Page 144 of A Love Letter to Whiskey
Because I didn’t know it was her.
But now, everything had changed, and it was time to call him on his shit.
I was fucking tired of the games.
“So, my turn, huh?” I snipped. “Hmmm… Never have I ever had a threesome.”
B smiled at Jenna, for reasons unbeknownst to me until I read her side of the story, but that smile didn’t stay in place long once she realized Ethan was taking a drink.
“Wait, seriously?”
Ethan cringed. “I was a freshman, I thought it was cool at the time. It didn’t mean anything.”
“Oh,” B said. And I saw it, the moment she realized he could lie to her, that he could keep something from her.
That he wasn’t the saint she’d made him out to be.
“Are you mad?” Ethan asked.
B’s eyes found mine, and she glared, like she knew what I was trying to do.
I just smiled back.
“Of course not,” she said. “It was before me. No big deal.”
She smiled, letting Ethan kiss her neck as she took another drink.
“Your turn,” she said to Jenna.
The game went on, and honestly, I lost focus with how hard I was trying not to storm over to B and rip her out of Ethan’s lap. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder like a fucking caveman and take her back to my dorm. I wanted to demand she stop this shit and talk to me like a fucking adult.
I did laugh a bit to myself when Shayla said she’d never had sex on the beach, which promptly made B choke on her beer before racing off to refill it just to escape the situation.
All night long, B played her game, grinding on Ethan in front of me like I didn’t know what she was doing. I just let Jenna hold my attention, let her think I was just as interested as she was in rekindling what we had for one night of fun. Truthfully, I was about five minutes away from saying I needed to piss and then escaping the party altogether.
I was exhausted — both from lack of sleep and the utter fucking ridiculousness of the game.
But I couldn’t leave B, not with her continuing to drink when she’d clearly had enough. I was worried about her. I wanted to peel her away from the party, too. I wanted to get her alone.
I just didn’t know how.
I was in a daze, half-listening to Jenna when I realized there was some sort of commotion going on across the bonfire.
My eyes landed on B just in time to see B rip her arm out of Ethan’s grip, her brows furrowed, eyes menacing.
“What, afraid I’ll damage your perfect reputation before election?”
Shit.
Jenna and I exchanged a look, and I stood without her saying a word, knowing I needed to step in and save B from herself.
“It was embarrassing to kiss me earlier, guess it’d really be embarrassing if I took my clothes off,” she said as I made my way over. And then, she stripped her sweater off, revealing a thin tank top underneath.
I cursed.
“Okay, come on. We’re leaving,” Ethan said, trying to grab her.
“You can go if you want. I’m not ready to leave.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“And mine wasn’t a suggestion.”
“Damnit, Brecks!”
I stopped mid-stride, heart beating in my ears at the sound of that name that didn’t feel like a name at all. And I saw all the blood drain from B’s face, saw her eyes widen and well up with tears.
“You’re not getting in that pool,” Ethan said, oblivious to what he’d just done. “End of story.”
B stared at him like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to murder him right then and there, or run away before she started crying in front of everyone.
“B…” I said softly, holding out my hands for her. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”
It was like she snapped out of a daze when she looked at me, but she scowled just as quickly.
“I can walk myself,” she spat.
She swiped her sweater and boots off the ground, already storming toward the parking lot as Ethan just stood there.
I waited for him to go after her, and when he didn’t, I shook my head.
“You know she doesn’t go by that name,” I said, voice low and more menacing than I intended. “And you know damn well why, too.”
Ethan shook his head. “I didn’t mean to upset her. But come on, you saw her. She—”
“Is drunk. Yes, I know. Which is even more reason why you should be taking care of her, not being a fucking asshole.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes then. “Bro, what the fuck.”
But I had already turned away from him, jogging after the girl he was stupid enough to let go.
“Go away, Jamie,” B threw over her shoulder at me when I caught up to her, the darkness of the parking lot falling over us.
