag Clea back home.

“Where is your date?” Clea asked. It made me pause for a moment to look around before dragging her through the front door of the frat house where the party was being held. The guys were supposed to be waiting just inside the door, so we wouldn’t have any trouble finding them.

“Inside already.”

“Is it the Texas guy?”

I wiggled my brows at her suggestively. “Austin, and yes, it’s him.”

“Do you see that going somewhere serious?”

If only she knew that I’d been daydreaming about what name would go on the marriage certificate while we got ready for our night. I shrugged my shoulders at my bestie. It was my attempt at indifference, but she saw right through me, so I gave a small admission. “I really like him, so we’ll see where it goes.”

“That’s a lot.”

It was, considering I’d never even introduced her to anyone I’d gone out with, let alone admitted to liking them. If only she knew just how much I liked the man, she might drag me out of the party and save me from my near nervous breakdown that threatened to bring me to my knees.

Austin and his brother were supposed to meet us by the front door, so that we wouldn’t have to keep up the mystery charade too long. Plus, if we left it up to Clea and Houston to find one another, it would probably turn into one giant mess anyway. We both knew that and planned accordingly, despite going through the whole ordeal of making them take headless photos so we could show the other what they were wearing.

Unfortunately, neither man was there as we entered, so I attempted to see over and around the ocean of people swimming around the room. Okay, they weren’t really swimming, but that guy in front of me was doing a damn good job of imitating a garden sprinkler for some reason.

“Becs,” Clea startled me as she spoke directly in my ear. “Did you forget something when you dressed me?”

I laughed at her because my bestie had just figured out the dress code and that she was in violation of it to the point where she would stand out to anyone and everyone in attendance.

“Nope. I figured you would stand out more this way.”

“I’m going to kill you. Dead. As in no longer breathing, Becs!”

“That’s usually what dead means, dipshit!” I tugged her toward the homemade bar the frat set up in the corner. I needed a drink to quell the nerves. If that was how I felt, then Clea had to be a worked-up mess, too. “First thing, we’re getting you a drink to loosen you up.” She didn’t need to know that I was feeling a case of the nerves as well. Sweaty palms be damned.

“Becs! I think I see him!” Clea yelled. I turned just in time to see a bow and arrow wielding, blond-haired, diaper wearing, slightly familiar looking man push past. He must have bumped Clea because she was on her way to hitting the floor before I could even react. Before the startled noise she made even registered, a decent looking guy with great reflexes had Clea wrapped up in his strong arms, and maybe a bit more. Dammit. There was no way to contend with hero-worship. I glanced around, but still didn’t see Austin or his brother. Why in the hell hadn’t they been at the door, as promised?

“Are you okay?” I barely caught the man’s question before Clea managed to spin to get a look at the man whose grip landed squarely on one of her breasts. “Oh shit!” He puffed out as he pretended to realize where his hand landed.

Yeah, right, buddy.

I had his number already. The jerk was smarmier than… well… a jerk.

“Sorry, I was just trying to catch you before your cute ass hit the floor.”

“Thank you,” my best friend eloquently greeted him back after staring him down with her wide doe-eyes that narrowed just a bit as she took him in. Thank fuck she had come to her senses about the guy because my douche-o-meter was pinging full steam ahead.

“Are you okay?” I finally managed to ask her. I’d hoped that it would be the perfect opportunity to pull her out of the clutches of douche-o-rama, so we could find Austin and his brother, but no.

“Yeah, I am now. Thanks to…” She left her words hanging in the hopes that the asshole would fill in the blanks and of course he did.

“Jeff,” he offered her his name and his hand. I wanted to stomp on his foot with my heels, but that would draw too much attention.

“This is my best friend, Becs,” she introduced us, but my attention was focused on finding the Mercer brothers before the night went completely sideways. It was already sliding in that direction, dammit.

“And that would make you?” The man asked her.

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