Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Julian
Slumped on the couch, I tip the bottle of beer I’ve been nursing to my lips. Swallowing without even tasting the hoppy brew, my unseeing eyes remain locked on the basketball game on TV. The announcers calling the game feels like static in my ears.
Basketball has always been the sport I enjoyed playing and watching the most. Tonight, I was hoping watching a college buddy, who made it to the pros, would help take my mind off Leena.
She’s out having a girls’ night and it was really nice of her to include Quinn, who came up from school to join them.
Giving my head a shake and tuning back into the players running up the court in what looks to be an intense game.
However, it’s unable to hold my attention for long.
It’s not that I mind Leena going out, I’ve just gotten so used to hunkering down at home—god, I am so gone for this girl, thinking of her house as home—spending our time together in private to keep our relationship on the down low.
But she looked fine as hell when she and Charlie stopped by to pick up Quinn. I would have much preferred taking her to my bedroom to undress her instead of kissing her goodbye.
I’m not sure what’s going on with Jace. He’s been going between giving me hell about Leena all evening and being jittery and constantly looking at his phone. “You gonna be able to handle being away from your girl for a whole night?” he teases without even looking up from his phone.
“Fuck off. I’ll be fine. Besides, she’s having fun. Quinn sent a picture of them.”
I barely register his head popping up, brow furrowed because the phone laying on the cushion between us vibrates. We both look down as I scramble to get it.
Sissy: Your girlfriend might be tiny but she sure is feisty when she turns a dude down.
Nostrils flaring, I glare at my screen. If I was there, no man would get close enough to approach my girl. I suddenly feel not so okay with Leena being out. Of course she is going to be fucking hit on.
“You all right, bro?” Jace’s question penetrates my brooding.
“I’m currently wishing this wasn’t a girls’ night,” I intone, then recite the message out loud.
Jace sits up, more alert than I’d seen him all night. “Do we need to go rescue them? I mean her. Leena. Do we need to go rescue her?”
I stare blankly at him for a moment while contemplating his suggestion. “I don’t know.” But then I shake my head. So what if she gets hit on? She’s coming home to me. “It's fine. It’s not like any guy has a chance with her.”
My attention goes back to the text thread. But the seed has been planted, and a niggling sense of uncertainty has me typing out a message to Quinn.
Me: Is someone giving her trouble? Are you guys ok?
My eyes are glued to the screen, waiting for a reply. I hold my breath when the three dots begin bouncing, then disappear. They do not reappear. That small abandoned blip waters the seed Jace neatly planted.
After less than five minutes of waiting for a response from my sister that never comes, I drain my beer, plop the bottle on the coffee table, and get to my feet. “Fuck it, let’s go make sure they’re okay,” I say as I turn for the entry way.
The sound of Jace surging to his feet follows me. “Right behind you, dude.”
I immediately spot Leena through the throng of people on the dance floor when we enter the darkened bar she and her friends chose for tonight.
She is dancing with Quinn and Charlie next to a high-top table her sister and wife are sitting at.
I’m relieved no one appears to be dancing with them, but there are plenty of men ogling them.
Narrowing my eyes, I jerk a glance over at Jace to see he is scanning the dance floor. I slap my hand against his chest and indicate where the girls are with my head. His swivels in that direction and his entire demeanor relaxes, shoulders falling and a carefree smirk turns up his lips.
I’m a little surprised and confused by his concern for my girlfriend as he watches her dance with Quinn.
However, he did grow up with me—maybe he’s feeling protective of my sister the way we all did when she was younger.
But right now isn’t the time to dwell on that, we need to find a place I can covertly watch out for my girl.
On the way over, I made it clear to Jace that I was only here to look out for Leena. Our relationship is still under wraps.
In unspoken agreement, we move towards the bar, but I remain zeroed in on Leena. A spot opens up at the crowded bar and we slide in to wait for a bartender.
“Two beers.” Jace points at one of the taps.
“Just a soda for me,” I say distractedly. My friend’s quizzical look flashes in the corner of my eye. Turning to him, I explain, “I need to be clearheaded.”
Jace shakes his head at me and slams half his beer before he spins and leans his forearms back on the bar top to watch the girls with me.
Leena throws her head back, laughing at something Charlie says in her ear.
I tug at my collar, understanding but hating the attention she is receiving. Leena’s hips sway to the beat of the music, the fabric of her dress stretching over her tight ass, inching up her thighs with each movement.
Damn, she really is killing me in that dress. My mouth goes dry, imagining being free to dance with her one day. Her ass brushing my groin as I move with her. I adjust myself under the bar, knowing it’s pointless with her on display like that. Leena constantly has me hard.
Resigned to being uncomfortable, I lean back on the barstool and carry on watching.