Page 74 of Finding Delaware

Speak of the devil.

Taylor somehow crept up on me, appearing at my side with a smirk on his lips, his moto jacket tied at the waist with a shirt depicting Barbie dressed as a flag girl covering his torso.

Still with the weird fucking shirts.

Scowling at him, I try to ignore studying the tattoos that cover his arms. “What’s cute?”

“The earmuffs,” he laughs, and my cheeks heat as I reach up to yank them off.

“Forgot they were on.”

He smiles, biting his lip in the annoying way he does, and my gaze lowers to study the bruises covering his neck. A sick feeling settles in my gut, something between horror and satisfaction at my marks on him. His throat flexes as he swallows, and my eyes snap back to his.

Tucking a dark strand behind his ear, he clears his throat. “Did you enjoy the show?”

There’s a waver in his voice, almost like he’s...nervous?

I cock a brow with a shrug. “Suicide prevention, huh? Bit hypocritical.”

The minute it’s out of my mouth, I hear how petty it sounds, but I can’t help it. After the shit he put me through, hearing him say those words felt like a slap to the face.

Taylor’s smile immediately disappears, leaving an odd, empty feeling in me when a flash of pain crosses his features. It tugs at my heart, but I don’t give a fuck because he doesn’t deserve sympathy.

“I’m trying to move on and do better, Huck,” he says quietly, sad eyes holding my gaze. “That’s all I can do.”

“Some of us don’t have the luxury of moving on,” I respond before returning to Logan. He’s got an arm around Salem with a drink in his hand, laughing at something one of the truck drivers says.

Inwardly, I groan. Clearly, this means we’re staying a while. And I’m not about to do it sober.

Making my way to the liquor table, I grab an empty solo cup and fix myself a drink, not even caring if it’s for the staff only. There aren’t many options, but I bartended for two summers in Cali and know what I like, so I make myself a Highball with whiskey and ginger ale before returning to my best friend, getting irritated when I spot Taylor leaning into Logan’s other side, opposite Salem.

He’s massaging his shoulder, staring at the ground with a frown, and something like possessiveness twists in my gut. Because Logan’smyfriend, not his. So why the fuck is he leaning against him like that?

Gulping down my drink, I glare as Salem reaches over Logan to grab Taylor’s jaw, tilting it up. He gives her a smile, and she searches his face for several seconds before she turns those gray eyes toward me. I stiffen at the fire I see in them. Like she’s pissed at me or something. So I jut my chin and stare her down because what the hell did I do?

Her lips tighten, but she returns to whatever conversation they’re having with a man and woman in business suits. Taylor eventually joins in, resting his elbow on Logan’s shoulder like they’re pals. A pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind, and he looks down with a smile at a petite brunette wearing a lovely dress. He pulls her in for a hug and kisses the top of herhead, all while his arm still touches Logan, and in this moment, I’ve never felt like more of an outsider.

Watching my best friend become a stranger.

Logan pre-Salem would have never cozied up to my enemy like that. But here he is, laughing at something Taylor says while they’re practically hugging. When did they get so comfortable with each other? What is that about? Downing the rest of my first drink, I make myself another.

“Damn, man, what happened to your neck?” One of the monster truck drivers, a man looking to be in his forties with a grizzled beard, inspects the bruises on Taylor’s throat, and I stiffen, waiting for him to throw me under the bus.

But Taylor just shrugs and flashes a coy smile. “Got a little too kinky in the bedroom, you know?”

The woman at his side laughs, eyeing him like a full meal, while the truck driver shakes his head.

“Well, throw out your safe word next time or something cuz that looks rough, buddy.”

I feel eyes on me and slide my attention to Salem, who’s watching me again. Awareness prickles my scalp, telling me she knows I’m the reason for Taylor’s bruises, so I sip my drink while challenging her with my gaze to do something about it.

She just raises a hand to itch her eye with her middle finger, a clear ‘fuck you,’ before grabbing Taylor by the shirt and hauling him away toward another group of people.

The minute they’re gone, I pounce on Logan.

“This isn’t weird to you, like at all?” I hiss in his ear, and he turns to me in surprise, looking for all the world like he forgot I was even here. Which pisses me off even more.

“What’s weird?”

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