Page 167 of Alive At Night

Sure, Julian had told me to block Greg, but I’d already decided I was done entertaining my ex’s faux niceness and attempts to “catch up.”

He raised a brow, a hint of satisfaction in the slight movement. “I thought you guys were fucking.”

Greg leaned in, making his curiosity about the question clear. He wrapped an arm around the back of my chair, and I felt slight brushes against my back that made me tense and want to bolt. But at least here we were in public, surrounded by onlookers. If I walked out of the bar now, Greg might follow me into the night.

Just the thought of that made my skin crawl.

When I didn’t reply, Greg continued to probe.

“That didn’t last long, huh?”

I couldn’t decide if it would be wise to tell the truth or not, so I avoided answering. I just needed to buy time until Julian got here. I hadn’t been able to say much on the phone, but I could tell he understood my ice cream comment. He remembered. He knew that I was with an ex, and he would likely deduce that it was Greg. And there was really only one place in the city where I went to get a drink, especially right after work.

Julian would be here. He might have acted grumpy and standoffish earlier, but he’d been like that toward me for most of his life. And he always came. When I needed him, he was always there.

“Greg.” I sighed heavily as I tried to inch away from him. He wasn’t really letting me. “Why are you here?”

“You know…” He cocked his head to the side, eyes scrutinizing me. “I don’t really get it. You went from hating Julian to sleeping with him. Tell me, how does that make sense?”

“You said yourself that I always used to talk about him when we were dating,” I replied without meeting his eyes.

“When we were dating,” he emphasized, making it obvious that I’d said the wrong thing. “Wedated, yet you decided to lethimfuck you and not me.”

Oh my God. He was absolutely delusional, wasn’t he?

“First of all, that was nearly a decade ago,” I snapped. “You need to let it go, Greg. We never slept together because I never trusted you. And clearly, for good reason, considering you cheated on me. Second of all, Julian and Iaredating. Third, aren’t you engaged?”

Julian obviously had his faults, but he was the most loyal person I had ever met. He was endlessly selfless, and I trusted him with everything that I was. I always had, and I always would.

Greg’s head jerked back at my admittance. “You’re dating?”

I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t comment on the engaged part.

“Yes.” My jaw was clenched now, knowing I only had so much restraint left in me. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but I didn’t want to keep having this conversation. “We’re dating. So if you couldpleaseleave me thefuckalone, that would be great.”

Greg swallowed. And then narrowed his eyes before saying the most ridiculous shit I’d ever heard.

“I think you owe me.” His voice dropped to a level that made my hairs stand on end. “And I think golden boy needs to experience what it feels like to have everything fucking taken from him. When he kept me from finishing our senior season, he fucked up my entire goddamn life.”

Just as I felt his grip twist around my arm, I caught sight of a tall, handsome man with auburn hair pushing his way through the crowd by the entrance to the bar. Pure, sweet relief swept through me.

I was positive Greg hadn’t noticed him yet because he kept going on about how much he hated his life as if I would find sympathy for him. There was the possibility, I supposed, that if Julian hadn’t broken Greg’s fingers and ruined his football chances, he might not have this vindictive spirit in him, that he might have grown into someone who wasn’t as much of an asshole as he was in high school. But somehow, I didn’t think so.

Julian’s eyes caught on mine, and I melted into them. He mouthed my name, his expression desperate. Knowing he was there, just feet away, was what I needed.

Without wasting another second, I jerked my elbow up, connecting it with Greg’s nose. I didn’t think it was hard enough to do any damage, but it definitely surprised him, and I used that to twist out of his grip.

Seconds later, Julian caught me, enveloping me in his arms. I wanted to hang on to him and never, ever let go, but before I could even say a word, Julian tucked me behind his body and advanced on Greg, who had a hand to his nose, glaring furiously.

“What are you doing here, Kennedy?”

To the casual onlooker, Julian might sound conversational. But I could hear how his words were strained, forced. A hum of barely concealed rage wrapped around how he said Greg’s name.

Alarm sparked in Greg’s eyes, but he shrugged. “Got a new job nearby. I heard this was the place to go after work.”

Julian tensed at his clear implication. I could tell that he was fighting like hell to keep his temper under control, and honestly, I was impressed. But the reality was that there were countless eyes on us, and Julian was no longer a seventeen-year-old who could blame broken fingers on a football accident. The last thing I needed was for Greg to goad Julian into an assault and battery charge.

“Yeah?” Julian leaned in, clapping a heavy hand on Greg’s shoulder—hard enough that he flinched. “And where’d you hear that?”

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