Chapter 36 #2
Lochlan
Who the fuck is Miles.
An evil smile curls my lips.
Lochlan appears to be a touch jealous. And I know this is super cunty of me, but I’m still mad, and feeling betrayed.
Me
My new hot friend.
Me
You and me are done. Don’t look for me on campus tonight. I’ll be sleeping elsewhere.
The fact that he doesn’t immediately reply doesn’t make me feel like I’ve won.
It’s more the eerie calm before a killer storm.
Finally, he responds.
Lochlan
You should apologize.
I literally laugh out loud.
Me
Yeah, that’s not happening. You fucking lunatic.
Lochlan
Not to me, little villain. To HIM. For involving him in this and getting him killed in the process.
My face pales as I quickly set the phone down and take a shaky breath.
“Everything okay, Ms. Galina?”
I gasp and turn to see that Miles has walked over to the far side of the bar where I’m standing with my phone.
I smile at him. “All good. Just charging this up.”
He nods slowly, his brow furrowing. “Look, I’m sure you’ve already got an overprotective father—”
“Two of them, actually,” I say with a dramatic sigh.
He chuckles. “Even better. But since they’re not here, I feel compelled to ask you again if you’re okay. Because you looked like you were about to smash that phone against the bar.”
My shoulders slump a little. “It’s…”
“A guy?”
I smile wryly. “Unfortunately.”
He nods slowly. “Thought so. Everything all right?”
I sigh heavily and shrug. “Just…trust issues.”
“His, or yours?”
“Mine, I guess. But it’s his fault.”
He frowns. “This asshole cheat on you or something?”
I shake my head. “No. But…it’s complicated.”
I eye Miles for a moment.
“Okay, it’s partly trust issues, and partly my own insecurities,” I blurt out in a rush. “He’s pretty much my first relationship, if you can even call it that…”
Miles clears his throat. “And I’m guessing you’re not his?”
“Not even close,” I mutter darkly.
“Jealousy is a mean motherfucker,” Miles shrugs. “Okay, so he’s got some ghosts of girls past in the closet. He still seeing them?”
“No.”
“Call you one of their names in bed?”
I snort. “No. Jesus, does that actually happen in real life?”
Miles smiles wryly. “It’s how I found out my ex-wife had been screwing my best friend for a year.”
“Fuck!” I stare. “That’s awful!”
He shrugs. “Eh, he got the worse end of the stick. He’s married to her now.”
I laugh loudly.
“So, this boyfriend…” Miles peers at me. “He’s got a past, but he’s not out there revisiting that past, right? And he’s with you?”
My mouth twists as I shrug.
Miles gives me a pointed look. “You picking up where I’m going with this yet?”
“That it’s my own insecurities talking, which are probably why I’m not letting the trust issue go, even though I know I should?”
Miles chuckles. “You do sound like Chelsea. That’s my daughter.” He grins proudly. “Psych major.”
“Me too!” I laugh.
My phone dings. I shiver when I see it's a new text from Lochlan.
Lochlan
I know you’re bullshitting me about this guy just to piss me off.
Me
I hope it’s working.
Lochlan
But even though I know you are, I would still go tell Miles to run and hide. I’m still going to kill him and fuck you over his dying body so that all parties concerned are clear about how MINE you are.
Dark need coils through my center.
God, how supremely fucked up am I for that to turn me on?
Me
You sound insane. Seek help, or go call one of your hoes. Who knows, maybe Julia has the night off.
The mental image of him cavorting around with that bitch zaps through me like a black storm. I grit my teeth, then glance up at Miles.
“Hey, Miles?” I say sweetly. “Can we get a picture together?”
His jaw sets. “So you can send it to that boyfriend of yours to piss him off?”
“Uuhhhh…” I shrug. “Yeah?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “He a big guy?”
“Six three?”
Miles grimaces. “The fighting type?”
I roll my eyes as I smile and nod. “Yeah.”
He sighs. “Fuck it. Sure. But if this guy comes after me, I’m telling him it was your idea.”
Miles lets me put my arm around him and lean my head on his shoulder while I snap a quick pic.
I immediately send it to Lochlan.
Me
I'm sorry, did you still think I was bullshitting you about Miles?
Suddenly, there’s a commotion in the crowd. My jaw drops when I see Yelena glaring up into Achilles’ venomous face. Travis, the blond guy she was dancing with, is sprawled on the floor a few feet away, nursing a bloodied nose.
What the fuck.
How the hell did he find her?!
“Shit,” I glance at Miles. “I should go help my friend.”
He wishes me luck with everything before I storm over to where Achilles is looming over Yelena, glaring down at her.
“You’re walking out of here with me right the fuck now. That, or I’m going to be carrying you out.”
Yelena, who I’m suddenly realizing is way drunker than I realized, sneers up at him. “You and what army?!”
Time to step in.
I grab my friend’s arm and tug her back from Achilles before I get between them. “She’s not going anywhere with you!” I snap, glaring up at him.
Achilles looks vaguely amused as he cocks a brow at me.
“Oh, you’re coming too,” he says in a bored tone.
I snort. “Uh, how about go fuck yourself, asshole?”
“Yeah!” Lucia steps forward as well and crosses her arms over her chest as she glares at Achilles. “Fuck off!”
It doesn’t faze Achilles in the slightest.
“I’m counting to three,” he sighs, ignoring Lucia and me as his eyes laser in on Yelena. “One.”
“She said fuck off, asshole!” I hiss. I step forward to…I don’t even know. Shove a finger in his face? I mean, I'm over a foot shorter than him.
Whatever my ill-conceived non-plans are, they don’t see the light of day. Because right then, another huge figure emerges from the crowd, his stony, ice-blue gaze right on me.
Lochlan.
I gulp, staring wide-eyed up at him.
“What are you doing—”
“Not fucking counting to three, I can tell you that much.”
Before I even know it, he’s grabbing me and lifting me into the air like I weigh nothing…tossing me kicking and screaming over his shoulder…
“See you outside,” he grunts at Achilles.
…and storming through the crowd and out the door.