Chapter 34
Thirty-Four
C ooper
I’m having a good time with Chandler. It helps that women keep wanting to dance with us.
Chandler is eating it up. He loves attention even more than I do, especially from the female persuasion.
But I’m keenly aware Sybil is not having a good time.
She’s watching us like we’re taking a piss on her baby blanket.
I guess, in a way, Chandler has always been her comfort person.
Ethan notices it too, and he returns to Sybil. They’re talking again, and I’m dying to know what they’re saying. After a minute, Ethan stalks to the dance floor.
“What was that about?” I ask him.
“I asked her to dance, as friends , and she refused. She says we’re not friends and told me I need to move on.”
Luckily Chandler doesn’t hear this part. It would break his happy-birthday heart. Ethan finds a new dance partner, and the bright neon lights mixed with the thumping music juxtapose the awful anxiety in my chest.
This isn’t fun, but it’s not about me. It’s about Chandler, so I continue to do what I do.
I make sure the guy is surrounded by beautiful woman and encourage him to show us what he’s made of, unable to hold in my laugh when he does his signature “raise the roof” move.
I sure love this kid, and I hate we can’t have more than the occasional text.
Soon, I’ll fade from Chandler’s life forever.
Despite the fun he’s having, that I’m pretending to have, I keep my eyes on anyone who gets near him. Most people are kind, but not everyone. I swear to God, I will hurt anyone who dares to make fun of him or treat him less than anyone else.
When my eyes aren’t on Chandler, they’re on Sybil.
She’s at the table, watching us, being a sourpuss.
And she still draws me in. Flashes of our one shared kiss return to my mind…
and my body. My muscles tighten, and my cock twitches just thinking about that moment.
I’ll never forget the heat of her, the way I so quickly threw away my morals to get one taste of my fantasy.
I shouldn’t be thinking about that kiss, not after everything.
I’m sure she doesn’t think of it, either.
Then her eyes connect with mine, and I question everything.
Her gaze is wanting. Needy. Angsty as hell. But also sad. Everything I’m feeling. Have all the things that have plagued me also plagued her? Dropping me doesn’t undo what we did. It happened, and it was one of the most real moments of my life.
“Stop that,” I mutter to myself, shaking the thoughts away. This is a betrayal of my mind and body and especially of my brother, and it needs to end.
The song changes from an upbeat pop number to one with a low, sultry base.
The tone of the dancers changes with it, people coupling up to dance close, many of them grinding their bodies together.
A woman immediately zeroes in on me, which is typical, and I’m tempted to give in to someone else’s body instead of the one on my mind, but this isn’t the time or place. I take Chandler back to the table.
“Next round’s on me. What do you guys want?” I ask.
Sybil shakes her head, that gorgeous hair of hers catching the lights and mesmerizing me for a moment. “Nothing for me.”
“I’ll come with you,” Chandler says, following me to the bar and leaving his sister again.
“Are you having fun?” I ask him.
He nods happily, clearly buzzed from the two beers he’s had and excited for the next one. I don’t know how much it’s going to take to get him drunk, but I’m guessing the third will do it. Everyone’s a lightweight at first, and Chandler is small.
Maybe it’ll be good for him to wake up with a hangover and rethink the whole alcohol thing. If we’re lucky, he’ll never want to touch the stuff again.
Not that I have room to talk. I was fifteen when I had my first drink. It’s been a source of both pain and pleasure ever since.
“Why is Ethan dancing with that girl? Is she his girlfriend?”
The questions catch me off guard.
Oh man.
I wish I could make this easy for him.
“No, they’re not together,” I say carefully. “But if they were, it would be okay. Ethan deserves to find a new girlfriend, you know? He deserves to be happy.”
Chandler’s expression crumbles, and I feel like a total asshole. Sometimes being the messenger of bad news is the absolute worst.
“He doesn’t love Sybil anymore?”
I give his shoulder a little squeeze. “They’ll always love each other, but not the kind of love that’s needed to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“They were gonna get married.”
I nod because I get it. “Not anymore.”
Chandler’s face turns red and splotchy. “Why won’t anyone tell me what happened?”
I wish I could answer his question, but it’s not my place. Still, I can’t leave him hanging. He deserves some kind of explanation.
“They’ve changed as people and don’t want to do marriage together anymore.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Well, Ethan is focusing on school right now, and your sister is focusing on her career, and that’s okay.”
“If Ethan wants to focus on school, then why is Ethan dancing with other girls?”
We edge closer to the bar. “It’s fun. You had fun dancing with girls too, didn’t you? That doesn’t mean you’re dating them. Boys and girls can have fun without romance.”
He nods, and then it’s our turn to get drinks.
We bring them to the table where Sybil has turned her glare in Ethan’s direction.
