Page 134 of Collide
I’m parched when we move off the dance floor, and when I order water, it’s accompanied by another shot. I’m about to decline but decide to down it anyway. I’m not in the mood for self-preservation tonight.
“I gotta go to the restroom,” Amara says. “Come with me?”
Inside, the bright fluorescents attack my vision as I stumble into one of the stalls. I’m sure I fall asleep on the toilet for a split second because when Amara calls my name, I jolt.
“Didn’t you tell Aiden about your plans tonight?” Amara asks.
“No, he had a game,” I say, reaching for the tap.
“You didn’t tell him you were going to the club?”
I focus hard on scrubbing my hands. “My phone died before we got here. It’s not a big deal.”
She jumps off the counter, heels clicking against the tiles. She shows me the six missed calls and four texts, all from Aiden.
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” When she brings the phone to call him, I stop her. “What are you doing? He’s worried.”
“I haven’t told him about the application.”
Her face drops in disappointment. “Summer…”
“I swear I will, but it just happened today. I didn’t want to get in his head before the game.” The team was gone for an away game, so I haven’t seen him since yesterday.
“He’s worried.”
I shake my head, eyes stinging. Aiden is my comfort through everything, but I don’t want this news to feel like reality. “I can’t talk to him without crying.”
She nods and texts him instead.
Before I know it, we’re too many tequila shots deep, and my feet ache so bad I have to remove my heels.
“Ready to go?” asks Amara, finally peeling off her dance partner. She was adamant that there would be no men tonight, but when an attractive guy approached her, I urged her to him.
“My livers broken,” I groan, recalling why I don’t go out. I nod to the guy staring at her. “Are you taking him home?”
“I don’t know. He has to earn it.”
Judging by his expression, he’ll do anything to earn it.
Heels in hand and arms linked, we wobble out of the club. Looking past the UHart students, I spot a black truck and a very familiar hockey player leaning against it. My heart stops.
My backstabbing friend wears a sheepish smile. “He insisted.”
A few people recognize him, but he focuses on me. I swallow because although he looks serious, he also looks hot as hell. His black shirt accentuates every mountain of muscle, and his weighted look doesn’t help the rising temperature in my body.
“You’re not wearing shoes,” he says.
I look at the pink polish on my toenails. “My feet hurt.”
He hums and turns to Amara. “Thanks for texting me.” From his neutral tone, I can’t tell if he’s mad. It’s all mixed up in my dizzy head. The dead phone in my purse feels like a heavy brick. “You two need a ride?” he asks Amara and the guy.
When he whispers something to her, she immediately nods.
It’s when Aiden starts walking closer, almost right into me, that I stumble back. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying you.”
