Chapter 18 #2
“Always said if he was gonna get his act together for anyone, it’s gonna be her. And wouldn’t ya know it!”
It felt wrong to lie to so many people. Especially people we knew so well. I knew every single one of Cal’s eight grandchildren, his whole life story, where he met his wife Ruth, and the tragic story of her passing.
Cal knew everything about me.
Everything but this one secret.
As if sensing the start of my mental spiral, Rhys’s arm tightened around my waist. “It's always been her,” he stated confidently. His eyes moved away from Cal and landed on me, holding my gaze for a few seconds longer than I expected, and my stomach somersaulted in response.
It’s always been her.
How did he always know the right thing to say?
Rhys’s smile widened, his hand patting my hip twice. “Let’s get you a drink.”
We said our goodbyes, and Cal went back to his stool while Rhys and I slowly made our way to the center of the bar, being stopped by almost every single one of his teammates on the way.
I did the best I could with small talk. Maybe it was the actual temperature of the bar that set my skin on fire and had my brain short-circuiting, but more than likely it was Rhys’s large hand splayed across my back and the way his fingers would slip under the fabric of my shirt every once in a while.
Or the way he would cup the back of my neck, gently massaging with his fingers whenever someone’s eyes lingered a little too long.
Whenever Stu acted possessively toward me, I hated it. It was always aggressive and unattractive.
But I almost wanted Rhys to be possessive of me. I wanted everyone to know I was unavailable. And every time his lips feathered against my bare skin or his fingers gripped me a little tighter to stake his claim, my body melted in response.
It was also a little relieving to know that the possessiveness wasn’t one-sided.
I’d never thought of myself as a jealous person.
Still, when Rhys was involved, I found myself staring daggers at every girl who batted their eyelashes at him—especially his ‘favorite’ bartender, who had basically been undressing him with her eyes all night.
I could tell Rhys was trying to be polite, but she was relentless in her attempts to keep his attention for longer than ten seconds.
Cami leaned against the wooden bar, nursing a lemon drop martini, while my jaw clenched tighter and tighter with every passing second. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Maybe you should take a walk.”
My brows furrowed as I turned to face her. “What do you mean?”
“Rhys isn’t flirting back. He’s been too busy fighting off everyone trying to get at you. So, relax. Go to the bathroom, splash some water on your tits. Cool off.”
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s all fake, remember?” Her eyebrow arched in a challenge.
“Yes. Fake. Right.” I cleared my throat, patting the counter a few times. “I’m gonna go to the restroom.”
She smirked, lifting her drink to take another tiny sip, and I rolled my eyes again. Slipping away from Rhys, I headed toward the bathroom.
As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. I did need to calm down. It was all fake. Rhys wasn’t actually my boyfriend. And I was only annoyed that even with his arm around me, the people vying for his attention still looked at me like he’d decided to bring his favorite houseplant to the bar.
Once inside, I took a paper towel, soaked it under the sink, and held it to the back of my neck while I took several calming breaths.
Fake. It’s all fake. Quit picturing the muscles under his shirt.
I stepped inside the stall as soon as the door opened, loud music filtering in along with the sound of two pairs of heels against the wooden floor. The music was muted as the heels scraped to a stop in front of the vanity.
“Did you see they’re finally together?”
I froze, holding my breath to see if their conversation was going where I thought it was.
The second woman groaned. “Yes. Like, I came with Alex because he asked, but I didn’t think they were actually together. I was definitely gonna try and get him alone, but she’s got those ugly red claws dug into him so deep he can’t move.”
I looked down at my cherry-red nails, suddenly feeling insecure about my favorite color. And then I felt bad for Alex. He was such a sweetheart. He didn’t deserve this.
The first woman giggled. “Don’t worry. Rhys will realize he can do so much better. Plus, she’s probably getting paid after the whole coke thing. She’s way too stuck up for him.”
My jaw clenched, and I blinked a couple of times to clear my blurry vision. I wasn’t going to let these women get to me.
