Page 52 of Good Girl

“Did it say anything new?”

“Nah, same old shit. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s some stupid end-of-year prank,” I replied, weaving between the aisles. “But Paul really seemed twisted up that his lies never got him anywhere. Are you sure you don’t want to report it?”

“I’m not giving him the satisfaction.” Derek sighed. “Besides, the second I do, the dean will open another investigation, and I’ve had my fill of those. That little twerp is too ratty to get caught. I’m hoping if we ignore it long enough, he’ll do something extreme that he can’t deny and he’ll be gone.”

“Alright.” Ultimately, it was Derek’s decision since Paul targeted him in the first place, and I would back him regardless of his choice. “I’m in the store, so I’ll pick up what I can and meet you back at the apartment.”

“Sounds good.”

The call ended, and I busied myself with grabbing a few bottles of liquor and heading out. Pre-drinks usually involved a few shots before we headed to the club, and the more I thought about it, the more excited I grew. We hadn’t been in a while, and the atmosphere was always electric, the perfect place to forget the stress of a work week and lose yourself in life’s basic pleasures.

Speaking of ... halfway home, I passed by several large groups of people spilling into Club Tango. Not unusual, really, but what caught my eye was Charlotte and her friend Haley on the outskirts of the crowd. Charlotte,ourCharlotte, was out clubbing tonight? Seemed odd, considering how vocal she had been about disliking such events, but considering the sparkly friend next to her, I could reason she was keeping her friend happy.

She was kind like that.

She was dressed in a flowy peach skirt and a light floral blouse with a cinched waist. Just watching her vanish into the club made my mouth water, and my heart pulled south with the realization that she had made plans tonight.

I paused my steps and pulled up the group chat.

[Samuel]Just seen Charlotte at Club Tango, think she’s busy tonight.

[Derek]Bullshit. She’s not getting away with her attitude that easily.

[Matt]She hasn’t answered any of my calls.

[Samuel]Want me to go talk to her?

[Derek]Yes. This isn’t like her.

[Matt]Yes. If she wants to go out, she’s coming out properly with us.

Our collective inability to hide our eagerness about Charlotte made me chuckle, so I slipped my phone into my back pocket and headed into the club. Pounding music met my ears, and the surging crowd taunted me by hiding my prize from view. Finding Charlotte in a sea of sweaty, writhing people was a challenge I gladly accepted, even if it meant I had to get up close and personal with several strangers.

Luckily, it didn’t take me long to locate Charlotte at the bar where she had already been abandoned by her sparkly top-clad friend. She leaned against the bar looking somewhat crestfallen as I weaved toward her, and by the time I reached her, I was hotter and much stickier than I would have liked.

“Charlotte!” I yelled over the music, and she flinched, spinning to face me. Her sweet face melted instantly, only to harden a second later.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Ouch.” I chuckled. “So frosty.”

“I didn’t think this was your scene,” Charlotte murmured, returning to the bar. She drummed her gold-tipped fingers on the bar and turned away from me.

So, this must have been the attitude Derek was talking about. Luckily, I didn’t give up easily.

“It’s not,” I said after a pause. “But when I saw you, I knew I had to come and see what was going on. You’re snapping at Derek, ignoring Matt’s calls... Something tells me everything isn’t peachy.”

“Why do you care?” She snapped her head back to me, and her blonde hair, scraped back into a long pony, whipped around.

“Whywouldn’tI care?” I asked. Charlotte’s eyes darted back and forth, studying me for a long moment.

“I haven’t seen anyone, barely heard from anyone, so I realized that you guys were just like all the rest. Bored of me. You had your fun, and now you’re moving on. It’s okay, I get it.”

“Charlotte, where is this coming from?” Each word from her lips was a needle pricking into my overheated skin, so I leaned beside her on the counter to better focus on her.

“All week!” she snapped. “Not a word.”

“Charlotte... you think we’re bored of you because we haven’t had a chance to meet up with you?” It dawned on me pretty quickly that Charlotte was in dire need of some reassurance. In our struggle to get through a week from hell, we'd neglected her, and while work often had to come first, if it made Charlotte feel abandoned, then we definitely could have done better.

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