Page 26 of Cougar

Liam isn’t as shallow and heartless as he makes himself out to be. He does have a heart—it’s just not in his possession. It’s with the girl he loves, the girl he pushed away because he was an idiot. When he realized his mistake, it was too late. She was gone. And it broke him.

“Candy striper outfits are hotter,” Tyge adds.

Liam rolls his eyes before he pulls out his phone. “Car’s here.”

“What about Jay?” I ask as we head for the door. “Don’t make shit awkward for her.”

“Jasmine is an adult and a professional,” Liam argues. “She knows what she’s getting into.” He turns to Tyge. “Are you riding with us?”

“Nah.” He waves us off. “I gotta pick up my date.”

“Make sure you check her ID before you let her in the car,” Liam quips before he slams the door shut.

Cam

Scanning the ballroom, I find Emerson standing at the bar with Bass, talking with the members of Royal Mayhem. “I’ll catch up with you later,” I tell Liam as I break away from the group and head toward Emerson, stopping along the way to shake hands with some of my old teammates.

Sliding my glass on the bar, I order another drink and turn to Emerson.

“No date tonight?” she asks, taking a sip of her champagne.

“I don’t need a date. I’m here to support Marcus’s charity. Besides, I’m heading back to Heritage right after this.”

“Liam brought a date.” She scowls over her shoulder.

“Liam needs a date to take a piss.” I smirk.

Emerson snorts a laugh. “True.” She props her petite hands on her hips and looks over her shoulder again. “I told him Dr. Ramos was off-limits. Jay needs her more than Liam does.”

“You know you can’t tell him he can’t have something. He’ll want it just to spite you.”

The bartender sets down a napkin and places my drink on top.

“Speaking of dates… Lauren is here as someone’s plus one.” She rolls her eyes.

“Poor guy,” I chuckle.

“No doubt,” she agrees.

Lauren Michaelson, my ex-girlfriend turned stalker, is a snake. A venomous one. Our relationship ended over two years ago, yet she’s everywhere I am. Right after I broke things off with her, Lauren tried getting in bed with Liam. That’s not the first time a woman has tried to bounce between him and me. Liam and I have always had a pact that a woman will never come between our friendship.

Unfortunately, Lauren’s little stunt caused a shitstorm of problems for Liam, single-handedly ruining his first attempt at a real relationship after his breakup with ‘the one who shall not be named.’

“How are things going with Jay? She looks great.”

Emerson smiles. “We’re taking it one day at a time, but she’s doing really well. Most days are the same. She eats, exercises, reads or watches YouTube videos.”

“Sounds like she’s back to her routine. What about her music?”

Emerson shakes her head. “She says she’s not ready.”

“Just give it time.”

* * *

Emerson

It’s only been an hour and I’ve reached my quota of “How are yous?” followed by a sympathetic look as I delivered my stock answer, “We’re taking it one day at a time.” I feel a little guilty for doling out the same response to Cam. Habit, I guess. But it’s still the truth. We all have our good days and bad days.

---