Page 46 of Bad Behavior

Brad looks to me, and I swear to god he swallows his own tongue. He sputters, unable to form a coherent thought. I smirk. I must look good, then.

Smiling, I walk up to him. “You made it!”

Brad is blushing furiously. He steps a little closer to me, leaning in to be heard. “Yeah, I did for sure. This place is really hip. How’d you find it?”

“I wish I could claim the credit, but it’s actually my brother’s place. He owns it.” I think of Jameson, brooding behind the bar. “Well, my brother and his best friend.”

That makes Brad nervous. He looks behind me. “Err… does that mean your brother is here?”

“Yeah. Let’s see…” I turn around, looking for Asher. I accidentally make eye contact with Jameson, and wince a little. J’s expression is dark as a thundercloud before a storm… and he’s looking right at me, too.

“That’s your brother?” Brad says, nodding in J’s direction. Jameson turns away, focusing on making drinks.

“Uhhh… no,” I say, shaking my head. “There, behind the bar, in the middle? That’s my brother.”

Asher is arguing with Gunnar over something, not even aware that I’m here.

“Huh.” Brad looks relieved. “I thought that maybe your brother was one of those guys who thinks that his little sister needs protection or something.”

I glance at Jameson again, who is furiously pouring whiskey into a cocktail shaker. He’s trying so hard not to look at me that it seems more obvious than when he was staring right at me.

I smother a triumphant expression. He does care, a heck of a lot more than he lets on. Well, let him glare all he wants. He can stop my flirting with Brad anytime he wants with just a few words.

I turn back to Brad. “Do you want to dance?”

Brad’s eyebrows fly up, and he clears his throat. “With you?”

I roll my eyes, taking a gulp of my drink. I shudder at the taste, but I know it will help loosen me up.

“Come on!” I shout. “Pretend you’re having fun, okay?”

I grab him by the arm, pulling him out into the middle of the room. I’m not the first one to have the idea to dance. There are a few couples dancing already. I throw myself into Brad’s arms, dancing wildly at first. Poor Brad tries to awkwardly dance along, but he mostly throws off my rhythm.

We dance through five songs, and we’re both sweaty by the second one. I make sure to turn toward the bar every now and then, just to make sure that Jameson is still directing his glare my way.

I pretend not to notice him, shimmying and getting cozy in Brad’s arms.

“Wow, you are a really good dancer!” Brad says in my ear. “I feel lucky that you picked me to dance with.”

“Oh… thanks,” I say, cringing inside.

I feel a pang of guilt for essentially using Brad to make Jameson jealous. I bite my lip, slowing down. I did tell him earlier that I would introduce him to Evie, but looking around I have no idea where she has gone.

I decide that being direct is probably the best approach.

“Hey,” I say, leaning close. “I’m um… I have a crush on someone else. I’m sorry, it’s probably crappy of me not to have come right out and said anything.”

Brad’s expression is mortified, mixed with a look like I just kicked his favorite puppy right in the face. “You… what? Really?”

Chewing on my lower lip, I nod. “Yeah.”

“Wait, why come at all if you weren’t interested?” he says, confused.

“To make someone jealous,” I admit. “I know, I’m terrible. But I can make it up to you! Pick any other girl here, and I’ll be your wingman.”

Several emotions play across Brad’s face, but he seems resigned to his fate. “Yeah, alright. You should have told me, though. I could’ve pulled off some more dramatic moves.”

I frown. “Like what?”

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