Page 35 of Salacious Park Avenue Prince

I snorted. “Yeah, I’m not the one doing that.”

West’s eyes popped wide. My mouth was once again writing checks I shouldn’t be cashing.

“Where’s Daire with those damn drinks?”

“Fuck, man,” Daire grumbled as I spun around and all but ran into him. “Cool your tits.”

“I’m thirsty.” And needed something to do other than run my damn mouth. I was never this loose-lipped unless it involvedanotherset of lips—or cock—but something in the air was making me spill my secrets tonight.

“Jesus, Daire.” West eyed the tray Wayne, the trusty bartender, was holding full of shot glasses that were filled to the brim with clear liquor and littered with limes. “He said something strong, not something tokillhim.”

“I don’t care.” And at this point, I really didn’t. I wanted—no, needed—another drink, and then maybe a ball gag to shut me the fuck up. I snatched two shots off the tray, as did the rest of the guys, and on the count of three we slammed them back to back.

Fuck.West might be right. That shit might just kill me. But when I spotted a lone glass left on the tray, I reached for it. Damn the consequences.

The alcohol lit a fiery path all the way down to my toes, and when my eyes stopped watering from the sheer intensity of it, they once again found Caleb through the flickering flames, and the look on his face was one I knew all too well.

Disapproval. Or maybe it was disappointment? Either way, it was so intrinsically Caleb that I wasn’t even surprised to see it there.

It was familiar. Almostcomfortable.

My dick didn’t respond tothatlook at all.

In fact, there wasn’t one thing here right now that my cockwasinterested in besides what it shouldn’t be, and that was just sad—to look as good as I did, be asavailableas I was, and be hanging around at a party with all of my hooked-up friends.

Ugh, this was all wrong. I needed to get out of here. I’d shown my face. Shown that I could play nice—by staying at least six feet away from Caleb at all times. Now it was time to get the fuck out.

I turned to the only person I’d even consider as my wingman tonight.

“East, you wanna bounce?”

His eyes narrowed a fraction, then he put his empties on the tray and nodded.

West looked over his shoulder to JT. “Why don’t you wait, and the rest of us?—”

“The rest of you aren’t invited.”

“Like I give a fuck.” Daire headed off to no doubt find the only person he did give a fuck about.

West, on the other hand, was not so easy to get rid of. “Seriously, let me tell everyone, and we’ll?—”

“Stay right here. This is a singles-only kind of night.”

“Caleb’s single.”

“He doesn’t count.” I turned back to the lone bachelor of the group. “East?”

He shrugged and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. “Sorry, friend, better go find your Golden Boy to cuddle up to.”

TEN

caleb

A DISTANT SOUND somewhere in the condo pulled me from the sleep I’d finally succumbed to after the party I’d been dragged to against my will.

It hadn’t been all that bad, as it turned out, since the main reason I hadn’t wanted to go up and left about thirty minutes in. No surprise there—Travis hadn’t exactly been rolling the red carpet out for me since I’d moved in. That his friends had decided toembracethe change seemed to piss him off to no end.

Not that I could blame him.We’d been in a vicious cycle for years now, where the only kind of contact we had was volatile, and now I was trespassing on his turf.

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