Bar Down (Grand Marquee Manticores #2)

Chapter 8

EIGHT

Seven Months Ago

Ash

The second mini game we are forced to play is even more ridiculous than the first. After drawing the short stick, I’m blindfolded and led to a mini obstacle course. The coordinator of the game explains what I need to do and I try not to fidget too much. Truth is, I don’t love the blindfold. It makes me feel powerless and I don’t know how to let someone else guide me around when I feel so vulnerable.

“So, the goal is to be the first person to complete the obstacle course, grab the stick and shoot the puck into the net. If you win, you’ll move on to the next round and swap places with your partner,” the coordinator says.

“I got you, don’t worry,” Eli leans in and says over my shoulder. Completing the obstacle course requires me dodging, rolling, crouching, all while blindfolded and with only Eli to guide me along.

“I trust you,” I say as the coordinator gives us 30 seconds to set up. Eli’s hands grab both my shoulders from behind and I involuntarily lean into him.

“You need to walk straight ahead for about twenty steps and then crouch to go under a beam. It looks rubbery, but at least you have a helmet on, just in case it’s not.”

I can hear the smile in his voice and it makes me smile too. “Anything else?”

“That’s it for now, I’ll walk along the rest of the course and tell you more directions,” he says, repositioning me so I’m facing the right way.

“Go, go, go!” yells the coordinator.

I follow along with Eli’s directions and duck, reaching a hand up and brushing it over the rubbery beam as my head narrowly avoids it. As soon as I straighten up from my crouch, I start slowly moving, arms out ahead of me. “Eli, now would be a great time for some more directions.” I chuckle nervously.

I hear him from somewhere to my right when he says, “You got this, kultsi . Keep going straight for another five steps—there you go, now you need to step over an obstacle, so make sure you swing your leg wide.”

“Oh, the jokes I could be making right now if we weren’t technically working,” I say under my breath. Eli laughs softly as he moves along the course with me. I don’t know if it’s because of our bond or something else, but we clearly work well together. He navigates me through all the obstacles and I’m the first person to reach the hockey stick.

“Yes! That’s it, kultsi ! You need to set up a little bit more to your left—just like that, now make sure you add some flex to it and lift the puck. Give it some flare.” I do as I’m told and I hear cheers erupting around me. I drop the stick and take off my blindfold just in time to see Eli rushing at me with a huge smile on his face. I grin back at him and he hugs me tight before realizing where we are and that everyone is looking at us. He lets go sooner that I would have wanted, but I don’t care.

I have to admit I’m having a lot more fun than I thought I would, and that’s all thanks to being around my best friend again.

Eli

By the time we wrap up the mini games, I can feel my social battery draining. There’s only so much an introvert like me can take, and after a few hours of socializing and putting on my game face, I am exhausted. I can’t wait to get back to the hotel, shower, and unwind. If I weren’t sharing a room with Ash, I might be taking care of other needs as well. Although, with his behavior recently, he might spend the night elsewhere.

“Eli! Wait up!” Ash says, jogging up to me. I notice Max and Dylan walking behind him, also approaching. My eyes start to roll before I catch myself and put on a smile.

“What’s up?”

“We’re headed out to a club nearby,” Ash says, tucking his hands into his khaki shorts. The movement makes his biceps flex and his tight blue polo stretches over his broad chest. I bite down hard so I don’t do something stupid, like tell him how good he looks. Ash looks at me sheepishly before looking back at his pals. “Do you want to join us?”

“I—what?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“C’mon, champ , you need to blow some steam after all those games,” Dylan says.

I frown at the nickname he gives me and look over at Ash. He seems nervous, but I can’t figure out why. Does he not want to go out with his friends? Is he inviting me as a buffer?

“We ordered a car, let’s go,” Max says, putting his arm around Ash and giving me a smirk. “Unless you’re too good to hang out with us?”

My eyes narrow on Ash’s shoulder where Max is rubbing his thumb back and forth and, while I think it’s a terrible idea, what I say is, “Lead the way.”

I guess I’m going to a club.

The car ride is loud as Max, Dylan, and Ash relive the excitement of the first day of all-star, but I keep to myself again. I’m thinking of ways I can get out of this hangout.

Can I fake a migraine so I can leave early?

Maybe I can get one drink and leave?

Maybe they’ll be so busy they won’t even notice.

Not even ten minutes later, we’re inside a fancy club, loud music blasting from the speakers, dim lights making it look dark and sultry. A reservation must have been made because we are led up the stairs to a more private part of the club.

We take up a booth with low seats that’s right across from the dance floor. When the waitress comes around, I point at a drink on the menu, not even caring what it is. Everything is so loud and I feel a headache coming already. Maybe I won’t need to fake anything to get out of this.

I sit quietly and listen to the guys’ conversations as much as I can over the noise while I sip on what turns out to be a mai tai. Max is sitting close to Ash in a way that makes me think they might have hooked up at some point in the past. And that maybe Max is trying to make a move again.

My thoughts are interrupted when a couple of girls come over to our booth. “Do you mind if we join you guys?” one of them yells out over the loud music. Dylan nods enthusiastically and she all but plops down in his lap. The other girl moves between them, focusing all her attention on Max and Ash.

I continue to sit there, by myself, on one side of the booth and watch their interactions. Ash shoots me glances every now and then like he has something to say but doesn’t quite know how to. Soon enough the two girls drag Max and Dylan out to the dance floor and Ash and I are left alone together.

I order a second drink even though my head is pounding. What am I doing here?

Did I only come here because I was jealous of Max? I don’t have a right to be jealous, Ash can do whatever he wants. I was the one that told him we should just be friends and nothing more.

“Are you okay?” he asks, sliding closer to me on the cushion.

“Fine, just have a headache,” I mumble.

Before Ash can say anything else, Max runs over and says, “Let’s dance, ginger boy.” Really, Max? Ginger boy ? Now I do roll my eyes at him. Ash shakes his head no, but Max is insistent, reaching over and grabbing him by the arms. I swing my legs to the side and give Ash the space to exit the booth, which he does.

There’s a sour feeling in my stomach as I watch them make their way to the dance floor. Dylan is dancing with both the girls that came over to our table, and Max and Ash are dancing together. The more I watch them, the more my jealousy flares. And after a few minutes, when Max pulls Ash closer and his hands move down his back, lower, and lower, I can’t take it anymore. I slam the empty glass on the table, leave some cash next to it and stand up.

I should just walk away and not look back, but I only make it a few feet, my head pounding, when curiosity takes the best of me. My head swivels around to look at Ash and I expect to see them dancing close together, but Max is all over him, kissing his neck.

When Ash opens his eyes, he looks right at me. For a moment, he looks confused, like he didn’t expect me to watch him dance with another guy. His eyes widen the slightest when he takes me in, ready to leave. I’m not sure what my face portrays, and frankly, I don’t care.

So I walk away.

I order a car to take me back to the hotel as I make my way out of the club, all the while trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my gut that I may have lost any chance I might have had with Ash.

You did this to yourself, Eli. I had my shot and I blew it. Ash told me he liked me, he told me he wanted me. And I wanted him too, more than anything. But I got so lost in the thought of what others would think of me, of us, that I didn’t take the chance. And now he’s in there, finding someone else to spend his time with, and I remind myself that I don’t have the right to be jealous.

I pace on the sidewalk and pinch the bridge of my nose, willing this headache to go away. My ride share arrives quickly and I get in the backseat of the Mini Cooper, but before I can shut the door, a hand comes down on the inside handle and stops me.

“Wait.”