Page 37 of Broken

The party is still going strong when I come back from the bathroom. What the hell am I thinking? Not only did I make out with a guy who made it plain as day he doesn’t like me, I don’t like him either!

As if it was just ‘making out’. That was more than making out. He was seconds away from slipping his fingers inside of me.

The mortification rears up again and my cheeks burn. First, he ran off and left me there, wanting more. Second, I finishedmyself off, like some wanton woman unable to control herself. Worse still, I cried outhisname when I came.

Now that I’m washed up and back in the store front, my eyes are everywhere. Where did he go? Did he leave? It was that bad he completely left his apprentice’s party.

“Where’ve you been?” Sin pops up next to me. “You missed Shane blowing out his candles.”

“I did?” I tug on my ponytail, looking around for Shane.

It reminds me of how Garrett grabbed my hair and pulled my head back with it.

“What is the matter with you?” Sin moves in front of me, peering at my face.

There is no way she knows. I mean, it’s so out of character, she would never imagine I could do something so risky, in public.

I’ve never felt anything like the way Garrett made me feel. He didn’t kiss me, hedevouredme. He didn’t hold back, our teeth clashing, hands everywhere. God, I even bit his lip at one point. The passion that exploded between us is the only explanation I have for what I did after.

I’ve heard of hate fucking. I’ve never done it. I mean, sex with Jared was nice, good, just… not like that. And all that was, was a kiss. What would it be like to hate fuck Garrett?

I don’t even know his last name. I finger fucked myself to a virtual stranger. Let him put his tongue in my mouth, and press his hard, sexy body against me.

My cheeks burn hotter. Sin is standing in front of me watching the whole time I’ve been going through this crisis.

“Nothing. Well, my stomach is upset. I was in the bathroom.”

“Oh,” she takes a step back. “It’s not contagious is it?”

“No,” I move past her and head for the drinks table. “I’m fine now, it was just a little stomach cramp. I must be getting my period.”

“You’re rambling,” Sin says, following behind me. She watches as I pour myself a hefty glass of tequila, then throw it back. “You’re doing very non-Calli like things. I know I said get out of your comfort zone, but throwing back shots?”

“When are we going to the club?” My eyes dart around the room again. Still no sign of Garrett.

“You want to leave already? Calli, who are you looking for?” She turns her head too.

“Nobody,” I shrug and pour another shot. “It’s time to go to the club, don’t you think?”

“It’s up to Lucky, and Shane, I guess. Do you want to leave before everyone else?”

“Um,” I lick my lips. It’s my imagination but I swear I can taste him. “Could we?”

“Sure. I don’t think Jericho will mind. I’ll ask Ruby too, yeah?”

“Good, yes. Let’s do that.”

Sin is still staring like I’ve lost the plot. She leaves me to round people up. I move further into the corner, out of the way. Shane is dancing in the middle of the room. He has a party hat on, tilted to the side and is holding two bottles of champagne, yelling out, ‘who wants a drink?’

As people come over, he makes them tilt back so he can pour the drink into their mouths. It’s messy and there are a lot of girls queueing up but he’s having fun.

I chew on the inside of my cheek alternately watching what Sin is doing and keeping an eye out for Garrett. How will I face him? Now that I’m getting over the shame of what I did, my anger is growing.

Why would he kiss me like that, then pull away? Saying it was a mistake. That shit hurts. He was so into it and then stopped. Like a switch flipped.

His prickish behavior is back in full force.

And what is the big deal about me looking at his drawings? I mean, itwasa bad idea. Most of the images were of one woman. She was beautiful, her hair, the lines of her body and the poses, were so lifelike it was incredible.

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