Page 9 of Renegade

“Come on, don’t wimp out,” Ralph says, pushing the shot closer.

“Let the party girl out, Brooklyn,” Poppy yells with laughter.

“You need to try your first shot here with us, come on,” Ethen pushes.

I stand up and grab the drink from in front of her. “Shut the fuck up. She said she didn’t want to do it, so stop being a bunch of pushy assholes.” I toss the shot back and slam the glass down. “There, fucking happy.”

“What the fuck crawled up your ass?” Ethen asks, grabbing his beer while shaking his blonde hair. Never mind I don’t want to know. I’m going to dance, who’s with me?”

Ralph follows Ethen and I move myself to the seat Ralph vacated next to Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn, I’m sorry. I just want you to have a good time. Come on, let’s go dance,” Poppy says, getting up and shaking her ass.

“I’ll meet you out there in a minute. I need to go to the bathroom first,” she whispers and rushes off.

“Damn babe, you weren’t kidding when you said she was a nervous person,” Nate comments.

“Why?” I ask, still watching the path she took to the bathroom.

Poppy pulls out a seat and sits next to me. “She likes routine, she likes boring. Honestly, she’s only gotten worse since she’s been with Hank.”

This catches my full attention and I look at her. “She’s got a boyfriend?”

She shrugs her shoulders while she finishes off her beer. “She’s got something. I don’t like him. The stories I could tell you, would even make you feel sorry for her Fitz.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Her comment pisses me off, because clearly I was the only one who gave a fuck two minutes ago.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I just meant that he’s an insensitive prick and she’d be a lot happier if she would kick his dull, boring, selfish, unfeeling ass to the curb.” She gets up and holds her hand out to Nate. “Dance with me.”

I watch them all dancing and everyone else who is here. If they aren’t dancing they are drinking and having a good time. The problem is, the girl who this party is for, is the only one not having fun. Fuck this. I get up and go to the bathroom to see if she is alright. I wait outside the ladies room for a minute to see if anyone comes out and when no one does I stick my head in. Brooklyn is the only one I see and she’s standing in front of the sink, wiping her eyes. This insane need to help her takes over and I walk in.

She glances up and then back down, just to whip her head up to look at me. “Fitz? What are you doing, this is the l

adies room?”

“I realize that.” I smirk as I get closer to her. As soon as I reach her, I pull her in for a hug. Holy shit, having my arms around her is so much more than I thought it would be. She’s so much smaller than I am and I feel like I might break her if I squeeze too hard. Her hair smells like coconuts and her skin is so damn soft. She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her face against my chest. The second I can’t see her face, her body shakes and she cries. I feel so fucking bad for her and I don’t know what to do. Normally, I would walk away and send Poppy to handle a situation like this, but I can’t this time. It’s like I need to be here.

I pull back slightly and try to gently get her to look at me by lifting her chin. She won’t have it and tries to pull away. “Fitz, please.” There is a crack in her voice which mirrors the crack just made in my heart for her.

“Talk to me. Why are you so upset? Is it that everyone was pressing you to take that shot?” I ask, completely out of my comfort zone. She shakes her head no, so I pull her against me again, hoping if she feels I can’t see her, she will tell me something. “Well what is it?”

“I don’t even know you, I’m not going to pour my heart and soul out to you,” she says and shakes her head. “I’m sorry that was rude.”

I chuckle and squeeze her a little tighter. “I’ve heard worse insults. Look, I’m not going to force you to tell me anything. I don’t like seeing you upset, it makes me upset. So how about this, we go back out there and get to know each other. If you want a drink, I’ll get you one. If you want to dance, I’m your guy. If you want to sit in complete silence, well I’m game for that too. This is your party and you’re the one having a miserable time. What do you say?”

She pulls away from me and searches my eyes. Her eyes still wet with fresh tears. “Do you feel sorry for me?”

I kiss her forehead and back away from her, sticking my hands in my pockets. “Actually, it’s the complete opposite. Do you need to like fix your makeup or something?”

This time I get a small smile and she turns to the mirror. “Yes.”

I tell her I’ll wait in the hallway for her. I don’t know what it is chicks do and maybe she doesn’t want me standing there while she does it. I lean against the wall with my one foot propped on it behind me and my arms crossed. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. This isn’t me, waiting outside a ladies’ room for someone. I should be on the dance floor, fucked up and looking for someone to bring to the ladies’ room.

“Fitz, there you are. We’ve been looking for you all night.” I turn my head and one of the girls that is always around stands before me. I can’t label her a groupie as much as a serious fan. Her friends however, they are groupies, so when she says ‘we’ I know she means them.

“I’ve been around. Just chilling with my friends,” I reply, keeping my focus on the door.

“Well, when you’re done chilling with your friends, I know my friends are looking for a little bit more fun than that,” she says and walks into the bathroom.

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