32. Felix
FELIX
The parking lot of the Prickly Pear is packed when Lucas and I arrive sometime after eleven.
It’s been one of those weird nights where we’ve bounced from party to party, none of them all that exciting, until Gavin texted and said he was at the Prickly Pear.
I guess he wasn’t the only one with that idea.
I spot Gavin’s car as Lucas and I hop out of the sober ride and walk up to the front of the bar. That’s clue number one that Dahlia’s already inside.
Clue two is the calm that washes over me the second I walk through the doors of the small bar.
That anxious thrum I’ve felt all day eases knowing I’m going to finally have a chance to talk to her.
I see Violet first. She and Gavin are at the bar just inside the door.
He’s sitting on one of the bar stools and she’s standing between his legs.
The bar at the Prickly Pear is shaped in a horseshoe. On one side there are pool tables and dart boards, and the other has tables and a dance floor.
“I’m gonna see if I can grab us next on one of the pool tables,” Lucas says and heads in that direction.
Without looking at him, I nod and scan the right side where I recognize lots of Valley U students sitting at tables and congregating on the dance floor.
That’s where I find her, dancing with some guy in the middle of a big group.
Blonde hair hanging down her back, sexy green dress showing off a whole lot of leg.
Her profile is to me, but she turns ever so slightly so I can see her face.
She’s smiling, and that hits me funny for reasons I don’t quite understand.
She’s here and having a good time. Why the hell does that feel like a punch to the gut?
I step up to the bar next to Gavin.
“Hey, man. You made it. Great game today,” he says.
“Thanks.” I order a Jack and Coke from the bartender.
“I’m gonna go dance,” Vi says and kisses Gavin before heading that way.
I get my drink and then lean a hip against the bar.
“Did your parents come down this weekend?” he asks.
“Yeah. Yours?”
“Nah, they couldn’t make it.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Eh, it’s whatever.” His gaze follows mine to where Dahlia is dancing. Dancing with some guy with a death wish. “Should I have warned you?”
“Nah. We’re cool.” I take a long drink of the Jack and Coke.
“Uh-huh.” He watches me carefully. “Violet will kick my ass and then hand me over to Jane and Daisy to finish me off if you make a scene and embarrass her. They’re protective of Dahlia.”
I hate the way he says it like I’m someone they need to protect her from.
“I’m not going to make a scene. Everything is chill,” I promise him.
“Good.” He stands. “Want to let me kick your ass at darts then?”
I scoff. “As if.”
I take one last look at Dahlia and then follow him to the left side of the bar. I try really hard not to stare, but I find myself watching her every chance I get. I can’t even carry on a conversation, and Gavin does kick my ass at darts. Twice.
She looks…well, fuck, she looks happy and carefree, like she’s having a blast with her friends. Our plan worked. She broke out of her shell and is meeting new people. I should be happy about that. I want to be happy about that.
When she goes to sit down at the long table filled with hockey players and their girlfriends, I finally catch her eye. I tip my head in a small greeting. My lips curve into a smile now that I have her attention on me.
She pushes a lock of hair behind one ear and lifts her other hand in a wave. Damn, she’s beautiful. My stomach dips and my pulse spikes. Then her gaze drops, and she takes a seat with her back to me.
“That’s it?” I mutter under my breath. I keep staring, waiting for her to look back up.
“Hey, can we get in on the next game?” Jordan asks, coming to stand in front of me with one of his teammates.
I nudge his shoulder to move him over an inch so I can see her again.
“Okay, then.” Jordan steps out of my way. “What’s up with him?”
“He’s chill,” Gavin says and then laughs.
“Clearly,” Jordan says dryly. He swivels to track my line of sight. “I hate to say I told you so…”
I cut him a glare, and he holds up his hands defensively, then chuckles.
When I glance back at her, Dahlia stands from the table and heads toward the bar on the other side with Jane. “Be right back.”
“Don’t make a scene,” Gavin yells behind me.
I flip him off over my head and go after her.
By the time I get there, some of the hockey guys have joined them. I approach Dahlia on the side. My fingers wrap around her arm in a soft caress. My thumb glides over her skin as she turns to face me.
“Felix,” she says my name all breathy and nervous. “Hi.”
