Chapter 9 Evie
Evie
Taking another sip of my Bellini, I snuggled closer to Chance. After a few drinks, he’d tempted me toward the pool tables. There, he’d introduced me to his cousin Elias and his uncle, Tanner.
And Matt.
His dad.
Matt and Tanner were a comical duo. They continually attempted to make me laugh, and more often than not, they surprised a giggle out of me.
Every time it happened, Chance would wrap his arm a little tighter around me, tucking me as close to him as possible while I sat on a stool and he stood over me.
Abi stayed at our table when Chance and I went to meet his family, but Sammy joined us.
It didn’t take long before I realized why.
A group of women had been at a nearby pool table, pretending to play while attempting to flirt with Elias.
One look at Sammy’s face as she watched those women smiling suggestively at her husband, and I got chills.
After making a shot, Elias grabbed the back of Sammy’s neck, pulling her in for a deep kiss before whispering something in her ear that had the coldness in her eyes turning to heat. “Daddy!” she gasped.
Chance shifted, blocking my view of the other couple. “Eyes on me, peaches.”
“Don’t hog all her attention. Go get the girl another drink, boy,” Matt instructed his son, tapping him on the shoulder. “And while you’re at it, get us a fresh round of beers.”
“Get your own beer, old man,” Chance groused, dipping his head to brush his nose along my ear.
I gripped his shirt in my fingers and twisted, biting back a whimper as my nipples grew hard and achy.
Zings of pleasure exploded along my spine, all the way down to my center.
I squirmed on the stool, my panties already embarrassingly wet.
His touches were innocent enough, but possessive.
And I freaking loved every graze of his fingers, every nuzzle of his nose, every rumble from his chest.
“Look at you being an asshole over there. You expect her to fall for you when you treat your pops like that?” Matt gave him a disapproving shake of his head and then winked at me. “Tell him to respect his elders, Evie honey.”
I bit my lip, not sure how to respond. Matt was kind of adorable, definitely not what I expected a dad to be.
He was loud and used a certain tone when he spoke to everyone, but when he talked directly to me, his voice became gentle.
William had conditioned me to question every change in a person’s tone and facial expression.
With Matt—and Tanner too—I was left unsure.
He seemed sincere, but I’d spent too many years with a father who pretended to be one way, when really, he was nothing but a monster.
Chance stroked his thumb along my jaw, returning my focus to him. “You want another drink, peaches?”
“Please.” Draining the rest of the contents of my glass, I gave it to him.
He dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Be right back.”
I watched him walk to the bar. It was still fairly busy, but the bartender—Nishia’s Jack—left two guys in polo shirts. He grabbed five bottles of beer and then started mixing my drink.
“He’s got it bad for you, kid,” Matt said, taking the seat beside me. I glanced at him, and he gave me a smirk. “He’s not perfect, Evie, but he’ll try for you if you let him.”
Matt was being real with me, so I gave him my truth. “I’m not looking for perfect. Just someone who can and will heal all the broken pieces. And right now, he’s doing a good job.”
Eyes so like his son’s softened for a moment before he blew out a sigh. “You’re a good girl. I can see that plain as day, honey. If you want him, you’re gonna have to hold on tight.”
Another chill climbed my spine.
It felt like a warning, and it probably was. I should have listened. Instead, I forced a smile and mumbled an excuse about using the ladies’ room.
As I stood, I caught sight of Abi still seated at the table.
She was stretched out, her feet in a big man’s lap.
He was massaging her calves, his focus solely on her as she lounged back, her glass of ginger ale in one hand, her phone in the other.
A soft laugh reached me, and the man beside her appeared to glow from that pretty sound.
A cold sweat beaded on my brow, the back of my neck. Heart racing, I told myself I wasn’t seeing what—whom—I thought I was seeing. Needing a moment, I raced to the bathroom, my stomach in knots as I locked myself in a stall.
That wasn’t him.
It wasn’t.
Why would it be him?
Gulping, I took a deep breath. Counted to five. Released it for a count of five.
“Evie?”
“Sammy?” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. “I’m okay.”
I heard footsteps, then the closing of the bathroom door. At first, I thought she’d left, but then I heard the water turn on at the sink. “It’s okay if you’re not okay.”
“Sammy, I’m peeing.” I wasn’t, not yet, but I needed to.
“It’s a public bathroom, babe. You do you. I’m touching up my lipstick.” I heard her humming to herself. “I locked the door. In case you needed a moment.”
It took a bit, but I began to relax and was able to relieve myself, all while Sammy hummed. After flushing, I opened the stall door and found her standing at the mirror, frowning at her reflection as she turned left and right.
“Does my ass look big?”
“What?” I glared at her as I washed my hands. “You have a perfect ass. Like, the best ass I’ve ever seen.”
