Page 101 of Up In Flames
I freeze, my body going tense.
There’s nowhere to hide, and if I get up now, I’ll surely draw attention to myself.
“Taylor, what’s wrong? Your hands are shaking,” Knox points out.
Words evade me.
I sit stock still, keeping my head down, waiting for the men to file past our table. I tick them off one by one, counting the pairs of legs that pass.
Until one of them stops right next to us.
“Oh my God.Taylor.”
The shock and pain Patrick manages to put into the syllables of my name rip my scabs wide open. As soon as I raise my head to look at him, I wish I hadn’t. Salt-and-pepper hair sits atop a beardless face I know so well. Patrick is older than Knox by acouple of years, and he seems to have aged even more during our time apart, but he’s no less handsome.
Suddenly, movement catches my eye, and I look down to watch in horror as a hand comes into view. A hand that has wrung pleasure from my body. A hand that has intimate knowledge of all my lines and ridges. A hand that is now touching my arm.
“Don’t touch him,” Knox hisses from across the table.
Instead of listening, Patrick leaves his hand in place and squats down next to my chair, causing Knox to push his chair away from the table and stand. The legs scraping against the floor draw more stares.
“Taylor, I?—"
“Get your fucking hands off my boyfriend,” Knox growls, skirting the table. “It’s time to go, Patrick,” he adds, crowding his space and pulling Patrick up by his sport coat. He lowers his voice to try to keep this private, but I can still hear every word. “He doesn’t want to see you. You had your chance, you lost it, and you won’t be getting another one because I’m not stupid enough to throw away the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Taylor can speak to whomever he pleases.” Turning his gaze back to me as I stare straight ahead, Patrick takes the bite out of his voice and says, “Please. Call me?” Patrick’s plea finally breaks me out of my dazed state, and I whip my head toward him.
“Call you? Ididcall you, Patrick! Formonths!”
“Enough, Taylor. Let’s just go home.” Knox’s hands land on my shoulders, and before I can protest, he’s ushering me toward the door with Patrick hot on our heels, pissing me off with every step he takes in our wake.
I want to escape as quickly as possible, but as soon as we descend the stairs leading away from the front door, I see the valet stand and realize we have to wait for the truck.
I’m so hurt and mad, and I wish I could just take comfort in Knox’s arms, let him shield me from this whole interaction, but right now, I’m just overwhelmed, and the more they argue with each other, the more I want to run.
My brain is choosing now to call into sharp relief all the good moments Patrick and I shared. The intimate moments. The times we laughed and played and fucked, and my steps falter for the slightest second as if my feet mean to carry me backward toward my past.
“Don’t fall for it,” Knox pleads like he can hear my thoughts as he pushes me toward the truck the valet has already retrieved.
I felt like royalty when we arrived, but now I feel reduced to a scandal being chased by the paparazzi.
Chapter 35
Knox
Taylor is basically catatonic on the ride home. He barely blinks, but when I turn on my signal to take the exit for his apartment, he finally comes to life.
“No!” he shouts, scaring me half to death.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Can we go back to your house?” he asks.
“Of course, we can.”
The request actually makes my heart sing. The fact that he feels safe with me and wants to stay with me is something I’ll never take for granted.
“Tell me what you need,” I implore, merging back onto the highway toward my house as Taylor stares out the window.
