Page 91 of Crush

Strike that, what if she’darrangedto meet the fucker?

The emotions running riot inside me were like torture. I kept checking my phone, wondering when Amber would message me to tell me he’d made contact.

After letting myself in through the main gates, I jogged to my office and collected the plans I had intended to work on that night. I felt my phone vibrate and relief pooled into me.

Making my way back to my car, I checked for messages from Amber.

Fuckingnothing. Just two missed calls from Gabe. I was back to being ghosted again. My palms itched to pound her backside for lying to me. How I’d love to see that adorable shade of pink her arse cheeks had turned that second time I’d spanked her.

All night I stewed and on Friday morning she called in sick. That pissed me off even more as it meant I couldn’t confront her. We had come so far and she was closing off again. What if Amberwantedto get back with him? We hadn’t said we were exclusive or even together for that matter. To be honest, we hadn’ttalkedabout what we were doing at all. Maybe she thought it was just physical. That thought pissed me off even more.

You have feelings for her. You want her to need you.

I caved and sent her a message to encourage her to tell mesomethingabout seeing him, even though she had no idea I knew he had turned up.

Sorry to hear you’re ill. How are you feeling? Do you want me to get you anything?

No. It’s just cramps. Nothing exciting.

Is everything OK?I messaged.

Yes, fine x.

Amber waskeepinghis visit from me. Why? I feltwounded. She was pushing buttons I never knew I had.

The rest of our conversation followed the same pattern. She saidnothingabout Harker and I contemplated calling Dexter to ask him what the prick had wanted.

After what felt like the shittest day ever, I arranged to meet my friend Adam at Aquarius. I needed to smoke and drink and try and forget that Amber was yet again hiding shit from me.

At the club, the night just went from bad to worse. Leonie Smith appeared on stage dancing in a corset and stockings. What the actual hell? I thought she’d left and was working at Felice’s. I toyed with not getting involved as Gabriel was still singing the same bullshit that nothing was going on between them. But I knew I had a duty to my friends. To both Gabe and Leonie. She had no business being up on stage and so scantily dressed wiggling her arse for all and sunder.

So, I called Gabe and he went ape shit on me. He was driving and sounded like he’d crashed his Range Rover. The one his driver Marco usually drove.

To cut a long story short, Gabriel came into the club like the proverbial possessive boyfriend who had just been told that his girlfriend was working in a strip club. He’d stormed over to the stage before I could stop him. Leonie had been in the middle of her number and boy, she looked hot. I hadneverseen my best friend looking so furious. I remembered the time I’d twatted him for saying my eyelashes were girly and had almost broken his nose, that expression wastamein comparison.

As two of the bouncers started to draw towards him, I knew I had a job to do. Gabe needed back up and I had always been the muscle of our friends. I sure hoped he hadn’t brought his fucking gun.

Gabriel threw Leonie over his shoulder and all hell broke loose. I’d only grabbed one of the bouncers by the back of the neck to have a brief word, maybe slide him a twenty to walk away, but he’d turned around and hit me in the face.

After seeing Amber with that prick, Harker and her not telling me about it uncaged my monster and I plucked up an empty beer bottle and crashed it down on the guy's head. This sprayed beer over a couple of women who in turn leapt to their feet, one throwing herself onto my back.

A full-on fight ensued. It was like those scraps you saw on American TV with chairs and stuff flying around. I lost track of who was fighting who at one point, throwing my fists this way and that, attempting not to hit any of the women who were also brawling like street rats.

Eventually, the police arrived and a few of us were taken into custody.

I spent what felt like thelongestnight locked up, without my phone or my wallet, stewing about what was happening with Amber.

*****

In the morning once I had sobered up, I was given my phone and wallet back and some documents that I had to sign. Something about damage to the club and details of the charges and I felt like a teenage hooligan. I was a grown man and had ended up fighting like a stupid youth.

My mouth was as dry as fuck as I left the police station at Charing Cross. I’d sent numerous messages to Amber to ask if she’d pick me up, I needed to see her and know she wasn’t with that fucker.

I was about to call an Uber when my phone vibrated. Thankfully it wasn’t Gabriel, I didn’t want him to know I’d been arrested as he’d take the piss out of me for months. It was Natalie. I toyed with the idea of not answering. She’dtried me several times when I’d been at the charity ball with Amber. It was almost like she hadn’t got the message about me ending things that day.

I answered and did the pussy thing by asking her to pick me up. She was only too eager. I felt like a dick for using her but I’d have to wait ages for an Uber, it was Saturday morning in London and gridlocked.

It took her a while in traffic but eventually, Natalie arrived. She climbed out of her Peugeot 208. It was a tiny car. Would I even fit in there?

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