Page 16 of Forgive You

5

The second I walked into the venue, I regretted going in the first place.

But witnessing the straight-up lust on my little witch and her fiery brown eyes as she checks me out makes up for enough to get me through half the night.

“Does Hunter know you’re parading with his ex?” There’s an edge to her voice that pleases me to the core.

“Julie, you remember Mia?” Sarcasm drips from my question, because we both know she hasn’t forgotten about the girl who won prom queen in our senior year.

She can’t stand her.

A slick hand slides onto my upper arm, and Julie’s big brown eyes turn from heated to two different shades of green. Clearly disgusted by my choice of date, her gaze falls on the women beside me with something that I’m labeling as jealousy because, fuck me, this is what’s going to get me through the other half of the night.

“Mia, of course, one of Hunter’s groupies. What is it that you wanted to be when you grew up? Actress? Singer?”

Julie’s blonde hair cascades over her shoulders in perfectly straightened strands, the tips dancing over the golden sequins of her dress as she puts her phone in her bag to try to hide the long roll of her eyes.

Amused by her annoyance, my pulsing heartbeat tempts me to scan her curves, creating unwilling action beneath my pants zipper.

Her sleeves are long, the fabric covering her entire upper body, with a little golden band that accentuates her waist. But it’s the combination of that sparkly dress and those long, exposed legs moving underneath it that pushes my teeth into my lip. The welcome pain enables me to prevent the throbbing limb between my legs from growing at the sight of her.

“Model,” Mia cheers because, apparently, she’s oblivious to Julie’s lack of sincerity.

“Oh, yeah, tomayto tomahto.” Julie waves her answer away, with no sign of a ring on her finger, might I add, then shoots me an unapproving glare.Whatever.

“No date, Jules? Jacob stood you up again?” But I almost swallow my words when the young version of my father comes strolling around the corner with that same devilish gleam, as always.

What the fuck?

My fingers start to tingle, and I force them into fists, squeezing tightly to keep my cool. Which is a fucking challenge because I’m aching to punch him in the fucking face just for existing.

His arrogant gaze finds mine for a split second, before he removes all disdain from his features and plasters a dashing smile on his lips when he fixes his attention on Mia.

“Oh, yay, there he is,” Julie clips with annoyed eyes.

“I remember you. Mia, right?” Smoothly, he slides behind Julie, placing his hand on her lower back before taking the spot next to her like he belongs there, then offers Mia his free hand.

I can’t believe she would choose him over me. After all he’s done to her. After all the times she cried in my arms.After our night together.

My heart feels like it’s being ripped out of my chest all over again just by looking at these two because I just can’t comprehend it.

“Mia, this is Jacob,” I mutter. “My idiot brother.”

“Hi, Jacob.” Mia beams, her eyes fixed on Jacob, and now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.

Of course, they’ve met. They’ve probably fucked too, because when Jacob graduated and went to a college close to home, he decided that fucking his way throughmysenior year was also a good idea.

“Brother, nice to see you still have that stick up your ass,” Jacob says.

For a moment, I’m debating how pissed my mother would be if I gave him a black eye to match his tuxedo. She’d probably make me do chores every time I visit for a year.Hmm, it could be worth it.

“What do you think, Jason?” Jordan comes to stand beside me, Ford joining in next to him, the same annoyed energy rippling from his body before his gaze finds mine. “Shall I try to pull it out and hit him with it over the head?”

I blink at my younger brother, not sure what to think about the noise that just rolled out of his throat.

“Is this your way of sticking up for me?” I am questioning, genuinely having no clue.

“Yeah, literally.” He shrugs with a look that saysduhas I hear Julie chuckle and change the direction of my glare.

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