Page 139 of Now and Forever

“The only little bitch here is you, crying foul that I fucked one of your chicks and she loved it so much she asked for it twice. She practically seduced me to fuck her. I only took what she freely offered. It’s no one’s fault but yours if you can’t satisfy your women. If you don’t like being dropped, that’s your issue. Don’t take it out on me,” Spencer sneered, egging him on further.

“If getting a woman drunk so you can get her to fuck you is seducing to you, then you’re more of a sick fuck than I imagined!” The veins on the side of Drew’s neck became apparent, a surefire sign he was about to blow a gasket.

“You think you’re all that because of who you are now.” Spencer cruelly laughed at him. “Fucking watch out, Cavendish; you’re stepping in the wrong fucking territory!”

Drew scoffed, “Save the speech when you have the balls to back it up.”

“I’m here with Chloe, and trust me, she and I aren’t done yet. We barely just began,” Spencer stated, goading Drew to react by staking his claim.

Not only were Drew’s neck muscles tightened now, but he was also flexing his hands, readying for a massive impact to someone’s face. “You better leave, or I won’t be able to stop myself from beating your ass to the floor. And stay the fuck away from Chloe, or so help me God, I’m coming after you with everything I’ve got.”

“Fuck you!” Spencer growled before he took hold of my arm, getting my attention. “You don’t have to fucking listen to this lowlife! He’s just jealous. Don’t let him bully you into kicking me out of here. Fuck, we can go to my place if you like. That’ll solve everything. Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here, Chloe.” He was lightly tugging me toward him, almost making me lose my balance.

“I can make up my own mind, so stop telling me what to do!” I yelled at the both of them. “You better leave, Spencer. I think I’m done for tonight. This stupid competition between who’s better at this or whatever … You guys need to shut the fuck up. I know gay men who have more guts than the both of you combined! So please, get over it because I sure as hell am.”

Spencer blew out a breath before muttering an apology and a promise to text me when things died down before taking his leave.

It had been frustrating to watch them exchange spiteful words as if I hadn’t been there, right between them. Had my foot been fine, I wouldn’t have stopped myself from slapping them silly. They had deserved it. Not only was it disrespectful, but they needed to understand that women weren’t possessions.

It was absurd to witness Drew a beat away from losing it. I had seen it before when he and Jackson had gotten into brawls. Drew won most of the time; that was why no one had liked to mess with him back in our high school. When he fought, he fought with everything.

Now my eyes lingered on him while he avoided my gaze. I wasn’t sure why, but I hoped it was due to embarrassment more than anything else.

“What did he mean by ‘because of who you are now’?” That line had stayed with me. The way Spencer had stated it, as though Drew thought he was better than anyone, as if it were all a farce. It was confusing to be stuck in the middle while being kept in the dark.

“It means nothing,” he softly bit out. The tension from his encounter with Spencer hadn’t evaporated, still thrumming in his veins.

Unsure what to do, I tugged on the ends of the cushions as I tried to suppress a sinking gut feeling. And when his blue eyes finally landed on me, I felt the impact as though I had been thrown into an iced lake. Those eyes had the power to send me cascading to Hell and soaring to the heavens in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t want you spending time with him alone. He’s a loose cannon. Do we understand each other, Chloe?” he bit out, his temper reaching the tipping point.

Son of a mother fucking gun! No, we were far from understanding each other. I wasn’t going to bow down just because he demanded, even if I loved him more than words could ever express. Whom I kept company with was my decision alone. He should know better than to interfere.

“Well, that’s all according to you, but he’s been nothing but kind to me. Besides, Jackson hasn’t said a word, so why should I?”

“What are you trying to do here, Chloe? I mean, look at you with that dress and that pearl thing on your head …” His eyes burned as he roved his eyes about me, fuming with some swift hand gestures then shaking his head in disbelief. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you actually want to date him; is that it? Because if you do, I’d rather you tell me straight up.”

He was livid that I was going against his wishes. What he had with Spencer had nothing to do with me. Heck, I wasn’t even here when it all had happened, so he shouldn’t hold this against me.

“I’m not trying to do anything but stress the fact that I have a right to my own mind.” Why wouldn’t he just leave it be? He was acting as though he had caught me cheating on him or betraying him to some degree, which was really absurd because we weren’t anything. He had made sure of that.

“You haven’t answered the question.”

We both stilled as he stepped closer, reeling me in, radiating anger. His heat made me feel threatened and mesmerized at the same time.

“Do you want to date him or not?”

He was too close. It felt like he was intimidating me for some reason.

Torn between wanting him to kiss me and still hold my ground, I cast my eyes down, ashamed that he might see how much his closeness affected me.

“I barely know him,” I whispered. “But I’m not going to lie. I’ve thought of it. It’s kinda hard not to.”

The tip of his tongue curled around the bottom of his lip, pensive as he looked at me with a soul-crushing glare. “I find it funny how it was just the other night you told me you loved me, and look at you now, two nights later, getting cozy with another guy who just happens to like the woman I slept with.”

“Don’t you dare fucking use that against me! It’s just an odd coincidence. He doesn’t have a clue about what happened between us.” I hollered back with the same intensity as he had. I was drunk, and even though I meant every word, he didn’t have the right to casually reference it just to prove a point, as if I hadn’t given my heart to him on a platter.

“Oh, yes, I fucking dare, Chloe. Something must’ve gave it away cause assholes like him picks up on shit like that. I’d never hold it against the woman, only him since he intentionally sought her out. But you’re not just any other woman. It’s impossible to laugh it off or not care. You’re—” He caught himself, pausing before resuming his speech. “How can you even—I mean, it’s vile—you—why—FUCK. What the fuck!” he growled into my face before he took a step back and pulled the side of his hair, looking more lost than ever. “Why does it have to be now? Why does it have to be him? You’re attracted to him?”

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