Page 42 of Burn With Me

I shrug his arm off. “They might not, but I’m here with them. I’ll be staying here to hang out with my friends.”

“What she’s trying to say is you should just leave her be because no means no,” Pam says, glaring at him.

“Well, good thing it isn’t up to you, Pam,” he sneers.

“No, for real, Brian, please leave,” I say and lean back as far as I can, giving Pam a look, knowing she’ll know exactly what I’m asking her to do.

She grabs her phone and fires off a text.

“I don’t know why you have to be such a tease, Amelia. We would be so good together,” he says and leans right next to my ear. “You’ll give me a chance one day soon. And by then, you won’t have a choice.”

With a shudder coursing through me, I open my mouth to say something when I hear a familiar voice off to the side.

“Sheriff Brian, an upstanding citizen like yourself wouldn’t be making Amelia feel uncomfortable, now would you?” Farmer Joe says.

“Just Brian, sir, I’m off duty and no. I’m just asking if Amelia would like to have a drink with me,” he says, with the fakest megawatt smile I’ve ever seen.

I grab my phone from next to Pam and shoot a text off to Luke.

Why?

I’m not sure because I know Pam texted Sam to see if he can come get us since we have two cars here and only one sober me.

“Funny, I thought I heard Amelia tell you she was hanging out with her friends. Not only would your father be upset with your behavior, but an officer like yourself wouldn’t push yourself on anyone . . . right?”

If I weren’t sitting right next to Brian, I would have missed his jaw tick at Farmer Joe’s words. My phone vibrates, and I sneak a glance at Luke’s response.

Luke: Of course I can, sweetness. We were just wrapping up

We’re leaving now and will be there in ten tops.

I immediately relax as I read his words.

“No, sir, I’m just heading back to my table. I’ll talk to you soon, Amelia,” he says, and the look in his eye tells me all I need to know. He isn’t happy about the situation, but there’s nothing he can do about it.

As he leaves, Luna says, “Why is he such a creep? I hate men like that.”

I just look at her because I don’t think I’ve ever seen her mad before.

“Same. I don’t know why everyone thinks he’s a good guy. I’ve known he was a dick since elementary school,” Abby says.

“Thanks for the backup, Joe. As always, you’re a rock star!” Pam says.

“My pleasure, ladies. Let me know if you need anything. The next round is on me!” he says as he walks back to his table with Ann.

As the next round arrives, I’m glad we asked the guys to come get us because while I could drive us all home, we would be missing a car . . . and for a Thursday, that would be a pain even if it was worth it.

Eighteen

Ameila

I’m trying to wrangle Pam to make sure she doesn’t wander while we wait for the guys to come get us.

Regardless of how old we get, that’s the one thing she always does when we go out and she starts drinking. I love her, but I’m tired, and it seems Luna is also a wanderer when drinking. Next time I’m going to put a GPS tracker on them so it’s easier.

I was having a blast tonight . . . I am having a blast, but after the Brian encounter, I’m just ready to head home.

I’m laughing at something Abby is talking about when I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and my breath catches when I see Luke walking toward me like he’s on a mission.

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