Page 147 of Endgame
Yes we did –wait!“What?”
“We both know I can back it up,” Rourke repeated with a smirk that quickly faded when he took in my expression. “What?” he demanded, face suddenly serious. “What’s wrong?”
“My name is Mercedes,” I forced myself to say even though it was hard to speak with the lump climbing in my throat.
“Yeah,” Rourke agreed with a frown. “I know.”
“You called meBritt,” I bit out.
He called me fuckingBritt!
His eyes widened in surprise before denying it, “No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” I pressed. “You said‘We both know I can back it up, Britt.’” Swallowing deeply, I forced myself not to blink. Blinking was a really bad idea right now. Especially since I could feel my traitorous eyes watering. “You called me Britt.”
“Fuck,” Rourke muttered before running a hand through his hair and loosening the tie around his neck. “I didn’t mean to,” he added, blue eyes locked on mine. “It’s a habit.” Shrugging helplessly, he added, “It didn’t mean anything, Six Don’t overthink this, baby.”
Too late.“Okay,” I whispered, lowering my gaze to look at my hands clasped in my lap. I was already overthinking absolutely everything from the moment I met him right up to this very moment.
“Okay?” Crouching down beside me, Rourke placed one hand over mine and tipped my chin up with the other, forcing me to meet his gaze. “So… you’re okay?” he asked, tone gentle, as he scanned my face for any hint of hidden emotion. “You’re not mad?
“No. I’m not mad, Rourke,” I whispered. And I wasn’t mad; I was fucking crushed. Rourke could have beat me until I’m black and blue and it wouldn’t have hurt as much as him calling me Britt had.
“I didn’t mean it,” he continued to say, letting out a frustrated sigh, his eyes imploring me to believe him. “It was a slip of the tongue, Six.”
“I believe you, Rourke,” I replied, forcing myself to look at him. And I did. I knew Rourke didn’t mean to call me his ex-girlfriend’s name. I knew he hadn’t intentionally sought out to hurt me. Problem was, he did and he had…
“Alright, come on.” Rourke announced. He stood abruptly, shrugged off his suit jacket before dropping it down on a nearby chair and rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. “Get up.” He didn’t give me a chance to think about his demand before taking my hand and yanking me to my feet.
“I thought you wanted something to drink?” I asked as he dragged me towards the dancefloor just as the DJ began to play Hunter Hayes’Wanted.
“I’m taking you dancing first,” he replied tightly, leading me past several couples swaying to the music.
The slow, achingly sweet melody wrapped around my heart as Rourke placed his hand in mine and drew me closer. My heart was racing at a ridiculous speed. I mean, seriously, there was no need for me to be hyperventilating right now.But I was.
“Stop, Six,” Rourke said, tone gruff. He had one hand splayed across my lower back, the other held my hand to his chest. “Please stop thinking about it.” His head was bowed, his cheek resting on my hair intimately. “It meantnothing.”
“Okay.” Closing my eyes, I pressed my cheek against his chest and gave myself over to him, allowing him to lead me, trusting his every step, all the while praying he wouldn’t break me. Praying this wasn’t a warning I needed to take heed of.
“THERE YOU ARE!” Molly’s familiar voice filled my ears moments before she appeared in front of me, looking incredible in a long sleeved, full length, white lace gown. “I’ve been searching all over for you guys.”
“Wow,” I breathed, stepping out of Rourke’s arms to take a better look at my best friend. “You look…”
“Overdressed?” Molly offered with a nervous chuckle.
“Amazing,” I corrected, pulling her in for a hug. “You look fricking amazing, Molls.”
“So do you,” she replied, squeezing me tightly. “Oh, you too, Rourke!”
“Thanks, Molly,” Rourke replied with dimpled smirk. “I’ll go get those drinks,” he added before pressing a kiss to my cheek and then striding off in the direction of the double door entryway.
“Where’s he going?” Molly asked, looking from Rourke’s retreating frame to my face. “Something I said?”
“No. He’s just getting us some drinks,” I replied, forcing myself to smile and sound as upbeat as I could. I didn’t want to ruin Molly’s night by telling her I was two seconds away from bursting into tears. “So, where’s Daryl?” I asked instead, slapping on the brightest smile I could muster. The smile Molly had been proudly sporting quickly faded at the mention of Rourke’s best friend.
I literally had no clue of what was going on between those two; Molly was exasperatingly tight-lipped when it came to Daryl, but I knew they had come here together.
“Who knows,” she mumbled. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere talking to random girls.”
