Page 26 of Hawke

“Fuck,” I cursed aloud, completely forgetting all about my plans with my brother. I could call and cancel, but since they weren’t with just the two of us, I knew I would inconvenience the others, too. “I’d forgotten all about that.”

Chase was having a small get-together at his place, and he had invited a few people to join us. Emery was one, and I knew she’d be crushed if we didn’t go. With everyone’s busy schedules, it wasn’t often that the gang could all hang out, even though Em was there for one person only.

My best friend had the hugest crush on Ayden Santiago. And I supposed, who wouldn’t? Those hazel eyes with his dark skin. The man was hotter than Hades. And his stare. I’d seen many women succumb to it over the years. After being ridiculed and bullied his entire childhood, he grew into his looks, and had women dropping to their knees at his feet. I suppose that was the reason I hadn’t been so shocked to see him at Syn. He was a police detective so he could’ve been there on assignment, but I doubted it. The man oozed dominance.

Unfortunately for Emery, who fancied herself as submissive, Ayden considered her nothing more than a kid sister, so she’d never stand a chance with him. I knew deep down inside that my best friend knew that, but it didn’t stop her from trying, anyway. She used every ploy over the years to get his attention. Sometimes he humored her, but never in a non-platonic way. It wasn’t a deterrent. It only made her step her efforts up.

I wished I were as bold as her sometimes. If our places had been swapped, and it’d been Emery with Hawke, I knew my friend would force him to accept their chemistry. She would have also given him a verbal tongue-lashing for even daring to try to leave her like he had left me. And when he would then go radio-silent, she would make herself be seen and heard, no matter how she had to do it. She’d not give up like I did, then pine away in her bedroom like some love-sick fool.

“Are you still there, Char?” Em asked.

I exhaled softly. “Yes. I was just looking for something to wear.”

It sounded plausible, and as much as I wanted to just tell Emery to go ahead without me, I knew it would ruin my best friend’s night. I didn’t want to be responsible for that, and since this was just dinner and cards with guys that were either brothers, or very much like one, I didn’t have to actually get all dolled up.

“Perfect. See you in a bit,” Em said, blowing a kiss through the line.

I shook my head, then rolled out of bed. I put the ice cream away and hurried back to my bedroom. Thankfully, I didn’t look nearly as bad as I felt, which was a blessing in itself. It’d still take me a few minutes to touch up my makeup and hair. First, however, I needed to get out of my pajamas before my best friend got there.

Opting for something comfortable, I stripped out of my shorts, but left my tank on. I quickly wriggled into a pair of yoga pants, then tossed a University of Colorado hoodie on over my tank. I completed my ensemble with a pair of sneakers, then headed back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

I managed to get the dark circles under my eyes covered up, and was in the process of pulling my long platinum locks into a ponytail when I heard the doorbell. I knew it was Emery, so I finished getting my hair up as I walked before I opened the door.

“Damn, you look like hell,” were my best friend’s first words as soon as she breezed past me.

And here I thought I looked fine.

I frowned, but followed Emery into the kitchen where she was helping herself to a glass of wine. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

I looked at Emery, who was wearing a designer blouse which barely covered her breasts; the look accentuated even more with use of a push-up bra. I shook my head. I knew who the reveal of skin was for, but I hated to burst it to her that Ayden wasn’t interested in anything romantic with her. Hell, just thinking about it, he hadn’t had a steady girlfriend in years. There had been women in his life, but no one that stayed there for any length of time.

After seeing him at the opening night at Syn, a lot of things started to make sense now. I didn’t know how I had missed the signs before. The Latino heartthrob was a Dominant and if Emery had known that, prior to Valentine’s Day, she would’ve been on her knees at his feet faster than I could blink. She knew it now, and it was likely the reason she was dressed the way she was. Usually, she wore something similar to my attire tonight.

Emery arched her brow when I grabbed her keys, and she almost asked why but then remembered her crack about my outfit. Setting my purse back down, I returned to my bedroom where I replaced the exercise pants with a pair of jeans, and my over-sized hoodie with something more form-fitting. I still looked very casual, but at least presentable. Although, I still had no idea what was so wrong with my earlier choice.

I didn’t want to argue with Emery, so I had humored her and changed. Once dressed, I returned to the kitchen where Emery was rinsing out her wine glass. I wasn’t going to drink seeing that I would be driving. I did, however, grab a bottle of water before getting my coat on.

Soon, the two of us were in my Maserati on our way to my brother’s condo. He lived about six blocks away from me. It was close enough, but still allowed me to have some semblance of privacy. My parents had been thrilled when I’d announced how close I would be living to Chase. The last thing I had wanted was a lecture from them. God knows I had gotten enough of one when mentioning wanting to move to a dorm. My father was overly protective of me because I was his only daughter. If he had his way, he would have kept me home under lock and key forever.

I loved my parents, but I had left home to stay on campus as soon as I’d graduated from high school. Between doting parents and even more overly protective siblings, I needed some freedom, and grabbed it the first chance I had gotten. I had been on my own ever since.

Emery had naturally followed me, and our parents had sprung for a luxury apartment right off campus. Cortland had told them about how unsafe the dorm areas could be at night, and because I had several evening classes, they wanted me to go right from campus to our apartment which had twenty-four-hour guards and a well-lit parking lot.

Em’s dad had split the cost with them, so neither of us had to work. We only needed to focus on our studies. It ended up being like a constant, never-ending slumber party, and I truly believed it cemented our sisterhood. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her, and I knew she felt the same when it came to me.

As I drove down the busy street, I glanced at my best friend from time to time. Emery Wilder was stunningly gorgeous with her long, dark locks and flawless skin. She was animated... spontaneous... unpredictable... and fiercely loyal which was why I wanted to tell her more about Hawke, but eventually stopped myself.

She was also spoiled rotten, even more so than I had ever been growing up. Her father had been a local politician here for many years, but once Em graduated from high school, he advanced in his career and moved to Washington, D.C.

It’d actually been his home where we had stayed last year during the fateful time when I had first met Hawke. He’d asked his daughter to come for a visit because he’d missed her. Emery was torn over going because she didn’t get along well with the woman her father had married after his first wife was diagnosed with stage four cancer, then died months later.

It had been a terrible time for Emery. We were in college, and it was one of the few times I had ever seen a chink of metal break from my bestie’s armor. She would cry at night for the mother she lost, but never let any of it stop her from being herself. She looked unfazed to the world, even though she was completely different behind closed doors.

My heart had gone out to her, and my admiration only grew. I was in awe of how strong my best friend was then, and even now. We might like a lot of the same stuff, and do a lot of the same things, but nothing seemed to ever affect my friend. If only I could have possessed that trait because then I wouldn’t be as heartbroken over a man who promised me nothing, and gave me less in return.

“You’re pretty quiet tonight, Char,” Emery said, stating the obvious.

“I just have a lot on my mind.”

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