Page 131 of Always You

“Laurie?” I opt after a moment of silence.

Finally, she slowly turns her attention my way, followed by a roll of her sharp eyes.

“What?”

“Behave,” I growl, digging my fingers a little deeper into her flesh.

“I always behave!” I just hold her gaze, shooting her a dull expression. She can be really sweet, bringing me my coffee in bed or cooking dinner after a long day at the gym, even though she can’t cook for shit. But in public? Or with her friends? She can be as nice as a feral cat, claws and everything.

“Fine!” she mutters, then pulls my arm when the new Ed Sheeran song ricochets through the venue. “Hunter, please dance with me.” Brown eyes peer up at me from underneath her fake lashes, and I let my gaze drop a little lower down the cleavage of her silver dress. The swell of her breasts lures me into the fantasy of ripping it off her body later tonight, but when they lower a little bit more to her bright red painted lips, it vanishes as quickly as it came. She’s hot and fun. As much as people might not believe it, when it’s just me and her, she’s just a normal girl. Strolling around the house in yoga leggings and a hoodie, no make-up on, eating a bag of chips while watching some boring reality show. I live for those moments. It’s the moments like this, when she’s all dolled up and glued to her phone, that I’m wondering how the hell I ended up here.

“No thanks, honey. I’ll pass.”

“Oh, come on, you love to dance.”

A crooked smile and a smart remark settles on my tongue, but I’m cut off before I can open my mouth.

“He hates to dance,” Jason chimes in.

“He does not.” I don’t miss the fire in her gaze and simultaneously roll my eyes, already dreading what’s coming.Here we go again.

“He’d rather run a stick up his ass than dance.”

“Then why does he dance with me?” Laurie replies, trying to sound smug. Not sure if she means all the times she’s been grinding her ass in my groin when we go out, but I wouldn’t qualify that as dancing. More like foreplay.

“Clearly because he’s whipped.” Jensen smirks from behind his tumbler.

A humorless chuckle lifts from Jason’s chest before he takes a sip of his drink. “More like chained,” he mutters.

“He’sin love.” Laurie emphasizes every word, but Jason just throws her an unfazed expression and shrugs.

“I’m sticking withchained.”

“Definitely chained,” Jensen agrees.

“You two are such assholes.” She points her finger between the two of them, accompanied by a death glare that’s supposed to scare them. It’s cute, because all it does is fuel these two fuckers to keep pushing. Especially Jason. He has never made it a secret that he’s not a fan of Laurie, and the feeling is completely mutual, if you’d ask my girlfriend.

“Never said I wasn’t, sweetheart.” Jensen laughs cynically, and Jason lifts his glass at her.

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”

The air thickens, and from the corner of my eye, Emily shifts a little, uncomfortable in her chair, as Jason and Laurie are having their own personal pissing contest at who can look the scariest. Jason’s features darken, though an evil grin haunts his face while Laurie narrows her eyes in a lingering way. I’m torn between lifting to my feet and getting myself another drink or being thegatekeeper for these two.Why can’t they just get along?Or at least fucking pretend they do.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she finally declares. Her words are thick and heavy, a clear statement that runs deeper than just her potential departure when we go home.

Jason snorts. “Trust me, I know.”

Laurie huffs next to me, and I rest my palm on her arm to ease her down a little. I’m not in the mood to pull my girlfriend off of my best friend because she’s clawing his eyes out, and just one glance at her tells me she’s ready to eat him alive.

“Okay, that’s enough. Why don’t you go get us a drink, and I’ll meet you there in a minute.” I send her a pleading look. Her red lips purse, as if she’s contemplating what to do, before she flips Jason off and gets up.

“Are you coming, Emily?”

I release my pent-up breath when both girls walk away, and I snap my attention between my two friends like it’s a goddamn tennis match.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Both of you.”

“What’s wrong with us? You’re dating her, man.” Jason casually takes another sip of his drink, not hiding how he feels. In fact, it’s dripping from his five o’clock shadow and blue eyes that are now as dark as the deepest point in the Atlantic.

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