Page 28 of Could Have Been Us
“So you saw a concert—free and then drank their beer and lied?”
Easton’s face falls slightly. “It wasn’t like that.”
Winnie gives me a look that screamsshut up, asshole. She must really be lonely. So, I smile at her as she rolls her eyes.
“I’m going to grab a beer,” I explain as I get up.
Tripp looks at me, lifting his. Is he kidding? “You don’t mind, do ya?”
“Nope. I love leeches,” I say as I walk away.
Asshole.
Here he is going on and on about his kids taking his money and he expects me to pay for his shit. Some freaking date.
I get up to the bar and order a drink.
“You look happy,” Jack says from beside me.
His voice causes me to jump a little. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
He laughs as he takes a drink from his beer. “I figured you saw me.”
“I’ve been stuck talking to someone all night, I didn’t know you were even in town.”
“I haven’t been the one missing. Grayson said you were gone again?”
This time, I hadn’t told Jack about my trip. There was no need because no matter what kind of crap he would have said, I was going.
“I was.”
“Where were you?”
I shift, facing him more head-on. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
At that, I grin. “Sure you don’t.” His hand rests on the bar in front of me, close enough that, if he extended his fingers, he could touch me. Oh, how I wish he would. I lean forward, unable to resist. “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be asking.”
“How is your date?”
Horrible. I should say it. I should be honest and let him know that I’m fucking miserable and would like to punch this dude in the face, but I lie.
“I don’t know, we’ll see if he passes the test.”
Jack’s eyes move to where Tripp is. “What test?”
My voice is low. “The one where I see if he comes home with me.”
I grab my drink and walk back to the table, forcing my face forward. Jack may not want me. He may think I’m still a little girl who is untouchable, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to piss him off.
I settle back onto my seat, and Tripp tosses his arm around the back of my chair. I end up giving him my beer since I forgot to get him one and there isn’t a chance in hell I am going back over to where Jack is.
But I can feel him. In this tiny bar, he is looming and large. His presence, the way he pulls the air, commanding it to form around him, makes me feel as if the oxygen is missing. Each breath leaves me dizzy, and I hate him.
Why? Why do I feel like this?
I want to scream at the injustice of it all. Iknowbetter. I’m not an idiot. I know how this works.
