Page 16 of Take What You Want

That is until he dated one of my best friends our sophomore year. When it ended badly, it tainted my friendship with her and she cut me off because she couldn’t stand to be around Walker. And clearly, he wasn’t going anywhere in my life.

So, I made him promise me that he would never date another one of my friends and risk the same thing happening again. In return, he made me promise the same thing. At the time, I didn’t think twice before agreeing, because he and Nikolai were just starting to hang out and all I saw was the player that he was and never thought he would be someone I’d be interested in. Or that he’d ever be interested in me.

So we made that pact and stuck by it.

Until I didn’t.

Until I broke it that one night, and then many nights after that.

I hate having secrets from him, and I know Nikolai does too. But we both agreed that it was best to keep things to ourselves for the sake of the band and both of our relationships with Walker.

There were many times when I was heartbroken and all I wanted to do was confide in him, but as Nikolai and I rebuilt our friendship and tried to put the past behind us, I kept it to myself. It’s what was best for everyone.

We eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both savoring the juicy meat and piles of sides that Nikolai ordered. Mashed potatoes, broccolini, truffle mac and cheese, sauteed mushrooms. I forgot what it’s like to go out to eat with him. He can never choose just one thing, never wants to limit himself, and always ends up ordering almost half of the menu.

“I see you still do that.”

I glance up mid-bite. “What?”

He uses his knife to point to a small piece of steak I’ve set off to the side of my plate. “Save what you deem to be the best biteof food until the end of the meal,” he says, chewing his own bite. “You always set it to the side like that.”

It’s a subconscious thing at this point, but the piece does have the perfect char on the outside.

“Well, I want to savor it.”

“But you could choke in the middle of your meal and die, therefore depriving yourself of the best bite.”

“Or you could end with a mediocre bite and be left wanting more.”

“I’d never leave you wanting more.”

I scoff. “Seriously?”

He grins.

“Shut up.”

We make small talk while we finish the meal and as our plates are cleared, Nikolai orders a second bottle of wine. Between the food, the drinks, and yes, the company, my entire body sags into the cushions beneath me in satisfaction. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal as good as this one.

Nikolai takes the folder from his seat and slides it across the table.

Ah, what we’re really here for. Right. Back to business.

5

JANE

“Alright, so most of this looks pretty standard,” I say, shuffling through the contract for a second time. “We’ll get to the materials in a moment, but did you read this over yourself already?”

Nikolai smirks.

“Of course not.” I roll my eyes. “So then you didn’t see the clauses in here about cleaning up your image, and keeping it clean?” I arch a brow at him.

He merely leans back in the booth and wipes his mouth with a napkin.

“You don’t seem surprised by it?”

“Nope,” he states. “I expected there to be something like that in there. There’s no one else to hide behind this time.”

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