Page 23 of Bittersweet Revenge
“Good. Not in the mood to get my ass kicked tonight.”
“I think you could hold your own,” I flirt.
“Yeah, but then I might chip my nail polish,” he says, and I smile. “I’m Omari.”
“Dean.”
The bartender comes over, and I order both of us a drink.
“Is this your first year at Ashford?” he asks.
“Yep.”
“Second for me.”
We talk, and I feel like I do okay keeping the conversation going while also glancing over his shoulder every now and againto check on Aislin. She danced by herself the first couple of songs, but she was joined by a guy with sandy hair two songs ago. She’s got her arms around his shoulders, the two of them grinding against each other.
“You guys good friends?” Omari asks. He must have noticed I keep looking at her.
“I don’t know if I’d say good friends.”
He chuckles. “You don’t say a lot, do you?”
I could tell him that if he were an asshole to me, I’d talk more. Seems to work with Tiernan, but I’m really fucking tired of thinking about him when I shouldn’t. “Sorry. Not real good at that.”
“It’s okay. I bet you’re good at other things.”
It doesn’t take a genius to know what he’s talking about. “I can’t leave until she does.” I trust the handsy guy she’s dancing with even less than the guy she was talking to online. At least there’s some kind of trail there.
“I can wait.” And maybe this is exactly what I need, to hook up with someone else and get Tiernan out of my system. I still have to figure out how to get close to him, but I sure as shit don’t need his hand on my dick to do that.
“Good.” I look up again, but I don’t see Aislin on the dance floor anymore. My heart jumps into my throat, this honest-to-God fucking fear that I shouldn’t feel for someone I hardly know, and definitely not for her, but…she reminds me of my mom. So fucking much. She’s kind, cares about her family, and she’s strong, the type of person to befriend someone like me.
My gaze darts around the room, and I’m already pushing off my stool, but then I see them. She’s still with the guy, the two of them in the corner, at the far end of the bar, each with a glass in front of them.
My heart rate slows.Jesus. Chill the fuck out. There’s no danger lurking around every corner.
But the truth is, there is. I grew up that way and still know it’s true. What I’m doing isn’t safe. Sloan promised to look for us. Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t, but who’s to say he doesn’t take one look at me and knows who I am?
“You okay?” Omari asks.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
My gaze flickers between Omari and Aislin. She finishes her drink, then whispers something in the guy’s ear. He nods and calls the bartender over, I assume ordering another. Her lips press against his cheek before she slips away toward the bathroom.
“I have a feeling you have no idea what I just said.”
“Fuck,” I curse. I’m going to screw up the chance to hook up with someone else because I can’t stop focusing on Aislin. “I’m sorry. I’m just…protective.”
“Super fucking hot,” he says, and I can’t help but grin. My gaze happens to shoot toward the dude with Aislin just at the right time. The bartender hands her drink to him, and then the second he turns around, the guy grabs it from the top as if he’s moving it, and I see something fall into the glass. He immediately stirs it with the straw, then pushes it toward the empty stool beside him, and I see fucking red, can’t breathe.
Before I can think about what I’m doing, I’m shoving off the stool. It falls over and hits the ground with a loudclack.
“Dean?” Omari says, but I don’t respond.
Every bit of logical thought inside me shuts off as I push through the crowd, some yelling at me and shoving me back along the way. My heart feels like it’s going to explode, like it’ll burst out of my chest any minute now. The second I reach the guy, I slam my fist into his face with everything I have in me. He gives a shout, but I can’t make out what he says as I’m dragging him off the stool, pain shooting through my hand with everypunch—face, gut, any fucking thing I can hit. There’s blood on his face and all over my hands.
“What the fuck?” someone shouts, and arms wrap around me and pull me off him. I hit and kick at whoever is holding me and don’t stop until I hear, “New Kid, chill the fuck out,” and realize it’s Tiernan.
