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  “Back to his place? What happened after that?”

  She has to be lying. I point-blank asked her in the lobby if they had sex. She is swooning over a guy she just met? Really? They definitely had sex. She takes her drink and downs it. “We had sex,” she yells, covering her face with her hands.

  Great. I take her hands and put them down by her side. “Look, no crying, that’s another rule. Guys hate that. He’s already gotten what he wants out of you; there is no going back. Sorry.” I shrug. “I can’t help you anymore.”

  Bethany begins to nod and doesn’t stop for a few minutes. I want to feel bad for her, but she brought it upon herself. Keep your legs closed, is what I want to yell. Stop letting him touch you! You take control. Always be in control.

  Heather places a shot glass down in front of me. I raise an eyebrow.

  “Don’t act like you’ve never seen a shot glass before, Lane.” She downs hers and gives Bethany a worried glance. “So, this is a no go?” She gestures between the two of us.

  I nod and sip a little of my shot. Gah, nasty shit. Bethany places her elbows on the table and reaches for some chips. “I don’t know what to do. I mean…I just…I liked him and I thought he liked me. So, I went back with him. I’d had a little bit too much to drink…and God, he smells like Heaven.”

  I roll my eyes. “You want to try someone else? Any other guy you’ve had your eye on?”

  She shrugs and runs a finger over the rim of her empty glass. She looks so innocent with her strawberry blond hair and big blue eyes. “No. Look at him out there; he looks so carefree and happy. Why can’t I move on like that?”

  I take a chip and chomp on it. “Because he was never looking for anything but a one-night stand. He got it, now he is on to his next target.”

  Bethany mumbles. “I wish we could just break his heart and show him how it feels.”

  Yeah, right. Taking a couple of chips, I shove them in my mouth. I shouldn’t have skipped dinner. Heather was on my ass all night long about looking slim for the club. I reach for another chip when I see Bethany and Heather are both staring at me. You know, with those we took a vote and you lost eyes.

  “What?” Suddenly my chip isn’t very appetizing; I toss it back into the basket.

  Heather wiggles her eyebrows, which really shows me that they’re up to something I won’t like. “Well, since you know how to treat guys…you can go out with him, then break his heart once he falls in love with you. You’re freaking adorable and have the nicest ass. He likes asses.”

  Wow, is that supposed to make me feel better? “What—absolutely no. No. No. No. Not going to happen. You want me to go out with the damn ass monster.”

  “Oh, come on, Laney. You can date him for a couple of weeks and then be done. Please…I would do anything! He deserves it, look at him!” Bethany shouts, pointing at him.

  I glance over my shoulder at Aiden. He is grinding on some girl and checking another one out. I scoff. “Sure, he is an asshole, Bethany. But I’m definitely not your girl for this.”

  Heather opens her mouth to say something when two tree trunks of arms wrap around her from behind. She squeals as he nuzzles her neck. “Hey, girls. You three having a great night?”

  I hold up my half-empty shot glass and give Todd a sarcastic smile. He snorts and starts to pull Heather toward the dance floor. He has no idea I coached Heather through their entire dating experience. It didn’t take long before he was texting her nonstop and asking her to be exclusive. Sucker. They seem happy together so I can’t say it wasn’t worth it.

  “I just wish I had that,” Bethany says, pointing toward Heather and Todd.

  I grab my shot glass and down the rest. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom. Will you be okay until I get back?”

  She nods and glances off into the distance. She doesn’t know it, but there is no way she can make me feel guilty for not pretending to date this guy. I’m not the one that had sex with him.

  Scooting my chair against the tile floor, I start toward the bathroom. I push my way through the crowd. A few elbows get shoved in my face and a couple of half-drunk assholes fall on me. I push even harder and thank God once I break free of the crowd. The florescent bathroom light blinds me, so I walk in with my hand cupped over my brows, eyes squinted. Several girls are doing their make-up in the mirror and don’t even look my way.

  “I can’t believe how hot he is,” one says.

  Placing the plastic toilet seat cover over the top, I sit down.

  “I know. He is almost too sexy. I mean, take me home whenever you like, Aiden.”