One of them popped their lips a couple of times, and a lipstick container snapped shut. “I haven’t even seen them kiss tonight.”
“Oh, me either! That’s a good thing, right?”
They both giggled, their heels dragging against the floor as they made their way out of the bathroom, which told me they were drunk.
I stayed in the stall for a second, a storm of jealousy and indignation brewing in my chest. I couldn’t even blame it on the vodka at this point.
It didn’t matter what those women thought.
Even if my relationship with Rhys wasn’t real, I didn’t deserve their judgment.
I didn’t deserve to be cast aside so easily.
No matter how many times I told myself they were drunk words said by insecure women, I became obsessed with the need to show them I was worth every single second of Rhys’s time and attention.
I pushed out of the stall, discarding the now-warm paper towel into the trash can, and squared my shoulders.
The door swung open as more people filtered into the bathroom, and I walked out, turning and craning my neck to find Rhys in the crowd.
He stood at the bar with Cami and Dom, his head thrown back as he laughed at something Dom was saying.
Just as I started towards him, two women walked up in front of him, one with bright pink lipstick, both wearing heels.
Realistically speaking, I had no clue if they were the same two women from the bathroom, but the heels and the fresh coat of lipstick were more than enough evidence for me in the moment. A spark of rage ignited in my belly and flamed through my entire body.
I locked eyes with Rhys, and even from across the room, I could see the way his eyes darkened, his lips turning up into a small smirk.
He was mine.
Rhys raised an eyebrow while his smile grew, and I closed the distance between the bathroom and the bar with purposeful steps.
I didn’t miss the way his eyes fell to my chest, his tongue running against his bottom lip.
The look on his face only added more fuel to the fire as I burned a path through the small room.
I pushed past the two girls fighting for his attention without muttering a single word in their direction and pulled Rhys close.
My cherry-red nails tangled into his dark brown hair.
I thought about warning him, telling him I was basically about to attack his face with my lips, but then one of the girls scoffed just loud enough for me to hear, and jealousy flared in my chest once again.
And then… my mouth was sealed over his.
Rhys’s hands slid around my waist, settling low on my back as he pulled me closer. Our lips moved together, hungry and possessive.
His tongue swiped against the seam of my mouth, and I eagerly met every curious swipe with my own, tasting the beer he’d been drinking just moments ago.
One of his hands moved down to cup my ass, both of us forgetting momentarily that this was a very public place. But we didn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.
His lips were soft and warm and addicting, moving in a way that made me crave more.
Kissing him was as intoxicating as it was calming, like smoking after a long day, and I gladly succumbed to the euphoric haze.
I could feel the judgment from those women melting from my memory, and without even knowing, Rhys replaced every single ugly word they said with a beautiful, intoxicating kiss.
He pulled my bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling gently, and I whimpered against his mouth, his hand squeezing my ass in response.
I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the quick rhythm matching my own.
Dom cleared his throat from behind Rhys, and Cami laughed quietly behind her hand.
I waited for Rhys to pull away quickly; to be embarrassed by the way I came onto him, but he savored every last second. His lips lingered against mine, our chests heaving in tandem.
He pulled away, a smug grin on his swollen lips. “Jealousy looks good on you, Pip.”
I bit my bottom lip, suppressing a grin. “I’m not jealous.”
Rhys’s right eyebrow shot up. “No?”
I turned to look at the women from the bathroom, one of them seething while the other threw her drink back to finish it off.
I hope they enjoyed the show.
Maybe I was a little jealous.
I tilted my chin up at Rhys, pulling his lips to mine one more time for good measure. He smiled through the kiss, nipping my bottom lip softly before pulling away.
“Not at all?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Not one bit.”
Dom cleared his throat again, and I reached behind Rhys, shoving my hand into his shoulder. “Fuck off, Dominic!”
Rhys shook with laughter, pulling me into his body and shielding me from Dom. Or maybe he was shielding Dom from me. “Do you want a drink?”