Page 41 of Legacy

“Yeah.” Gwen smiles. “It’s Natalie’s bachelorette party.”

Of course it is.

And it shouldn’t offend me when that’s why most outsiders come here. But something about how temporary we are to everyone has been getting under my skin lately. It eats away at all the other shit festeringaround. Things I used to be better at keeping buried until that bullet grazed my mortality and ripped me open.

“Hey.” An elbow knocks my arm as Ghost slides onto the barstool next to me.

“Shit, man, make some fucking noise. When did you get here?”

He smirks, but his eyes are on his phone. “Jumpy, brother?”

“Fuck off.” I take a pull of my beer.

“That’s how we ended up on the Strip earlier…” I guess Gwen is still talking because I realize she’s in the middle of a story. “But then Olive said she came here last time she was in town, and it was better than any of the clubs. That’s when we ran into Chaos.”

“You met him at Sapphire Rise?” I’m having trouble keeping up when I’m barely listening.

I don’t even know why I’m still entertaining this conversation.

Gwen nods, her eyes lit because she thinks I care.

Fuck, I’m such an asshole. Reagan is right.

Reagan.

Like she’s summoned by the universe, blonde hair at the doorway catches my attention. At first, I see Luna, and I think my eyes are playing tricks on me, but then there she is.

Reagan stops at Luna’s side, assessing the room. Her gaze sweeps the madness a little more than last time she was here, when she was clearly trying to avoid looking at anything like it’d save her soul from the trauma of it.

Her stare finally lands on me after a long sweep before skipping to Gwen at my side. Gwen doesn’t notice as she slides her hand from my thigh to my arm, but Reagan’s eyes trace the entire movement before she breaks her gaze entirely.

The room dims in that split second. My mind swims, and I know it’s not the beer because it’s my first one.

“Did you know Luna was bringing Reagan here tonight?” I ask Ghost, ignoring the fact that I’m cutting off Gwen, who is still talking.

He nods, and it has me gripping the bottle tighter because she didn’t say shit to me about it when I left earlier.

Luna starts leading Reagan over to us, and I don’t miss her resistance. Her eyes stay anywhere that isn’t on me like she’s actively avoiding me. She spots Mayhem sitting on the couch getting head, and her cheeks turn bright red.

She’s too fucking sweet for this place.

Begging to be ruined.

The crowd splits for them, and I get a full view. She’s wearing another white sundress with daisies covering it. How many tiny dresses can the girl possibly own?

If I thought the first one was tempting, then this one is something else. Deliciously short, showing off the thighs I’d like to dig my fingers into while I take her lush ass from behind.

That’s something I definitely shouldn’t be thinking about as Luna releases Reagan to jump into Ghost’s arms.

Only then does Reagan finally look at me.

Lightning strikes.

A star crashes to earth.

Her brown eyes sparkle, edging on gold.

A constellation of freckles dot her cheeks, and I’m lost in her galaxy.

---