Page 29 of From You to Me

And she screamed.

I couldn’t help but scream back.

“The fuck,” Gabe screamed too. A couple making out in the hallway stopped their session to cast us a “they are probably nutheads” look.

“Evy! What are you doing here?” Lily cried out.

“Lily, I can’t believe you’re here.” We both clutched each other, jumping like idiotic fools who hadn’t just seen each other yesterday.

“Wait, I want in too,” Gabe moaned.

I pulled back from Lily and wobbled till I held the wall for support. “OMG! Lily, meet my best friend, Gabe!”

“Hello! Evy’s best friend.” She grinned like a fool, gesturing to her. “I’m Evy’s best friend too.”

Gabe squealed. “We both are Evy’s best friend.” And soon, we all broke into a fit of laughter for no apparent reason that lasted for a good minute.

God, we were so drunk.

“Evy, you should come upstairs. It’s so boring with the guys.”

My body froze, and a bit of the happy booze plummeted to the floor in an instant. The guys meant Jay was here. And he was thelast person I wanted to see tonight, especially after everything that transpired between us this morning.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lily,” I said softly.

“Don’t worry about my brother, Evy. If he’s an ass, I’ll put him in his place.”

“I-I…”

“Wait, you are THE Lily! That means your brother is J.J. Does that mean the Four Foxes are here? The same place as me.” Gabe cut in, clapping his hands in excitement.

“Yes.” Lily giggled softly.

Gabe grabbed my hand, shaking me. “Evy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I swear I’m never going to have a chance to meet the Four Foxes ever in my life. I mean, when do you think I’ll ever have a chance to meet the rock god in real life ever again.”

I shook my head. “Trust me, he doesn’t want to meet us.”

“Lily said it’ll be fine. Please, Evy. Please,” Gabe pleaded, giving me his puppy dog eyes, and I couldn’t help but relent.

“Fine.” I blew out a breath.

“Yay,” Lily and Gabe both squealed, enveloping me in a bear hug. And I needed more alcohol to face the devil that held my heart upstairs.

“Guy, what are you doing here? You’ve been gone forever?” Rory frowned.

Gabe detached himself from us, telling the exciting news to him while Lily dragged me upstairs.

The guards immediately let us in, nodding to someone behind us. I frowned, turning around to see that it was Tyler. I didn’t even realize he was following us the whole time. I guess he was here to keep an eye on Lily.

I could feel the tether in my heart pulling with each step I took. He was there; I could feel it.

The room upstairs was darker, shrouded in a cloud of smoke and the music was a low thud and more tasteful than the rest. A circular window surrounded the entire room, giving a bird’s-eye view to the downstairs floor. Three poles stood in the center; women dressed in the tiniest pieces of clothes glimmering with glitters all over their bodies were sprawled over the poles in positions I could never even dream of achieving. The crowd felt more elite as if you could smell the money in the air.

My eyes couldn’t help but drag to the man reclining in the crescent-shaped leather lounge, looking oh-so devious, dressed in pure black. As if he could sense me, his eyes flashed straight to mine. They widened a fraction but returned to his signature hard stare.

My breath hitched as a chill washed over me, and the air felt colder.

I averted my gaze to the tiny, slender hand perfectly manicured with long, elaborate sharp claws clutching the pads of his leather jacket. An intrusive thought hit me—the exhilarating feeling of breaking every single bone in that hand