Page 94 of Full Tilt
“I don’t know what question to ask you first.” Collins breaks the short silence between our group. “I thought you hated Tommy?”
I nod once and immediately grab my Mai Tai after the bartender sets it down. “I do hate him,” I reply, taking a long sip.
“But you’re sleeping with him?” Darcy questions. “Are we talking about a hate-fuck arrangement here? Because don’t get me wrong; he’s hot and everything. But I can’t imagine a situation where anyone could like that arsehole.”
Something about the way she says that in her refined British accent pulls my lips into a wry smile, as do the memories of Tommy pinning me against several walls. I can still feel the ghost of his full, soft lips as they skated across my collarbone. He is an arsehole—as Darcy put it—but he’s one who’s left a lasting impression on me.
“Jenna?” Darcy brings me back into the room, and I shake off my trance.
“I …” My throat runs dry, and I take another sip of cocktail. “I don’t know what to say.” I shrug a shoulder and set down my glass. “And I guess the details don’t matter much now anyway since whatever we had is over.” The disappointed inflection in my voice is unmissable and completely unintentional too.
Collins sits forward on her stool, rolling her lips together in thought. I can’t tell if she’s disappointed in me for going there with a guy everyone cannot stand. I guess, to them, there’s plenty of other guys I could be sleeping with and none who are dicks to their husbands.
“How long was it going on for?”
“For a while,” I reply uneasily. “He was the one who’d instigated it, and I …” I trail off again, struggling to find the right words tonight.
“And you enjoyed every fucking second?” Collins finishes my sentence.
I can’t deny that she’s a hundred percent correct. The smile and wink she gives tells me she couldn’t care less about me getting with Tommy, and I breathe an inward sigh of relief.
“No comment,” I volley back, suppressing a smile.
“And what did you mean when you said the punch that Ethan guy took wasn’t exactly unwarranted?”
My growing smile flattens in response to Kendra’s question.
“I mean, he deserved it,” I clarify.
Collins quirks a brow, followed by Darcy.
“Jenna?” Kendra’s soft palm wraps around my upper arm. “Jenna? What’s the matter?”
As dampness stings my eyes, I bite the inside of my cheek. I wasn’t expecting to get emotional, but here we are. Apparently, crying is my new favorite hobby.
“The ‘attack’ Ethan is talking about online was in defense because Ethan tried to …”
“Tried towhat?” Collins’s voice could cut through solid steel, and I swallow hard.
I inhale a huge breath and allow my brain to go back over a night I would rather forget. “So, this guy, Ethan, was walking me home because I had gotten really drunk the night we won the shield.” I turn to look at Kendra, anticipating that she’ll connect the dots since she was there too.
“Wait …” she responds, already halfway to working everything out. “The guy you were playing pool with is the same guy making these claims?” She props her hands on her hips, the smallest bump starting to show through her blue bodycon dress. Ethan never introduced himself to Kendra since she was heading home within minutes of him approaching me. “I really wish that I’d stuck around.” Guilt and anger flood her features. “God, Jen. I’m so fucking sorry. In the two minutes I was around him I was convinced that he was genuine. I’m such a fucking idiot.”
I reach out and take her hand in mine, letting her know it’s okay.
“I don’t think his intentions were solely to walk me to my door that night. I think he planned to do more.”
“Holy hell.” Collins shakes her head, rage now flowing from every pore. “And Tommy was there, wasn’t he? Waiting outside your door.”
I just look at her through glassy eyes; nothing more needs to be said.
“Oh fuck, Jenna. I’m so sorry.” Darcy slides off her stool, wrapping her arms around me. “Tommy hit him to protect you, didn’t he?”
I drop my head into the crook of her neck, sobbing quietly. “It was so fucked up, Darce. I don’t know what I’d have done if Tommy hadn’t been standing outside my door. I’m such a fucking idiot for trusting a guy I barely knew to walk me home.”
Two more pairs of arms wrap around my shoulders, warmth from my girlfriends heating and soothing my soul.
“And that bastard has the audacity to claim that Tommy assaultedhim,” Kendra bites out.