I’ve got to hand it to my brother. He is giving zero shits tonight.
In fact, he’s currently gyrating on some girl so fucking hard that it looks like he’s about to come right there on the dance floor.
Good hell. Most people don’t act like this in clubs anymore, and Ethan rarely does, but apparently he’s channeling his inner 2000s.
Chandler is visibly upset again, his face beet-red and his eyes watering.
“Hey, you stay here, okay?” Sybil says to her brother. “I’m going to go talk to Ethan.”
He forces a smile as she marches off. I don’t think for one second she’s jealous about Ethan dancing with a woman. This is about Ethan being seconds away from taking a woman home when we’re supposed to be celebrating Chandler.
That said, Sybil doesn’t get a say in what Ethan does anymore.
She can’t break up with him and then get mad when he wants to hook up with someone else.
Ethan’s cheeks redden after she spends a minute with her hands flying around her, clearly upset as she yells at him.
He returns to the table with his tail between his legs like a disobedient puppy getting chastised.
Sybil follows, but the woman Ethan was dancing with grabs hold of her arm and yanks her back, yelling something I can’t hear over the music. I’m out of my seat in less than a second.
“Go sit with Chandler,” I instruct to my brother, not sticking around as I make it to Sybil.
“You’re a real bitch,” the girl spits at Sybil.
“Back up,” I growl, and the woman throws her hands in the air and storms away.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Sybil turns on me, and anger bangs through me like a thunderclap. I think of the pain she’s caused and all the shit she’s put us through.
Grabbing hold of her wrist, I march her to the other side of the dance floor. I lead her right up to the far wall with the darkest shadows. She shakes her wrist from my hand and presses herself against the exposed brick. I tower over her, staring down at this woman who drives me crazy in every way.
“What do you want?” she snaps, her familiar perfume enveloping me in the small space, reminding me of how many times I’ve been reeled in by her sweet scent.
What I really want becomes very clear by the way my cock thickens in my pants. Fuck.
Despite my better judgment, I let out a dark chuckle. “Don’t ask questions you won’t like the answers to, Valentine.”
Her mouth pops open, those pretty lips doing ungodly things to me without even being on my body. Double fuck. I need to back this up real quick before I get myself into trouble.
“Don’t call me that,” she says, but I ignore the comment and continue.
“This isn’t about what I want. It’s about doing the right thing by Ethan.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re not being fair to him,” I say, a little annoyed I have to spell it out for her. “It’s been hard for him to get over you, but he’s finally putting himself out there again.”
She glowers. “So? There’s a time and a place for everything.”
“And a nightclub is a pretty good place to find a woman to dance with, don’t you think?”
“It was hurting Chandler’s feelings.”
“Chandler can handle it. He deserves the truth, and that’s what I told him. Guess what? He is okay. He’s an adult, old enough to drink alcohol, right? So, unless you’re planning to get back together with Ethan, you have no right to tell my brother what to do.”
Her eyes narrow, sparking with fire.
“So you’re mad I told Ethan to go to the table and not for any other reason?”
I don’t know what she’s talking about. “You’re not his girlfriend anymore,” I say slowly.
“Fiancée. I was his fiancée,” she says.
“You’re not his anything anymore, and that was your choice.”
Our gazes are locked in, sparks dancing between us.
“Why do you care so much?” The challenge in her voice is unmistakable.
“He’s my brother.”
I’m such a liar.
“That’s the only reason you care?” Her eyes drop to my lips, and I realize what she means.
She’s calling me out. She knows. She knows I get jealous anytime she so much as looks at Ethan, that I’m turned on right now being alone with her, and even though she’s not explicitly saying it, it’s not a secret I’m hiding well.
Why do I care so much? I care because it’s her, because I don’t want them getting back together, can’t stomach the idea of them working it out, not when I’ve dreamed about burying myself in her body too many times to count. I’m haunted by this woman.
“That’s all,” I lie. But I’m inching closer, closer, closer.
“I don’t believe you,” she whispers.
We’re too close for comfort, but I can’t seem to pull away.
I’ve got her against the wall, and I raise my arms to cage her in, my head bending toward her.
It would be so easy to erase the space between us.
A few measly inches are all that stands between me and this woman who could decimate my life.
Forget about the fear of rejection; I would be sick if Ethan saw me kiss her.
I step away so I can breathe again, but I can’t say I like oxygen more than I like Sybil Laurence.
“You don’t have to believe me,” I say, “but our brothers are waiting for us. Let’s finish out the night, and tomorrow you can pretend like none of this ever happened. You’re good at that.”
“Fine by me.” Her eyes sparkle, the green flashing in challenge. She steps away from the wall and marches to where Ethan and Chandler are waiting.
I can’t help but watch her from behind, following her like I always do.