Page 12 of Line of Resistance

A second later a giant hand slapped down on the bar, pinning a credit card against the surface. “Put her on my tab.”

Eloise tossed back a steeling gulp of her drink before turning her costume of a smile Nate’s way. “That’s awful nice of you to pay for everyone’s drinks.”

His eyes focused solely on her as Kirk snagged his credit card and disappeared toward the register. “Not everyone’s. Just yours.”

She worked so hard to be the kind of friend who didn’t rock the boat, but this man made it incredibly difficult to accomplish. Her next words slid right out, sharp and full of venom. “Stop it.”

She expected him to play stupid. Act all innocent and wide-eyed like he didn’t know what she meant.

Instead, Nate shook his head. “No.”

The unexpectedness of his refusal made her scoff. “Yes.”

This was normally when the other person would realize she wasn’t all she pretended to be and they’d go on their merry little way, glad to be rid of her. But Nate stood firm, lips barely quirking as his eyes continued to hold hers. “No.”

Part of her wanted to stay and argue with him. To point out that he hadn’t had any trouble stopping on more than one occasion. But she was already frustrated and flustered and didn’t want it to bleed over into the way she acted around her friends. Friends she desperately wanted to keep.

“Fine.” Eloise snagged her drink, lifting it up and offering Nate a smirk. “But you’re gonna regret it.”

She spun away and marched to the table they always sat at, dropping her drink to the surface a little harder than she intended. The solid clink of the heavy glass against the wood dragged all eyes her way. The smile she gave them was purely on reflex as she unbuttoned the front of her heavy coat. “We’re going to kick ass tonight.”

She turned away just long enough to sling the coat over the back of her chair, then grabbed her drink and downed two more gulps, nearly choking on the combination of sugar and fizz. “What are we naming our team tonight?” For a second the evening almost felt normal as she slid into her role as team cheerleader, full of plastered on smiles and mustered up enthusiasm. But then a deep voice cut into the moment. A deep, unfamiliar voice.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Eloise blinked as the question registered. She slowly craned her neck to the side and found the proverbial tall, dark, and handsome standing next to her, an easy smile softening the sharp angles of his features as his gaze drank her in. Her throat constricted, swallowing hard all on its own.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t be a complete pile of dookie after all.

“Fuck off, Luca.” Nate sliced between them, his large body blocking her view of the other man. “Her tab’s already been taken care of.”

Luca cocked a black brow, looking undaunted and unbothered by Nate’s appearance. “That’s a shame.” His dark gaze slid to where Naomi stood. “I thought we were friends, Nay.”

Naomi rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “My friend group isn’t interested in being your personal dating pool, Luca.”

Luca leaned around Nate, his outrageously tall body crowding Eloise’s space as his smirking lips came close to her ear. “Let me know if you get tired of pretty boy.”

“Touch her and I will rip your fucking hand off.” Nate’s tone was dark and deadly as his eyes locked on where Luca’s palm hovered close to the small of her back. “And I don’t think Zeke will be happy if his best driver is down a hand.”

Luca smirked, lifting both palms up in fake surrender. One that became even less genuine when he shot her a wink over Nate’s shoulder.

Eloise glared at Nate as the gorgeous man who was exactly what she was hoping to meet tonight angled his body through the crowd. It was one thing for him not to want her, but standing in the way of her finding someone who might actually be interested?

It was fucked-up and had her more than ready to make good on the threat she dished out at the bar.

Eloise turned to Jen and Naomi, the wicked smile on her face so much more real than the one she normally wore. “Who wants shots?” She shifted her eyes to Nate. “They’re on me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

NATE

THIS WAS NOT how he expected the evening to go. Not just because Eloise came sauntering out of her apartment in a dress that should be illegal and a pair of shoes that brought him dangerously close to imagining what they might feel like digging into his back, but also because she was now pounding shots of tequila like it was her job. And each one was punctuated by a glare in his direction, making it clear he was the reason her liver was suffering.

“I’ll be right back.” He walked away from the table, temporarily abandoning the women as they continued to cackle and snort, completely unaware of his absence.

He reached the bar and closed out his tab before requesting three glasses of water. While he waited, Luca slid in beside him. “Didn’t realize you had your sights set on one of Naomi’s friends.” He shifted, turning to prop his back against the bar, eyes finding Eloise. “Kind of upset I didn’t run across her first. She looks like hell on wheels.”

“She doesn’t normally look that way.” He couldn’t stop himself from grumbling about the sudden change in the squeaky-clean principal. He’d liked her before. Fell hard for the way she used made-up swear words and was full of sunshine and butterflies. But now? Now that he realized how much more was lurking beneath the innocent and bubbly exterior?

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