Page 101 of Always You

I twist my head at his annoyed face, narrowing his eyes on me. “She’s yourbest friend. You’re not together, and she’s leaving in two days. Stop touching the damn girl!”

Rolling my eyes, a guilty feeling trickles down my skin, and I quickly take a sip of my drink to ignore it. “What are you talking about? I’m not doing shit.”

“Oh, no?” He scowls, then flutters his eyes at me, placing his hand on my knee, then strokes the back of my neck in a mocking way and finally slapping me over the head. “This isnotwhat best friends do. You keep touching her like she’s yours. She’s not.”

“Whatever. What do you care, anyway?”

“Because you’re confusing her! In two days, she’s gonna get on that plane and fly back to North Carolina. If you’re going to keep acting like you two are together, you’ll break her heart all over again. She doesn’t deserve that. Stop confusing yourself and stop confusingher,” he blurts with annoyance, narrows his eyes on me.

I hate how fucking right he is, but the biggest issue is I don’t know how to stop it. I don’t know how to rein in my impulses when it comes to Charlotte, and the longer I hold Jason’s stern expression, the more I realize this was all one big mistake.

I should’ve never let her fly out here, because I knew it was going to be torture for both of us.

“That is …” Jensen chimes in, “unless she is more than your friend.”

With a bucketload of guilt, I flick my gaze to Jason as a knowing look appears on his face, challenging me to tell them otherwise, and I hold his gaze as I swallow hard.Fuck.It hurts, but I’ll give her what she asked for.

“No, she’s my friend. Nothing more. She made that perfectly clear,” I answer resolutely, remembering the day I flew out here.

“It was one night, Hunter. We shouldn’t put it all on the line for one night. It means that we’ll go back to being best friends. It’s the only option.”

“Then fucking treat her like that,” Jason barks, deep blue eyes flashing with a little anger.

I nod in agreement, knowing he’s right, as I grab my glass from the table, pouring the rest of the contents down my throat, then I snap my hand at the security guy with an approved look. She wants it like this, and I’m the bastard who will give her what she wants.

He gives me a nod, before he does the same to the security guy down the stairs and a few girls move up the stairs a few seconds later.

“Nowthat’swhat I’m talking about,” Jensen cheers beside me, and I rest my back into the couch, letting my eyes roam over a brunette who’s fluttering her lashes at me. She looks a few years older than I am, a gold dress hugging her curves. She’s hot. Not Charlotte gorgeous, but hot enough to make a point. And by the relentless thumping of my heart that’s telling me I’m making a mistake, a point definitely needs to be made. For Charlotte. And for me. We’refriends.

“Hunt, are you sure you want to do this?” Jason scolds.

“What? You thought I was bluffing.” I swallow the bile back into my stomach, keeping a straight face. He’s the one who said I should treat her as my friend and nothing more. The only way to get that message across is to do it drastically.

“Your funeral, man.” He rubs a hand over his face, frustration washing his expression, clearly not happy with the decision I made.

I give him a comforting smile as my attention is stolen by the girl taking a seat on my lap. Her face is caked in make-up,probably making her prettier than she really is, and her boobs seem to barely fit in her metallic dress, but my dick doesn’t care when she slowly grinds her ass on my lap following the beat of the music. I quickly glance at Jensen, who’s giving me a thumbs up, then lay my head back and close my eyes, enjoying the friction going on between my pants. My heart is yelling at me to stop, knowing this is not the girl I want on my lap tonight, but my mind wins the battle.

My mind knows the girl I want is no longer an option.

My mind knows the girl I want will be on a plane back to North Carolina by the end of tomorrow.

I can’t put my focus on Charlotte, because life gave us both a different set of cards to play with.

I need to cut Charlotte loose, because she deserves more than what I can offer. Even if it means breaking her heart in the process.

35

Iwish I’d put my foot down and told him I didn’t want to go tonight.

Walking into the bathroom, I’m reminded once more that I’m no longer in North Carolina as I look at the gold metallic walls, with another chandelier hanging in the center of the room. The area is spacious, like you need to have some bathroom etiquette just to be allowed to touch the faucets, yet there are only four stalls, all occupied.

I wait patiently for a stall to open, glancing at myself in front of the mirror, hoping I still look somewhat presentable, even though I know I definitely don’t look like your typical LA girl. My green eyes are staring back at me with a sad look on my face, and I shake my head, trying to get rid of it.

As much as I love hearing all the shit Hunter and Jason have been up to, it also feels like he’s slipping further away from me the more they tell me. He seems to blend into this world really easily, and I’m not even surprised, because he’s that type of guy.

That type of guy who mesmerizes people with his boyish grin, captivates you with his charming words, and has enough confidence to persuade you to follow his lead. LA might have brought him here, but he’ll be king of the city soon enough.

I can already see it.

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