“I dunno. Maybe I should start doing squats. There’s this thirsty bitch in apartment three. Now she has a perfect ass. Ugh, I hate her so hard.” She smoothed a hand over her hip then pulled a tube of gloss out of her pocket. “Want some?”
Taking it, I swiped some on, appreciating the extra time she was keeping me in the bathroom so my heart could finish calming down after the freak-out I’d had minutes before. I was sure I’d hallucinated seeing him, but I was still struggling with the memories that had bombarded me.
Sammy started fluffing her hair. God, she was beautiful.
I was a little starstruck as I watched her.
She was sexy and confident. But maybe not as confident as I’d first thought, given that ass comment.
This woman was a freaking goddess in the flesh who gave bone-chilling vibes when she was upset.
Her little trace of vulnerability eased some of my embarrassment about the tiny panic attack I’d almost had over a memory.
Even if that memory was from the worst night of my life.
There was a loud knock at the door. “Hello?”
“Should we let them in?” I whispered, not ready to leave just yet, but I felt bad about making someone wait.
Sammy took her time, fixing a tiny smear of lipstick on the corner of her mouth. “Ignore them. It’s no one important. If they are desperate enough, there’s another bathroom.”
They knocked again then complained loudly about using the men’s room.
A minute passed, and I was starting to feel better.
Sammy, however, didn’t appear to be in a rush, and I was enjoying her company.
She was easy to be around, not forcing me to talk or making me feel like I had to fill the quiet.
Simply having her there was comforting, as if she were lending me her strength.
Another knock came on the door. “Ugh, is someone in there?” The next knock was harsher. “Hurry up! There’s a line forming.”
“OMG, Sammy. You better not be in there with Elias again. I have to pee!”
“Sammy!” Another knock, louder, insistent.
“Samara Reid!” This voice was a little more desperate. “I can’t use the men’s room. Some guy just came out of there scratching his junk.”
Gross.
Sympathetic to the women waiting for the toilet, I rushed to unlock the door. As soon as it clicked, Monroe and Mila rushed in, Demi right behind them. There actually was a line that had formed in the secluded hall where the bathrooms were located.
At least eight other women were waiting. Seeing me standing on the other side of the door, some of them started whispering to each other. I didn’t want to walk by them alone, so I stood there, waiting for my new friends, missing my sister more than ever.
When I’d picked Chance, Evy had picked Reid just as I’d hoped.
Because her picking him, going home with him instead of staying to watch over me, was her finally putting herself first. No one deserved happiness as much as my twin.
Not a single damn person. She was the one who’d fought for me, us, and our lives together.
Evy had sacrificed parts of herself that she could never get back.
That didn’t mean I’d magically stopped needing her, though. And I sure as hell needed her now. Those girls in line outside the bathroom were sending me snide looks that I was not confident would give me warm and fuzzies.
More like angina.
Or a beatdown.
“Oh, sorry, Demi,” Sammy called as the blonde half sprinted to the nearest stall. “If I’d known it was you, I would have opened the door.”
“Liar,” Mila huffed then moaned, cutting off whatever scolding she was about to give Sammy.
“I told you we should have gotten Abi to knock,” Monroe complained. “I nearly peed myself.”
“Crybaby,” Sammy muttered, rolling her eyes. Finished checking herself in the mirror, Sammy skipped over to me. Threading her arm through mine, she walked with me out of the bathroom.
We’d barely taken four steps out of the bathroom, and I heard the women who were whispering none too subtly. “Chance is gonna fuck her tonight.”
They were talking about me.
“Lucky bitch. He’s the only reason I came here tonight. I wanted a repeat of last Saturday night. Girl, we didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before I had his dick in my mouth.”
My stomach bottomed out, my gut twisting. Along with my heart. Jealousy burned through me, like the blast of a volcano, the lava melting my insides, making it physically hurt to breathe.
“I hooked up with him Tuesday night,” another girl reminisced, her whisper containing a note that was wistful, nostalgic, and some other emotion I wasn’t familiar with. “He never hooks up with the same girl twice, but I’m going to keep trying. That dick is worth it.”
Stupid tears stung my eyes.
He’d hooked up with someone as recently as Tuesday. Of this week. Only a few days before, Chance had hooked up with someone different, on Saturday. Every time, he was with a new girl.
Did I think I was different?
His dad had basically told me if I wanted to keep his son, I’d have to hold on tight. Like a freaking clinger—like these girls who had been fucked and discarded and now were skulking around in hopes of another trip to pound town?
If I went home with him, like I still very much wanted to, I would eventually be one of those girls standing in line. Going to Hannigans’ and being stalkerish, just for a glimpse of him, a meager ounce of affection he might bestow on me.