Page 68 of Wild Card
There was a round of clapping and cheers.
She smiled sharply with purple, glittery lips that matched her hair.
“I don’t know if I can compete with the action that bathroom is getting, though. Whew! It was enough to make me blush infront of my man. How is a girl supposed to concentrate on a performance afterthatperformance?”
The crowd laughed, and more than a few gazes flicked toward the bathrooms. Toward me.
Dalton was already gone, halfway across the club. I shrugged and grinned, strutting back to the table with my brothers. The drag queen’s eyes zeroed in on me.
“Oh, look at that. He’s as sexy as hesounded.”
The crowd ate up her teasing, oohing and ahhing as I dropped into my chair.
“Where’s Dalton?” Gray asked quietly. “You two must have put on quite the show.”
“Gone,” I said flatly.
“What? Heleftafter that?”
I snorted. “Of course he did. Are you really surprised? People leave me. It’s what they do.”
“Fuck that,” Gray said tightly. “I’ll go find him and kick his ass.”
He pushed back his chair as if he’d go hunt down Dalton right that second.
I clamped a hand on his arm. “Leave it. I’m not like you, Gray.”
“What’s that mean?”
I picked up my beer and gulped it, even though it was warm now. “I don’t get attached. It was just a fuck, and now that’s over. It’s for the best. How many times did Holden tell me not to pursue a deputy?”
“Forget about Holden. If you like this guy?—”
“No. Dalton’s going places. Maybe he’ll even be sheriff one day. The last thing he needs is a guy like me.”
I turned my gaze to the drag queen onstage, watching her slinky dance moves as the music piped out and she lip-synced along to a pop ballad.
Gray stared at me, but I refused to acknowledge him.
“If you want to play matchmaker, go harass Bailey. The boy needs to get laid.”
“Not everything is about sex,” Gray said.
I flicked him a glance. “For some of us, it is.”
He shook his head, looking almost sad. “You tell yourself that because you’re afraid. But I hope one day, you figure out you’re worth more, Axel. You deserve love, just like the rest of us.”
I scoffed and took another gulp of beer. Just because Gray and Emory were sickeningly in love didn’t mean the rest of us had to turn into saps.
I’d been fucking around for years. It served me well enough. I didn’t need to complicate my life with fuckingfeelings.
CHAPTER 18
Dalton
I rolledup to Jerkers Soda Shoppe and cut the engine, my mouth already watering for one of their famous MoonShakes. I liked mine with peanut butter and hot fudge stirred in, and Brenda never disappointed.
It had been a boring morning. I’d gotten back to patrolling on my own—which was what I wanted, of course—but I kept turning to the passenger seat as if Chloe would be there, waiting for me to impart some wisdom.
