Page 9 of Wish You Were Mine
“Is there a problem here?” I asked, stepping forward. And when Lucy turned to see me, I saw that flash of relief in her eyes.
“I’m just trying to stop him from driving,” she said quickly, her voice wobbling. “I was supposed to be his DD tonight but he’s not listening to me.”
“I’m fine,” Josh slurred, leaning against the car now, thankfully not sitting down in the driver’s seat, looking at me with bleary eyes. “You can go back to your bar. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“You’re in no condition to be getting behind the wheel tonight,” I said, my tone firm. “Let your girlfriendtake you home.”
“My girlfriend?” Josh scoffed, an edge of bitterness in his voice. “Yeah, right. She doesn’t care about me anymore. And I said I’m fine.”
“Clearly, you’re not.” I crossed my arms, standing my ground. “And if you get behind that wheel, I’ll have to call the cops.”
Lucy’s eyes darted between us, her desperation clear, silently begging him to listen. “Come on, Josh. Coach will kill you if your dad has to bail you out of jail again.”
This guy had already been bailed out of jail before?
I glanced at his sleek, expensive sports car, and everything clicked. I knew his type well: entitled rich kid with parents who cared more about appearances than anything else, letting him slide by without facing any consequences for his actions.
Josh sighed heavily, muttering something under his breath about his coach. After what felt like an eternity, he reluctantly pushed away from the car, swaying as he stumbled toward the passenger seat. With an exaggerated huff, he collapsed into it, throwing himself in with a grunt. “Happy?” he grumbled, slamming the door so hard it rattled the vehicle.
I stood there for a moment, watching Lucy. She was still visibly shaken, her hands trembling slightly like it was taking everything within her to keep it together.
“You gonna be all right?” I asked, dipping my head so I could look into her eyes. “Because if you don’t feel safe driving him home, we can take his keys and find another way to get him back.”
“No, I’ll be okay.” She wiped a stray tear from her cheek, her eyes avoiding mine as she let out a shaky breath. “Thanks for stepping in.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to find someone else to take him home? Maybe one of his teammates is sober?” I glanced over at her boyfriend, now slouched in the passenger seat like apetulant child. “He doesn’t look like someone you want to be around when he’s like this.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice steadier now. “I just need to get him home.”
“Okay.” I nodded, though I was still concerned. And since I couldn’t help it, I added, “Just take care of yourself, okay?”
“Thank you for your concern,” she said, her voice soft but firm, her tone telling me that I was starting to cross a line and she just wanted me to stop inserting myself where I didn’t belong. “I appreciate you worrying about me, but I’ll be good now.”
So instead of saying anything else, I just watched her for a second longer, feeling a sharp ache in my chest that I couldn’t quite explain. And when she climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, I shook my head and sighed, turning to head back to the bar.
It wasn’t my place to get involved further, and she wasn’t my responsibility.
But dang if it didn’t feel like this girl needed a little saving.
3
LUCY
The humof music downstairs drifted up through the floorboards, signaling that Ky’s New Year’s Eve party was starting to pick up. Nora and I stood side by side in the bathroom attached to the bedroom we were sharing at her brother’s beach house in The Hamptons, putting the final touches on our hair and makeup.
“So, did Josh ever end up telling you why he punched Brody in the face?” Nora asked, adjusting the strap of her black dress over her shoulder. Her lips pressed together as she studied herself in the mirror.
“No.” I blinked, pausing my mascara application as I recalled the last message I’d received from him. “The only thing I’ve heard from him since Sunday was the ‘sorry for being a butthead’ text he sent me the next day.”
“Classic Josh,” Nora said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “At least he kind of apologized, though?”
“Do you believe Brody’s side of things?” I asked, genuinely curious if Nora believed what Brody had told her when she’d driven him home from the club.
“That Josh went ballistic just because Brody joked about asking you out?”
I nodded, meeting her gaze in the mirror’s reflection.
“I mean, it wouldn’t really be out of character for Josh to do something like that, would it?” Nora said with a shrug. “Even though you’re not together, he’s still pretty possessive of you.”
