Page 29 of Savage

“You know, you don’t have to tell me this.”

“I know, but I’d like to explain.” A tear trickled down her cheek as she said, “We’d gone to dinner and had a few drinks... one thing led to another.”

“Yeah, I get the picture.”

“He left the next morning, and I never heard from him again.” She turned to face me, her eyes red and puffy, lips trembling. “I’m always careful. I don’t just get mixed up with anybody, but there was something about this guy...”

“Yeah, he was a dick. Plain and simple.”

“Yeah, he was,” she agreed. “I usually pick up on that sort of thing. I don’t know how I missed it.”

“Things happen. It’s not your fault.”

“Well, it certainly feels like it is.” She sighed, then added, “I tried calling him and left a couple of messages, but I never could get him to return my calls.”

“Fuck him. If he doesn’t know a good thing when he has it, then he doesn’t deserve you.” I motioned my head towards the clinic. “Now, let’s just get this thing done so we can figure out the next move.”

She nodded, then grabbed her purse and got out. I followed her to the doctor’s front door and into the waiting room. As luck would have it, the place was fucking packed. As soon Candace signed in, we made our way to the back and sat down in the only empty spot we could find.

I won’t deny that it was pretty brutal being there. I knew it was just in my head, but I felt the whole room was staring at us, casting judgments about why we were there. I knew they were thinking I’d knocked her up, and I wanted nothing more than to tell them all that they could stick it. But I forced my head down and tried my best to ignore them.

After what felt like an eternity, the nurse called Candace’s name. She immediately turned to me and said, “I’ll go do the test and stuff, then come back out here and wait with you. That way you can be with me when I get the results.”

“Sounds good.”

She took her purse and zig-zagged her way through the crowd, then disappeared down the hall. Twenty minutes later, she returned looking even more nervous than before.

Damn.

It had already been a long one, and it was only noon.

And it was about to get longer.

Much longer.

CHAPTER10

Londyn

Iwas already pretty toasted when the group decided to move the party to Skylar’s place, so I opted out. I made a quick stop in the bathroom, then Skylar or one of the others in the group helped me get home—or at least, I think they did. I didn’t remember the ride to the house or paying the driver. It was like I blinked, and I was in my parents’ house and curled up in bed.

I woke up the next morning feeling like absolute death.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had a hangover quite like this one.

My head hurt, my eyes ached, and my tongue felt like sandpaper.

In hopes of blocking out the sun, I pulled my comforter over my head and thought back over my night with Skylar and the crew. We’d laughed and talked for hours, and I’d had a really great time—even with the whole Danny debacle. I still had no idea how I’d got it so wrong. I guess my mind was playing tricks on me.

Just like it was playing tricks when I thought I saw Malcomb.

Actually, I felt him before I saw him. I could feel the heat of his stare on my skin. I immediately turned and quickly glanced around the room. My heart skipped a beat when I spotted a set of blue eyes staring back at me. Certain it was him, I leaned to the left in hopes of getting a better look.

But in a blink, those beautiful baby blues were gone.

I looked around the entire bar, but there was no sign of him. It was as if he’d vanished in thin air, and it bothered me more than I cared to admit. In fact, his not being there disappointed me more than when Danny turned cold on me.

I wanted to see him.

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