Page 125 of Taste of Addiction

“Ma’am?” Collins asks, concern evident in his voice.

I glance up to see both Austin and Owen hanging out behind him. “I’m fine,” I brush off. How many men does it take to look after me? Graham seriously has a security fetish. More men keep coming out of the woodwork. It seems a bit overkill.

Ignoring their probing looks of concern, I head to the dance floor to find Claire. I use dancing as my therapy and get lost in the steady rhythm of the songs. I do not want to think about anything other than this moment in time.

Claire catches my mood change within the first five minutes and pulls me over to the bar, using some excuse about needing to hydrate our fire hydrants—or some bullshit like that. I tell her everything. Dr. Williams’s email… About my failure.

I specifically order a water, and Claire follows suit.

“I’m sorry,” she says, pulling me in for a hug, “but I don’t see it as a failure at all.”

“And why not?”

“Because maybe not getting exactly what you think you want will eventually bring you everything you need.”

“You are speaking in poetry.”

“I’m serious, Angie. Don’t let a fancy degree determine your self-worth. You are better than what any document might represent.”

I give my best friend a hug. She’s always so wise. “Thank you.”

“Want to do a shot?”

I shake my head no. “I just don’t want alcohol to murk up my brain tonight when I am still recovering from the—”

She nods, knowing where I am going with my train of thought without me having to say the words in public. “I’m proud of you, Angie. I really am.”

It feels weird hearing the words, but they do not sound condescending. Eventually, I will be able to accept them freely, knowing that all of the hard work I’ve done to stay clean could be part of someone else’s inspiration. But right now, I just can’t bring myself to feel the same pride toward myself.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been a bad influence tonight by partying a bit too hard.”

“You aren’t,” I promise. “It’s just that I’ve been having cravings. And I don’t want to make them worse by adding in other distractors.”

“I never want to be that for you.” She pulls back and frowns. “I think I’ve been using alcohol to cope with some of my own drama. It’s hard being here knowing that my family back home doesn’t care if I ever even travel back to see them.”

“You deserve better than that. You deserve love, Claire.” It kills me inside that her parents don’t show her the love that she needs.

“Plus, as graduation approaches, things start to get real.”

I sip my water, taking in her words. What am I going to do now with my life? Right now, I just feel deflated. I can only hope with time, I will figure things out.

I catch a shiny green dress in my periphery, followed by the wisps of red hair. When I turn my attention to the beautiful woman at the bar, she gives me a once-over and snickers. I know her. But from where?

“Angela McFree?” she slurs, her posture straightening on the stool.

“McFee,” I correct, knowing that her slip was most likely a planned insult. And then I place her. “Britt?”

She swirls her hand into the air, taking a half bow. “The one and only.”

I look behind her, half expecting to see her bestie Sophia lurching in the background.

“I bet you feel mighty proud that Graham cheated on Sophia with you.”

He never cheated on anyone.

“Who are you?” Claire asks, giving Britt the once-over.

I’d be surprised if Claire doesn’t in fact know her. She seems to know everyone in town.

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