Page 68 of Doesn't Count

I’m already riled up, the last thing I need is to hear Sam open her mouth. Too bad Ash hasn’t told her anything about me because then maybe she wouldn’t test my temper.

“What’s unnecessary is you being here.” I bite.

Ash shoves me, “You’re being such an ass!”

“What’s new?” I snap back at her.

“We were in there for an hour, Khaos! What the hell, man? We get one night. One night to do something normal and you have to fuck it up!” Koke’s yelling now.

“Can we just maybe calm down?” Hailey chimes in.

“It’s not my fault, some asshole was groping you. Sorry for stepping in.” I snark at Ash.

She rolls her eyes, “He wasn’t groping me. We were dancing. It’s a dance club.”

“What does it matter to you?” Sam stalks toward me, her arms crossed over her chest. “This was the first time I’ve seen Ash really let loose. She’s always so focused on her work and hasn’t had time to focus on herself. She’s never even had a boyfriend for God sakes!”

Ash cringes, placing her hand on her friend’s arm to subtly ask her to stop. “Sam.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s true! You need to get over your own shit.Live a little! Find a cute guy and fuck around for once in your life! It can’t always just be about work!” She pleads for Ash to understand.

“She has no problem fucking around,” Kokytos mutters under his breath.

“Koke!” Hailey hisses, chastising him.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sam snaps, twisting around to glare at him.

“Why don’t you ask Ash?” He nods his head towards her.

As if on cue, her face flushes bright pink, flooding down her neck and to her chest. My favorite tell. The one that makes her so obvious like a neon sign that reads LIAR.

“Can we just drop it?” Her voice is meek and drained.

“No. What aren’t you telling me, Ash?” She pushes.

“Are you going to tell her, or should I?” I really want to, just to see the disappointment on Sam’s face.

“Ash.” Sam begs, gripping her arm with both of her hands.

I watch as my girl’s mouth pops open, nothing coming out.

“Come on, Ash.” I goad teasingly.

Sam’s eyes flick my way, swirling with confusion, hurt, and betrayal. I’ve already made it a goal to break that confidence and with my track record tonight, it looks like I’ll succeed. Knowing more about Ash than her own best friend inflates my ego more than fame ever could.

“We... hooked up. It was nothing. Clearly not worth mentioning.” She finally says, brushing the whole subject off.

Sam’s face falls, hurt written all over it, even though Ash is trying to make it sound like it’s not a big deal.

“What’s your definition of hooked up?” She asks.

Everyone is quiet as they wait to hear what Ash is going to say next. I’m assuming it will be another lie because it’s her favorite thing to do, especially to herself.

The tension in the room grows like a balloon, stretching and stretching and stretching with air until it pops.

“Can someone please just say it? I’m obviously the only one here who has no idea what’s going on and I find that pretty insulting.” She barks.

I decide to put her out of her misery since Ash doesn’t have the guts to do it. “She gave me her virginity, but clearly that’s not worth mentioning to her best friend.”

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