Page 86 of Blood Sport

“No, the car that blew through the stop sign is at fault. Not you,” Ethan points out. He inhales a deep breath and releases it slowly. “Look, you need to do something to take your mind off Evie.”

“Like what?” I raise a brow at him. “The last thing I want to do is go out.”

“Not even to your favorite strip club?” He wiggles his brows at me, and all I can do is roll my eyes.

“I don’t want to go there.”

Ethan frowns. “Why not?”

“Just because I’m not talking to Evie doesn’t mean I want to go to a strip club and have other women shove their tits in my face. Your girl may be okay with you doing that, but I don’t want to do that to mine.”

“Hey,” he whines and shakes his head. “There is nothing wrong with just looking. I don’t touch, of course. But to each their own.” Ethan adjusts himself on the seat. “You’ve got to stop being a party pooper and get out of the apartment. You’ve been rotting away in your bed for the past week.”

I sigh. He’s not wrong. It’s been a struggle to get out of bed this past week with the guilt weighing heavily on me. “What’s the point in doing anything when my best friend is pissed at me for hurting his sister and I feel too guilty to text said sister back because I feel like an asshole for what happened.”

Ethan waves me off with a hand. “Miles will come around, don’t worry. He can’t stay mad at you forever. But you can’t stay in this room hoping something will change.”

With a huff, I run both of my hands down my face and groan. “Fine, if I go out with you tonight will you get the fuck off my back?”

He grins. “I can’t make any promises, but sure.”

***

I wish I hadn’t agreed to come out with Ethan. The strobe lights hitting my eyes are annoying me and the music blasting from the speakers above the stage is making my head pound. I haven’t fed in a few days because it’s been the last thing on my mind, so my senses are at an all-time high since my body is weaker than usual.

Every fucking thing is annoying me.

“Come on, Jay. Are you sure you don’t want a lap dance? It’ll be on the house,” Preston says, turning his head to look at me. I don’t acknowledge the woman grinding on his lap in what appears to be scraps of lingerie that barely covers anything.

When we arrived at the Clubhouse, I wasn’t expecting to see Preston and Cain standing by the entrance waiting for us. I should’ve known Ethan would invite them, but I was hoping he would keep it low-key. I forgot that isn’t his style. Whenever he does anything, he likes to go all out, even if it’s as simple as going to a strip club. What was supposed to be an outing to get him off my back has now turned into a group activity. Not surprisingly, Miles couldn’t join us because he went to Cindy’s house. Although, I am thankful considering we’re not on good terms at the moment. The apartment is… tense, to say the least. Very frosty, and that’s coming from me.

He’s never been this mad at me before, not even during all the years we spent growing up together. I’m sure if the anger was over anything else he would’ve gotten over it by now, but because Evie is involved it’s taken his emotions to a whole other level. I have no idea how long he’s going to stay mad at me or if he’ll ever forgive me. I can only hope he does because despite all the shit we’ve been through he’s still my best friend. I need him in my life.

It seems I’ve dug myself a grave at the tip of his shoes and I don’t see myself getting out of it anytime soon.

I fold my arms over my chest and look toward the stage. A woman wearing a thin red thong has her large tits out as she twirls around the pole in the center by her legs while older men sitting at tables beside the stage throw multiple one-dollar bills at her.

“I’m good, but you enjoy.”

Cain snorts from his seat beside Preston, looking at me past the woman on his lap. She is wearing a matching hot pink lingerie set, her nipples peeking through the thin material. “You’re such a bore, Black. Come on and let loose for tonight. There are plenty of girls to go around.”

“Look, it was hard enough to get him out of the house, so let’s enjoy this small win,” Ethan says. He too has a woman grinding on his lap with a seductive smile on her lips.

I roll my eyes and lean back further in the plush seat. The copious amounts of whiskey I have had tonight are doing nothing to dull the ache in my chest. All I can think about is Evie and if she’s doing okay. Miles hasn’t spoken about her this past week, which irritated me at first because I was waiting for any type of update on her but got nothing.

It would be easier to just text her back, I know that, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I needed to take a step back and let her heal in peace. Miles being pissed about the situation and now knowing we have been hanging together has complicated things more than I would have liked. It was inevitable, really. There was no way we were going to be able to keep him in the dark forever, but I was hoping we would have a little more time without him knowing.

Every night since the accident, I have dropped by the sorority house to check in on her, using the shadows to hide and watch from afar. Seeing her sleeping peacefully has put some of my mind at ease, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I hurt my little angel when I’m the one who is meant to protect her.

I grip the cool glass in front of me and bring it to my lips. The burn of the whiskey as it races down my throat is a welcome sensation. I just wish it would numb my mind for the rest of the night, but I would need a lot more than just a few glasses. I would need a whole goddamn bottle and more to get even remotely close to blacking out.

The thirst for blood gnaws at my stomach, but I fight back the urge. I can’t focus on the need to feed right now, especially not in this setting. But I can’t ignore the blood thrumming through the veins of the women at our table. It only intensifies the hunger building in my stomach, making my mind spin.

I close my eyes tightly and breathe through the ache, not wanting to accidentally reveal my red eyes to anyone at the table. That would be a fucking nightmare.

“Jay, you good?”

My eyes snap open at the sound of Ethan’s voice. His brows are drawn down in a frown and his face is filled with worry. He can probably sense my struggle.

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