Page 151 of Only in Your Dreams

It’s so contrary to the Zac I know. The calm, controlled one who dishes out easy smiles. Incapable of aggression, not even with Noah’s angry, drunk dad charging at him.

Now, I can tell he’s working hard to keep his cool. The last thing I want is for him to lose it in the middle of the street, because of Connor of all people. Already, people are staring. I see Jim, the owner of Oakley’s, peering through the bar’s window next door. It makes me stand a little taller. I’m not about to let this asshole get the best of me, and especially not of Zac.

I shake my head at Zac, and his teeth grind so hard I’m sure I’d be able to hear it if my heartbeat wasn’t in my ears.

“That’s what I thought,” Connor says with a derisive chuckle. “Come on, Mel. Let’s leave your little guard dog here and have a chat inside, huh?”

“I’m not going inside with you,” I tell him coldly. I nod at the alleyway beside Oakley’s, out of the way from prying eyes. “You can say whatever you have to say over there.”

When I start to move around Zac, he gives me a last pleading look, asking me to stay, not to go with Connor. But I’ve been chasing this feeling for weeks, the ice-cold strength to stand up to him, and I refuse to derail my own momentum.

“I’ll be right back. Stay here.”

He stares at me for another long moment. With a bitter sigh, he moves out of my way.

Connor laughs. “Good little guard dog.Woof, woof.”

“Did you just—” I whip around, fuckingprayingI heard him wrong.

But Connor’s still smirking at Zac, who only calmly crosses his arms over his chest with a look that plainly saysI fucking hate you. Which is noble and all. But I go from cold, simmering fury to white-hot rage in the span of a second.

The same kind of rage that had me trying to hunt down Noah’s dad the moment I saw Zac’s banged-up face. Because Connor just fucking—

“Did you just bark at him?” I snap at Connor. “Tell me you didn’tbarkat him, you sick, narcissistic piece of—”

“Mel, it’s fine,” Zac says evenly. He doesn’t take his eyes off Connor, though. “Don’t let him get to you.”

It’s far too fucking late for that.

Connor appraises me. Maybe I’m misinterpreting it, but he seems fascinated by my reaction. I turn on my heel and march into the alley, Connor’s footsteps behind me.

“Who the fuck is he, Melly?”

The alley is dim, walls cutting off the setting sun, and it casts ominous shadows over the sharp angles of Connor’s face. He glances at the mouth of the alley, like he expects Zac to have followed us in.

“None of your business.Heis none of your business. And let me tell you something, Connor: if you ever bark at him again—evenlookat him the wrong way again, I swear to God—”

“Oh, I get it now. This is what you’ve been up to, then? Why you broke up with me?”

My jaw drops. “What? You broke up withme—”

“I’m holed up in a tiny inn down the street, worrying about you. Meanwhile, you’re out there fucking some other guy—”

“I—me? Are you kidding me, Connor?” I hiss. “You dumped me to be single on a boys’ trip!”

“And I want to undo it. I want you back, and you’re the one refusing.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “You really are deranged. You’re not even denying that’s why you did it. How many people didyoufuck days after dumping me?”

I don’t know what it is that catches him more off guard. The bite in my tone or that I’m not backing down. Connor tips his head to the side, eyes calculating.

“Everyone makes mistakes, Mel. I can forgive your cheating if you drop this bullshit attitude and come home with me now.”

He’s serious. Staring down at me completely steady, as though he didn’t just spew a whole load of garbage at my feet.

“Fuck you, Connor.”

His brows shoot up his forehead. “Excuse me?”

---