41. Leo
Leo
This fucking guy.
I glare at this guy, who’s been staring at Lucy’s boobs for the last minute—ever since I walked into this bar and spotted her, then slowly made my way over through the densely packed crowd.
What the hell is he even dressed as? A lumberjack?
He turns slightly, and I see the roll of Brawny paper towels tucked under his arm. Oh. Whatever.
I don’t care what this guy is dressed as. All I know is that he’s not going home with Lucy.
“Leo, what are you doing here?” Lucy asks.
There’s a cute little wrinkle between her eyebrows as she stares up at me. I try to keep my gaze above her neck, but it’s a fucking task. Because her body looks goddamn incredible in her Halloween costume.
That tight little top that shows off her stomach, those tiny little shorts that give away just how plump her ass is, how long her legs are…
Okay, maybe I’m a hypocrite for despising this guy for staring at her body, since I’m doing that right now too.
But the difference is I know Lucy. She likes the way I look at her.
This guy? I can tell she’s not into him.
When I walked up to her, it was right when he asked her to go home with him. I saw the way she hesitated. I saw the way her smile turned tight. I saw the way she backed up a step to distance herself from him. She’s not interested in him, and she’s trying to let him down easy.
But she won’t have to. I’m gonna get rid of him.
I turn to the guy and glare at him. “She’s coming home with me.”
I know I don’t look as intimidating as I normally would if I pulled that death glare—not when I’m dressed in a green and blue Luigi onesie.
But judging by the way his brow lifts when he focuses on my expression, he seems to get the message just fine. Back the fuck off.
He holds up a hand. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t realize she was spoken for.”
“She’s not,” I say in a hard voice. I hate that I can’t walk into this bar, slide my arm around her waist, and pull her against me. I hate that I can’t kiss her in front of all these people.
Because she’s just a friend. And no matter how much I want her to be something else—something more— we can’t. It could make things weird between us and ruin our friendship.
As much as I want her to be more than a friend, I’m more scared of losing her completely.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lucy says, crossing her arms over her chest. I can’t ignore the sting of her words, even though she’s right. Even though I know it’s what’s best for us.
The guy’s confused gaze bounces between the two of us.
I step so I’m closer to Lucy. I’m not touching her, but I’m close enough to her that no guy is going to attempt to chat her up when I’m standing next to her, acting like her bodyguard.
“Thanks for the drinks, James. I think I’m going to hang out with my friend, Leo, now though,” she says. Her mouth curves up in an apologetic smile.
The guy nods once and tries to smile, despite the flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “Have a good night, Lucy.”
He walks off, and she turns to me.
She tilts her head at me. The look in her eyes is hazy, like she’s tipsy.
“That was kind of rude of you to interrupt my conversation with that guy.” She shuffles her feet and wobbles a little.
I reach out, steadying her with my hand on her hip. She might be a little drunker than I thought.
A protective feeling courses through me. I feel even better about getting that guy to go away. The thought of him trying to leave with her while she’s intoxicated makes my stomach churn.
“You didn’t want to go home with him, Lucy. I could tell by the look on your face. You were trying to let him down easy.”
That pointed expression eases. Warmth flickers in her eyes. “Okay, maybe you’re right.”
Her hazy gaze focuses as she takes in her costume. “Luigi? From Super Mario Brothers?”
“Yup. It was Nick’s idea. He wanted to do a double couple’s costume. One with me, and one with Poppy.”
Lucy bursts into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. She starts to wobble again, so I grab her by the waist to keep her steady.
“Easy,” I say, fighting a smile at how fucking cute she is when she’s a little drunk and laughing too hard.
She gazes up at me, her blue eyes glittery, her smile teasing. “Only you could look this hot in a onesie.”
Heat flickers in my chest. “You think I’m hot?” I tease.
She rolls her eyes at me. “Oh, come on. You know what you look like.”
“Do I?”
She shoves my shoulder, but I don’t even move. She wobbles again, but my hands are still around her waist, holding her steady. She grabs my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. Her eyes turn dazed as she looks at me.
“You’re so solid. Hard. Muscley,” she murmurs.
Pride blooms in my chest at the hungry look in her eyes—the way she’s staring at my body and making no attempt to hide that she likes what she sees.
“I like your costume,” I say.
She looks up at my face, a cute smile pulling at her lips. “You do?”
“Oh, yeah. Misty is my favorite.”
This is the sexiest Halloween costume I’ve ever seen, but I’m not going to tell her that. I don’t want to make her feel weird or uncomfortable.
“You’re not the first guy to tell me that tonight.”
Jealousy sparks up inside of me. “I’m not?”
She shakes her head. “James said the same thing. And some other guy when I first walked in.”
I swallow hard, letting that jealous feeling inside of me unfurl. I’m not at all surprised. Lucy is gorgeous, and in this sexy little outfit, she’s insanely hot.
