Page 39 of Elusion

Assholes.

Callie slides off the hood of her black Prius. “Day drunk?”

“Day buzzed,” I correct with a drunk grin.

“I need to go,” she says as we meet at the back of the car.

The thought of burying my face in her neck and breathing her in crosses my mind. And with the reaction time of my brain slowed, I do exactly that. I wrap my arms around her waist and feel her skin against mine. She links her hands behind my neck. We’re so close. Right there.

“Is this just about sex?” she asks, dragging me back into the right mindset.

I pull back enough to meet her gaze. She deserves for there to be no doubt about my motives. For all of this to be about her and not some stupid challenge. I kiss her cheek before trailing my lips farther down and pressing them to the corner of her mouth. “Tomorrow.”

Her hands slide down my arms as she steps back. “Goodbye, Jordan.”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, beautiful.”

Before she drives off, she glances at me once more. I sigh, relieved, because the next time she sees me, no doubts will hold me back. No more games or deadlines—just us.

Around five o’clock, it becomes clear that a drunk Jordan has no qualms with pouring his heart out to Callie. So, I alternate between water and drinks. Food also helps my resolve return, and by the time we arrive at the bar a few hours later, I’m confident in my ability to make it through the rest of the night without calling her—just as long as my phone stays in my pocket.

A table clears out in the corner, and we settle in. Johnny quickly removes the red heart centerpiece from the middle. Courtesy of Valentine’s Day, my three chaperones dodge everything female. Watching them provides more entertainment than drinking ever could. Each one’s terrified to maintain eye contact with someone for too long and let them mistake it as interest. God forbid any of them take a girl home on this holiday.

People come and go from our table. Some stop to buy me a drink, whereas others join us for longer. Once the shots start stacking up, I find it harder to pace myself. I take a few in a row and switch back to beer. The remainder I hand off to Gavin and Johnny to divvy up.

The bar comes to life with loud music and shoulder-to-shoulder warm bodies. We lose Benji to the crowd at some point, and Johnny appears one drink away from losing an article of clothing. Despite all the noise and everything around me, I can’t stop thinking about Callie. Even the near disaster when Gavin forgets his no-chick rule fails to distract me for long.

After a while, Benji reemerges from the throng of people with a body slung over his shoulder. The grin on his face alone should clue me in, but he catches me off guard, dropping Callie into the chair next to me.

“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” he says.

Ecstatic that I conjured her, I smile before remembering why she needs to be anywhere else. My expression disappears along with my composure. “What are you doing here?”

She tilts her head to the side, her face falling. “You invited me.”

“I just didn’t think I was seeing you until Sunday.” Panic wreaks havoc in my mind as I process how her presence changes the rest of my night. All I have to do is maintain for a few more hours, so no more drinking. I slide my beer in front of her. “You can have this one.”

Her eyes narrow. “Thanks.”

Not a very positive start.

Felicia materializes out of nowhere—well, obviously from somewhere, but until now, I’ve forgotten about every other person in the place. She lands on Callie’s lap and hands me a shot. “Happy birthday—the right way.”

“Thank you, Gibson.” I set it down. “I’m pacing myself.”

She shrugs and wanders off.

Every thought cycling through my head involves my inability to follow through. How I’ll let Callie down. I look over and notice the concern on her face. Shit. She probably thinks I’m mad at her for crashing. Not that she has. She’s right. I invited her. But she said she wasn’t coming, and now she’s here. I have no idea what to do.

My chest hurts.

Should my chest hurt?

Gavin interrupts what ramps up to be one hell of an anxiety attack to introduce himself to Callie. I force a few breaths and focus on anything else. From the other side of the table, Jess is staring at me. A tight-lipped smile seems like a safe response.

Shirtless, Johnny appears behind her and mouths,Can I hit this?

I shoot him afuck nolook. Many things threaten to complicate my night. I really don’t need to add him banging Callie’s friend to the list.

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