Page 106 of From Me to You

I let go of him to greet Tay and Dec. The Crash Riders had become my new best friends. They were deranged and high as a kite all the time, but they seemed really nice, and I was kind of using them to stray far away from the rest of the gang.

“Let’s go dance, bitches,” Tay screamed while she dragged me and Dec to the dance floor. I picked up another shot of tequila from the passing waiter to get as drunk as possible because I was about to do something I hated more than life. Dance with other men.

I let myself go to the music. I peered at our table to see White take the seat that I just vacated, the one beside Jay whose body was turned toward my direction. He had a small smile on his face while talking to White as if my dancing didn’t bother him, but the tension on his shoulder suggested otherwise.

Jay had tried to join me on the dance floor a few times over the past month, but I never gave in to him or danced with him. It made him mad, so he stopped trying while he sat at the table, always keeping an eye on me.

A pair of tattooed hands gripped me by the shoulder, pulling me to him. Will. He was my favorite dance partner. Because he always respected my boundaries and never tried anything.

“Trying to make him jealous.” Will rolled his eyes. “It’s certainly working because he is shooting daggers with his eyes.”

I said nothing as I danced with him.

Will and I had bonded a lot over the past few weeks as friends. We both had zero feelings for each other and zero chemistry. He was hung up on his ex and preferred blondes. And I wouldalways be hung up on the guy who had his eyes trained on my back.

Will knew I was trying to get away from Jay but never asked me why. But I had to come up with something because I really needed his help to break up with Jay. The main event that White had planned required help. I puked my guts out when she first explained it to me. I had no idea if I had the heart to execute it.

I turned toward Jay, who was talking with her, and she was laughing. She leaned so low that her breast almost spilled out of her dress while she touched his arm.

I hated it. I hated it so much. That was my man, I wanted to scream at her. But I was voiceless, helpless, as I screamed in a soundless room that I had made inside my head.

The dizzying feeling came back again, and the alcohol made my head pound. Tears brimmed my eyes as the overconsuming pain made my heart hurt. I didn’t know what came over to me, but I hurried to his side.

White’s eyes widened when she saw me but I didn’t care—only one month had passed. I had five more months—five months where he was still mine. She can try after that, and until then, I wanted him all to myself.

I buried my face in his neck as I crashed into him. The clean, woodsy scent greeted me and tears flowed through my eyes. I was home.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Jay immediately circled his arms around my body, pulling me closer to him.

I shook my head. I didn’t dare look up from his neck. My hands shook as I tightened my arms around his neck.

“I want to go home,” I said.

I heard Katy ask what was wrong from behind me as Jay lifted me up, but he ignored her and rushed me out the back door.

I sighed as he settled us in the back seat of the black cab car that was almost always magically waiting at the back entranceof the club whenever we came here. I leaned my head onto his arm as the driver drove us home. The home I actually meant was the one back in Bellevue with Jay, with the pink-painted walls, the worn-out leather couches, and the peace that came with it. I missed that house so damn much.

We didn’t speak until we made it to the bedroom.

My head was spinning from all the alcohol as he settled me down on the bed. I didn’t have the heart to meet Jay’s eyes because everything in me felt fragile at the moment.

But he sat beside me the minute my head hit the pillow. He gently cradled my face, running a thumb along my face.

“What’s going on, sweetheart?” His voice was too soft and too warm as it washed over me.

I couldn’t control myself as my lips wobbled and tears blurred my vision before I knew I was sobbing in his hands.

He cursed and lifted me into his arms. He held me so tight that I almost broke down into a million little pieces.

“Sweetheart, Evy. What the fuck is going on? Is it home? Do you miss Marie? Do you want to go back home? I hate seeing you like this. I know you only cry when you are really hurt. So please tell me, baby, is something going on that I don’t know? Did anyone do something to you?” His panicked voice only made me sob more. “Fuck, hey, it’s okay. Everything will be all right. I love you so much,” he repeated softly while he gently stroked my hair.

I cried to my heart’s content in the only place I felt safe and protected. I cried about how miserable all of this was making me. I cried about my upcoming demise. I cried about how unfair this universe was to me. Mostly, I cried about how I was going to break the heart of the man I was currently seeking comfort in.

It was pre-dawn when I woke up. Somehow, I had drifted off to sleep from all of that crying.

“Hey.”

My eyes locked into a pair of blues that I loved so much. But I couldn’t feel a thing. I was numb, tired, and exhausted. It felt like I was running a marathon at the speed of a sprint.