  I mentally throw up on myself and flush the toilet. The girls leave as I open the stall door. They look just like Bethany. The same kind of dress and obviously they all love Aiden as well.

  After I wash my hands, I push past the bathroom door. There are a group of guys standing just outside the girls’ bathroom. Tucking my chin toward my chest, I push past them and into the crowd. I can vaguely see the top of Bethany’s head when a heavy arm flops onto my shoulder.

  What. The. Fuck—

  “Hey, baby,” someone slurs into my ear. Damn, have you ever heard of a breath mint? “Wanna dance with me? I like dat ass you got back there.”

  Fucking gross. “Okay, get off of me now.” Pushing the tree trunk of an arm over me, I turn around. Aiden is staring down at me, a devilish smile rising from the corner of his full lips.

  “Baby, you know you wanna.” He reaches out and tries to grab my shoulder.

  I duck out of his reach and start toward our table. Heather must still be dancing, because Bethany is the only person sitting there. She is texting and she seems like she is in a better mood. “Took you long enough…what happened to you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I give her a shaky grin, then grab her drink and down it. “No problem, just a long line in the bathroom.” My tongue is starting to feel heavy. What in the hell did Heather give me?

  I wipe my palm against my sweaty forehead. “So—”

  “Baby.” Ah, fuck face. “You ran away from me…why?” Aiden slides into the seat next to me, running his fingers through his blond hair. I’m sure he bleaches it, but we’ll let him think we think it’s real.

  Glancing at Bethany, I shrug. She is wide-eyed, her fingers clutched tightly around her shot glass. “First off, I’m not your baby. I’m no one’s baby. Secondly, I have no idea who the fuck you are and you don’t know me. Why don’t you go find someone else to dance with, huh?”

  He chuckles and tosses his arm around my waist, pulling my chair closer to his. “Oh, baby…we don’t have to know each other.”

  Okay, this is starting to get annoying. “For the last fucking time—”

  “Hi, Aiden.” Bethany glares at him from across the table. She is mad as hell. Aiden squints, his mouth falling open. He looks like he is trying to figure out who she is. “Hi, Aiden,” she says, louder this time.

  I almost tell her I think he heard you, but decide to keep my mouth closed. He stands up, getting closer to her face. A blond strand of hair falls and he pushes it back up, scratching his scruffy jaw on the way down. He doesn’t remember her, it’s pretty obvious. Bethany is livid. I can practically see the damn heat rising off of her.

  “It’s Bethany, you asshole. My name is Bethany. You fucked me last weekend. Remember? Or you don’t? I guess it’s pretty obviously that you don’t.”

  Aiden seems a tad more sober now, but he tilts his head and gives Bethany a once over. “Nah, you sure?”

  Ah hell. Everyone hide their silverware, she’s going to lose it. Tears are building at the corners of Bethany’s eyes. A sadness that I’ve seen too many times. Aiden doesn’t notice; he is too busy staring down my shirt. “So, what about that dance?”

  Bethany is holding her breath. I bite my lip and close my eyes for the briefest of moments. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. “Not a big dancer, but I wouldn’t mind something to drink.”

  Aiden smiles. This is music to
the devil’s ears. “Anything for you, baby. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Bethany is staring at me when I glance back over at her. I raise an eyebrow. “Get up, let’s go.”

  She furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”

  I grab the remainder of someone’s drink and toss it back. I feel the burn all the way down to my toes. “Let Momma show you how it’s done.”

  Chapter Three

  Lachlan

  “Don’t you ever say I just walked away,

  I will always want you” – Miley Cyrus

  “Come on, mate, I don’t have all damn day.”

  The taxi driver is sending daggers at me through his review mirror. I salute him until he glances the other way. Damn this American traffic. I haven’t been back since high school, but I’m not missing it as of now. Jacksonville’s traffic is way worse than I remember. I thought there wouldn’t be one reason for me to ever come back here, until Lucas called and said he was getting married. Dirty twit.

  The taxi driver swerves through the crowded street and pulls up to Lucas’s apartment building. Thank God. Grabbing my bag, I toss him the money and step out.