“Hey.” I lean closer. “I texted you.”
“Oh, I…” She trails off and won’t quite meet my eyes. “I’m sorry. I meant to reply and then the night kind of got away from me.”
I can’t say that doesn’t sting, but I force a smile. “No biggie. So, how was the tournament?”
“I won.” Her shoulders inch higher like she’s a little embarrassed to talk about her victory.
“That’s amazing.” I can tell by her body language (and the side-eye Jane is giving me from her other side) that sweeping her off her feet into a spinning hug would be crossing some imaginary ex-boyfriend line, so I hold up my hand for her to high five. “I knew you’d do it. Congrats!”
“Thanks.” She presses her palm to mine. I close my fingers around hers to hold it hostage. The guy she was dancing with earlier picks this moment to call out to her.
She pulls away from me and opens her stance to include him.
He gives me a quick glance before he asks her, “Want to be my partner in darts?”
She hesitates, but nods. “Yeah. Fair warning, though, I’m terrible.”
“I’ll teach you,” he says.
A pretty blush climbs up her face. Fuck, I hate every second of this. I think I’m having a heart attack. My chest is tight and blood pounds in my ears. Twenty-two seems young for a heart attack, but I’m not a doctor.
“Steven, do you know Felix?” she asks, probably trying to break the tension rolling off me.
“Yeah, of course.” He leans against the bar. His arm brushes against hers and stays there. “How’s it going, Walters?”
I know Steven pretty well from hanging out with Jordan. He’s all right, I guess. I might have even liked him once, before he put his hands on Dahlia. Now he’s just some guy in my fucking way.
“Going okay,” I say. Or that’s what I think I say. I’m not really interested in chatting up Steven right now.
He nods and then looks back at Dahlia expectantly.
“I’ll be right there,” she tells him.
When he’s gone, I invade her space. I need to break through the weirdness. Once upon a time, this might have been a perfectly fine interaction with her, but not anymore.
“Are we okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, of course.”
“It doesn’t feel okay.”
“It was bound to be awkward the first few times we ran into each other, right? We’ll figure out how to be friends again.
” This time, her smile is genuine. She really believes that.
And fuck me, I finally realize the problem.
I don’t want things to go back to the way they were.
Not if that means we dance around each other and barely talk.
If this is what it means to be friends, then I don’t want to be her friend. I never wanted to be her friend.
“I better go,” she says. “It was good to see you.”
“Yeah, you too.”
She walks backward a step, still hitting me with that smile, then turns on her heel to go find Steven.
A girl at the bar slides over. Her arm touches mine and I flinch.
“Hey,” she says. “Want to buy me a drink?”
I just stare at her for a second. Long enough to realize there’s no world in which I want to hook up with some other chick tonight. “No. Sorry.”
I head back to the guys. As much as I don’t want to, I give Dahlia space the rest of the night.
I play pool with Lucas, and then Brogan and Archer show up and the four of us get a pitcher and a table.
I’m across the bar from her, but I’m still aware of Dahlia’s every move.
Steven taught her how to play darts, and I’m now considering burning down the boards in every bar across town.
She went from timid and shy to throwing like a pro and probably kicking all their asses.
Steven is attentive. Not overly touchy in a sleazy way, but enough that I can tell he’s really into her.
Everything I know about him is that he’s a decent guy, which is super annoying right now.
I wish he were an asshole, or crossing some line, so I could swoop in and tell him to get lost. He’s exactly the kind of guy I might have seen her with a month ago, but now the thought of anyone else touching her or kissing her has a red mist falling in front of my eyes.
At last call, I push out of the bar and take a deep breath of the cool, night air.
Three hours of torture. Lucas and I pause at the end of the building where the sidewalk meets the parking lot.
I hardly drank, but I’m jumpy and on edge.
Electricity hums under my skin. There’s no way I can go home and go to bed.
“Teddy can be here in five or there’s an Uber a block away,” Lucas says, staring down at his phone.
“Take the Uber,” I tell him, tapping my thumb against my thigh. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He starts walking across the parking lot, but he stares at me as he goes. “This about your ex and her new guy?”
“Nope,” I say and backtrack toward the bar doors.
It’s not about her and Steven at all.