I clock a dozen guys around us sneaking glances at her. They don’t spend very long looking at her though. Probably because I’ve got my hands on her.
Good. They can look all they want. They’re not getting anywhere near her.
That jealous feeling morphs into protectiveness.
“Leo! Hey!”
I look up and see Anna walking over to us. “What are you doing here?”
Oh, right. I forgot to come up with a convincing lie.
Because the truth is gonna make me sound like a psycho.
I was at home with the guys when Briar texted Blake that photo of her, Anna, Poppy, and Lucy.
When I saw how insanely sexy Lucy looked…
and heard that they were headed to DJ’s bar…
I left the house. I knew that guys would be all over Lucy, and I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want some creep hitting on her or trying to buy her a bunch of drinks to get her drunk enough to make her go home with him.
So I made an excuse that we needed more beer and left to come here. So I could look out for her. So I could be with her.
I clear my throat. “I, uh, needed a break from the house party.”
Anna looks down at my hands on Lucy’s waist and pulls her lips into her mouth, like she’s trying not to laugh. “Sure you did.”
She rests her hands on her hips. She looks between Lucy and me again before focusing on me.
“So my friend Danielle is here,” Anna says. “She likes you.”
I lean back, surprised. “Oh…”
Anna points out a tall blonde in a skimpy pink dress. She’s definitely pretty. But I’m not interested.
I pull my hand from Lucy’s waist and rub the back of my neck, trying to think of a way to decline this without sounding like an asshole.
“Danielle is really interested in you,” Lucy says.
I glance down at her. She’s gnawing at her bottom lip, like she’s nervous.
“Um, okay?” I’m confused. Why does it feel like she’s trying to get me to go out with this random girl?
“You should go out with her,” Lucy says softly, like she’s making herself say this.
I shake my head in confusion. “What are you…Wait, why?”
“Because you’re single and she’s single, and she thinks you’re hot,” Lucy says.
I grab her by the waist with both hands. “Lucy. I’m not interested in her.”
That sad look in her big, blue eyes fades. “You’re not?”
“No. I don’t want anyone except…” I stop myself before I say what I shouldn’t say. Because we’re friends, and we can’t cross this line.
“Well, it sounds like you two have some things to talk about,” Anna says.
We both look over at her. I forgot she was standing here.
“Sorry, I…Look, I’m sure your friend Danielle is great, but I’m not interested.”
Amusement flickers in her eyes as she looks between us. “No worries. Forget I asked. It’s not a big deal at all,” Anna says.
When she walks off, I turn back to Lucy.
“Why did you push so hard for me to go out with that girl?”
Lucy shrugs. “I just thought it was the right thing to do,” she says shyly. “We’re friends, right? We should help each other get lucky. Hook up.”
Her words hit like a punch to the gut. I don’t want to hook up with anyone but her. And if we can’t hook up, I’d rather not do it at all.
I hold her gaze and pull her closer against me.
“I don’t want you to hook up with anyone, Lucy.”
Her eyes widen. Her pretty pink tongue traces along the seam of her lips. Just seeing her do that makes me ache.
“Does that make me a bad friend?” I ask.
I know the answer. Of course it does. I’m a shitty friend because I don’t want Lucy to be with any guy but me…and if I can’t have her, I’m sure as shit not going to help some other guy get with her.
It’s all sorts of messed up, but it’s the truth. It’s this weird limbo we’re in. We’re attracted to each other. We both want each other. But we’re not willing to put our friendship at risk to cross that line.
Her chest heaves with the breath she takes. “You’re not a bad friend, Leo.” She swallows. “I don’t want you to hook up with anyone else either.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to.”
Her lush mouth parts open like she’s about to say something, but then she quickly closes it.
“What is it?” I ask.
Her eyes are still hazy from all the alcohol she’s had, but there’s a focused look now that wasn’t there before. “What are we doing, Leo?”
“We’re hanging out. As friends.”
She starts to smile, almost like she’s silently calling bullshit.
I gently brush her hair out of her face. “I don’t know what we’re doing, Luce. All I know is that I want to be here with you.”
“As friends,” she says, repeating what I’ve said with a teasing lilt to her voice. She doesn’t sound mad. More amused than anything. Like she understands that we’re in this weird space of being friends, but wanting something more…but also being too nervous to risk it…
Just then, there’s shouting and laughing from the bar. We turn to look and see one of the female servers, who’s dressed in a black lace bodysuit and cat ears, hop on the bartop. She waves a hundred-dollar bill in the air and yells, “Hurricane shot!” The whole bar erupts in cheers and whistles.
We watch as the guy downs a shot of liquor and she throws a glass of water in his face, then slaps him. Everyone hollers.
Lucy turns to me, heat sparking in her pretty blue eyes. “I wanna do a hurricane shot with you, friend.”
She grabs my hand and drags me toward the bar.