  “Damn British asshole,” the driver mumbles beneath his breath.

  Slamming the door with my foot, I say over my shoulder, “I’m Australian, arsehole.”

  The place is a lot nicer than I expected. Lucas wasn’t raised with much, and I liked that about him. When I moved to Florida with my parents when I was thirteen, Lucas took me in as a friend. When my parents and I moved back to Australia four years ago, it killed me deep down to leave her, but I knew I needed to. I started to hate this place as the years went by. Just the thought of Florida made me hurt.

  Building C is in the front, so I take the stairs to room three twenty-three. Before I can knock, the door swings opened. “You Australian bastard.” Lucas opens his arms wide and grins like a Cheshire cat.

  Unable to control myself, I pull him in for a hug.

  “Damn it, bro. I was hoping you’d gained some weight. I don’t want my best man looking better than me at my own wedding.”

  “I won’t brush my hair, maybe that’ll give you a shot. I haven’t seen you in yonks, how have you been?”

  He lifts an eyebrow. Damn, I forgot. I need to talk American. “It’s been a long time, how are you?”

  Lucas laughs and gestures for me to follow him. His apartment is messy, but that’s no surprise. It’s large, and that sixty-two-inch telly seems very satisfying. “So, where is this lovely fiancé? I’m dying to meet her.”

  Lucas calls out from the fridge, bringing two beers out. “She is at school. She has late classes on Fridays.”

  I nod, hoping he’ll change the subject quickly. When I told Lucas I wasn’t going to college he flipped the hell out. Not that my dad didn’t give me enough shit about it. “What do we have planned for tonight? I wouldn’t mind getting into a little trouble.”

  I take the beer from Lucas’s hand and pop the top. It feels great sliding down my throat. “You were always great at picking party places. How about you show me what you got?”

  Lucas scratches the back of his neck, and I can see that he’s debating what to say next. I’m not sure why. “I didn’t ask you to strip down into your knickers and screw me, Luke. Just a drink at a bar? Maybe get a little plonked for old times sake, mate.”

  Lucas sits across from me and laughs, sipping on his beer. “I don’t really go out much anymore since…”

  “Since you’re getting married?” Ah, damn. “Are you marrying one of those spewin’ whinger girls?” I’m just bullshitting him, but he seems so uncomfortable. “I’m just joking with you, mate. We can hang out here for the night, if you want.”

  Lucas sighs, then props his feet on the table. “So, how was your flight?”

  “Fucking long. Not to mention the taxi driver going ten miles the entire way here. I wanted to strangle him.”

  “Tell me about it,” he says, avoiding eye contact.

  That’s it. I place my beer on the table. “What’s going on? You’re acting stranger than usual. Go ahead and spit it out, buddy.”

  Lucas laughs. “Is it that obvious?”

  I nod and gesture for him to continue. He stands and comes back a moment later with a flier in his hands. “It’s this Sunday. I know you liked to cook in high school, but this isn’t High School Musical and you need to own this. You’re not in school, you’re a whartie, right? Whatever the hell that is.” He presses his lips together. “Do this. What do you have to lose?”

  Damn. Now I get why he has been so quiet. I examine the paper. It’s a Cook Off at the YMCA. The winner gets a chance to work at some new restaurant they’re opening in town. This is…ridiculous. I’m not that great of a cook, so why waste my time? And plus, I have no intention of moving back to Florida and even if I did, I don’t know if I’d want to work in a restaurant.

  I toss the flier back onto the table and glance over at Lucas. He rolls his eyes and interlocks his fingers behind his head. “Just give it a shot, bro. The worse that could happen is you don’t win. You won’t lose anything.”

  I click my tongue against my cheek and crack my neck. “Look, I’m zonked. I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises.” I stand and grab my bag. “Where am I sleeping? I think I want to take a small nap.”

  Lucas sighs and gestures for me to follow him. His apartment is large and I’m glad to see that he has two bedrooms. We get to the hallway where picture frames are lined across the wall. I turn left and see her. It takes me a few seconds to breathe right again.

