Page 37 of Coming Unraveled
But her feelings were too strong, and after the wedding dance fiasco she just wanted to let go and he came when she needed him most.
Stepping back into the party she considers that perhaps she truly did miss her opportunity with him as Everleigh watches him gaze at Charleston in amusement, waiting for her to trample the other women for the bouquet.
Heartbroken she heads back towards the kitchen to find the one thing that had never let her down. Reaching into the upper cabinet where she knows the liquor is stashed for the party, she grabs the bottle of choice and makes her way back to her table.
A hearty guzzle of the clear liquid and the tequila burns as it travels down her throat.
“Hello, my friend, it’s been a while,” she murmurs to the bottle as she rests her arm on the table, promptly followed by her head, not wanting her family to watch her shed tears over another man.
***
BROOKS HAS SPENT MOST of the party with Charleston but keeps a keen eye on Everleigh as she sits hunched over with a bottle of tequila. Luckily, Cassidy and Harlan have left through a rainbow of sparklers and the reception has started to die down.
Standing in a group he and Logan laugh at Austin’s joke, but it's forced when all he really wants to do is sweep up Everleigh and take her away from here. He’s not sure if it’s the wedding or her interaction with Rich earlier, but something inside her snapped. She had come onto him, something he never had imagined happening and now he can’t get it out of his head, especially the look on her face when she saw his date approaching them after their tryst. He had never wanted her to feel embarrassed by being with him, but from the look on her face that was exactly what she was feeling.
Did she really think he is a cheater? That he would bring one date and go off with another woman if they were official? She has to know him better than that.
Just as he takes a determined step in her direction Charlie comes to stand beside him with a hand on his arm.
“Do you mind if we get out of here? My feet are killing me,” she says implying more than what is necessary about what will go on when they get back to his place. A distinct growl sounds near him and he turns his head to find Austin glaring at him with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Sure, give me just a minute,” he adds as he turns back to Austin and Logan. “Look, I’m just going to drop her off then I’ll be back to take Everleigh home. I promise.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, man, but I don’t like it one bit.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s my game anymore,” he adds as they all look over to where Everleigh rests with her head on the table.
“I haven’t seen her like this in years. Not since she and her ex broke up.”
“I’m going to take care of it, ok? I’ll be back,” he declares as he rushes to get Charleston out of the door and to his house.
He has never been so thankful to live close to the small downtown of Carson. Immediately once arriving home Charleston tucks herself into the guest room while he goes back to retrieve the woman he wishes had been his date instead. But he knows he needs her to realize what she is throwing away, and by the look of the hunched over figure still gripping the tequila bottle, she does.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he muses as he crouches down beside her form, soft snores coming from under her curtain of hair.
Reaching over, he pries her hand free of the glass bottle and she groans at the movement. Brooks tucks some of her hair away from her face and places it behind her ear where a small diamond glitters in the dim light. That little diamond’s glint reminds him of the glimmer of hope he has been searching for but unable to obtain.
“We’re closing up, man,” an older man says as he begins stacking chairs onto the tables.
Nodding his head, Brooks slides the chair back and Everleigh stirs just as she’s about to drop her head. His arms skim across her back and thighs as he hoists her up into his arms.
“Brooks?” she whispers as she comes to and gazes at him with wide eyes.
Even with the makeup smeared on her face, black lines dropping under her lower lids, he has never seen anyone more beautiful in his existence. She makes his heart soar to heights he never dreamed possible, higher than he felt playing baseball.
“Hey, sweetheart. It’s time to get you home.”
Carrying her isn’t a hardship, not only does she weigh next to nothing, but with her head resting gently on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his neck he feels like a man with the world in his hands.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” he asks as they step outside and he brings her towards his car still running in the pathway.
“For not telling your girlfriend that I had…that we, um…” she mumbles as she tries to find her words.
“That I ate your pussy like it was my last meal?” headds for her and smiles as a blush rises on her cheeks. He loves that blush.
“Yes, that. You shouldn’t keep it from her though, so maybe tell her when I’m not around?”
