Page 65 of Say It Slowly

Roman’s gruff baritone comes through the receiver. “Meet me out front.”

Uh. “Why?”

He pushes out a frustrated breath. I can hear the music from inside in the background, but it’s not overly loud, so he must be in a room inside the house somewhere, or already out front. “Just do it, Lux.Jesus.”

“I respectfully decline,” I say, then hang up before he can respond.

Theaudacityof this guy, I swear. He brings another girl here, then what thinks he can just order me around again? Not happening.

I shove my phone back into my waistband, then turn my attention back to Ash. “Sorry about that.”

He lifts a brow. “Who was it?”

I shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. What were we saying?” I pause. “Oh, right. Roman is an ass, and heobviouslymoved on, so…” I shrug to show just how unaffected I am by it.

“Right,” Ash laughs, flashing those sexy dimples.

I finish my whiskey and fall into conversation with Ash. We talk about Bree, classes, surfing…and theentire time, my phone is dinging like a goddamn pinball machine. I do my best to ignore it, but five minutes in I’m ready to chuck my phone into the ocean. I’d turn it off, but Bree could text me any minute.

My phone ringsyet again,and again, I ignore it.

“Someone isreallytrying to get ahold of you,” Ash says. “You sure you don’t want to get that?”

I shake my head, and all of a sudden, my vision gets blurry. I blink and touch my phone, but I don’t take it out of my waistband. “No, it’s okay. It’s just someone wanting me to renew my subscription.” The words come out slurred, but I’m sure he got the gist of what I’m saying.

His eyes narrow, and he steps forward to grab my arm. “Are you okay, Lux? What was that you drank?”

I sway a little and try to think, but everything around me is moving, so it’s hard to focus. The cup was mine. It was the one I’d grabbed from the kitchen earlier. I did leave it unattended for a couple of minutes…

I glance around, trying to get my bearings, and that’s when I see something that stops me cold. A familiar face in the crowd of people on the patio.

Tyler.

He’s standing there, tucked amid a group of people playing beer pong. They’re laughing and cheering, but he’s not playing. He’s too busy staring at me.

My heart stops, and I blink several times to clear the fog from my vision. When I finally do, he’s gone.

“Where is he?” I ask, looking around frantically, but the quick movement causes me to lose my balance, and I start falling face-first into the wood planks beneath my feet.

Ash lunges for me. “Shit, Lux,” he hisses, catching me.

How nice of him.

He rights me, and I try explaining what I just saw, but it must be coming out weird because Ash doesn’t seem to be picking up what I’m putting down. He’s on his phone, talking to someone, one hand gripping my arm, so I don’t topple over.

Yup. The last drink was probably one drink too many.

At some point, I see the sliding glass door open from the corner of my eye, and someone tall walks out. I’m not sure who it is, because all of a sudden I’mincrediblytired, and my eyelids are so heavy, that it’s impossible to keep them open. Just atinysleep and I’ll be ready to party again. I feel my body start to crumble.

Somewhere floating around me, I hear voices—two guys—but I’m not really listening to what they’re saying.

“Lux.” Oh, that’s Roman’s voice.

I have no idea what’s happening, but I’m happy he’s here. I feel his large body as he pulls me against him. I’m tired. So unbelievably tired. I press my face into his chest and inhale, drawing in his beachy musky scent. And it comforts me. It makes me feel safe.

“Mmm,” I moan, my head spinning.

He gathers me more tightly against him, and surrounded by his warmth, I allow myself to let go, and tumble down the dark, fathomless rabbit hole…

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