  Nausea rises up my throat. I drop my bag, lean against the wall with one hand and cough into the other. I haven’t seen even a picture of her since high school. But I think about her constantly. Her large green eyes are sparkling behind a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses. Damn, they look good on her. This isn’t a newer picture. It’s at least a few years old, maybe eleventh grade.

  “I’m sorry, bro. I forgot to take it down.”

  My throat constricts. I feel like a damn pussy, falling all over myself because of a picture.

  “I haven’t seen her since graduation,” Lucas says. “She hasn’t answered my calls in two years. I finally stopped trying to contact her. She is going to Jacksonville University, down the street.”

  She stayed here? Why? Her dream was always to go to California and draw. Why didn’t she live her dream? Clearing my throat, I straighten and grab my bag. “No problem, mate. Can you show me to the loo?”

  Lucas knows…I can see the concern in his eyes. He is the only one that knows the torment I went through with her. The tears I cried like a damned woman. He never judged, only patted my back and listened to me vent. It was horrible. God, I fucking miss the girl so much. Shaking my head, I follow Lucas to a back bedroom.

  “You have your own bathroom over here. There is a small balcony through those doors, and you know where the kitchen is. Make yourself at home. Take a nap and then I’ll wake you later.”

  I don’t sit down until I hear the door click. Gripping my hair, I tug, hard. She is here, in this city. So close to me. But so far. What would she say if she saw me? Would she let me hug her? Touch her alabaster skin, or that round, tight ass?

  I huff. Fucking doubtful. She hates me. Not that I blame her, but it wasn’t my fault. It was both of ours. We did this to ourselves, wound up in each other so tight that it hurt so much worse when it ended.

  My head hurts from the thoughts, so I lie back on the bed. I turn off the memories and drift to sleep.

  ***

  “He is cute.”

  I hear a grumble, then a small giggle. “Hey, watch out, or I’ll bend you over this bed.”

  What. The. Bloody Hell? I open one eye and glance up at Lucas and a girl I assume is his fiancé. She is smiling down at me, hand outstretched. “I’m Savannah,” she says.

  Rubbing my fist into my eyes, I sit up. She is really cute, not that I didn’t expect her to be. Lucas is pretty shallow
. But she seems nice enough. “I’m Lachlan, nice to meet you, luv.”

  She giggles, making Lucas roll his eyes. “Hey, I can call you luv, too, sweetheart.”

  Savannah laughs and brushes her chest against Lucas. Now I see what drew him in. She has the biggest tits I’ve seen in a while, that are real, at least. Lucas has always been a tit guy; I’m more of an ass man myself.

  “So, what do we have going on?” I sling my feet over the bed and blink a few times.

  “Savannah says she wants us to go out and have a night to ourselves. She is going to have some girlfriends over. Sound good?”

  “Too right,” I say, standing.

  Savannah furrows her brows, and I know she has no idea what that means. She wraps her arms around Lucas’s neck and brings him down to her level. “You guys behave tonight. Keep him in line for me, Lachlan.”

  I give her a salute. She waves and disappears into the hallway.

  “So, what do you think about her? Keeper?”

  Shaking my fingers through my hair, I step into another pair of shoes. “I think she is adorable, and if you love her that is all I need.”

  Lucas looks relieved. I never really understood why he worries about my opinion so much. “Good, now get ready. We’re leaving in ten.”

  ***

  Music blares across the parking lot, causing the car’s windows to shake. It feels like home. Bars, clubs, anything with dancing, beer, and food has been my home for the last few years. The smell of nachos makes my mouth water. We don’t have nacho cheese in Australia. It kind of sucks; they don’t know what they’re missing.

  Lucas leads me toward a tall bar table in the corner of the club. He scoots in and flags a waitress down easily. “What can I get you guys?” Her eyes rake over Lucas, obviously checking him out.

  He waves her off. “Two Buds, Jen. Thanks.”

  I lift an eyebrow. Lucas tucks his head, like a turtle ducking back inside its shell. “What?”

  “Where has my best friend gone? That girl was checking you out, mate.”