Page 70 of Let Me Love You
“How the hell do you know?” Colt demands.
“Ash told me about it a few months ago. Bravo, brother. Didn’t know you had it in ya.” Blake winks but shivers and plops down on the seat beside his. “Although Iampretty freaking scarred after hearing all about it.”
Colt picks up his glass and shakes his head. “You and me both.”
“Speaking of Ash, where is she?” Blake asks.
“She was tired, so I dropped her off at home,” Colt tells her as Mia approaches and offers Blake a bottle of water without even asking if she needs it.
Blake grabs it, untwists the cap, takes a sip, and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “You two doing okay?”
“Hope so,” Colt mutters into his almost empty glass.
He looks frustrated. Tired. And a little drunk. The liquid goes down smoothly as he tosses the rest of it back and asks Mia for another one.
“You sure you’re all right?” I press. “That bunny seemed pretty forceful.”
“Why doesn’t this shit happen with you?” Colt demands, casting a quick look at the bunny in question standing a few feet away.
“It’s because Ash is a sweet little wallflower,” Mia explains as she sets down Colt’s fresh drink. “And Blake isn’t afraid to mark her territory. It makes it easier for the bunnies to test the waters with you than Theo.”
“Well, it fuckin’ sucks.” Colt takes a swallow of his freshly poured drink.
“True,” the rest of us agree. And it does. Seeing Colt like this. How much it’s affecting him. The guy looks like he’s lost his mind.
“Seriously,” I tell him, “Thanks for coming, but don’t feel like you have to stay. Do what you gotta do.”
“Thanks,” Colt mutters into his glass. “I’ll stick around for a few.”
“Great.” Blake slips off the barstool and grabs my hand. “We’re gonna dance.”
“All right. I’ll find you when I leave,” he replies.
“You have a ride home?” I ask.
He nods. “Limo’s parked out front.”
“Ah, now I understand why it’s busier than normal,” Mia interjects as she throws ginger beer, lime juice, and vodka into a copper cup for another customer. “Well, that, and I overheard a few players inviting puck bunnies to hang out.”
“How do they already have their numbers?” Blake asks. “The season hasn’t even started yet.”
“As long as it stops at puck bunnies and I don’t have to deal with any paparazzi, I’m happy,” Colt mutters. “Actually, that’s a lie. The bunnies can go to hell too.”
“Yikes.” Blake and I exchange a worried look. “You sure you’re okay over here?”
“Yeah. Fine,” he lies. “Mia can keep me company. Go dance. I’ll see you in a few.”
“You sure?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Alrighty, then,” Blake murmurs, guiding me toward the dance floor.
Before we have a chance to make it far, Colt snaps, “I told you not to touch me!”
A body slams into Blake, and she tumbles into me like a set of bowling pins. I grab her waist to steady her, but the original pin is lying on the ground, her bleached blonde hair sprawled around her.
“What the hell, Colt?” the girl screeches. “Why’d you push me?!”