“Please, what I said at the arena?—”
“It’s done.” She gave me a blank look. “It’s all done. No need to revisit.”
“Fern, I’m sorry.”
Her eyes were as cold as the air coming in the front door before she shot me a smirk. “Oh, don’t be sorry, Gabe. I learned some valuable things from you.”
“Don’t say that.”
“What? It’s the truth.” She slipped her phone into her purse. “I learned that someone can really take any person or friendship and turn it into whatever they want. Kind of like eliminating boundaries.” She took her gloves from her pocket and slid them on. “I actually should thank you.”
Just then, blond dude walked in the door and over to us.
“Brandon, this is Gabe. A friend of my brother’s.”
That phrase was the equivalent to a flying kick to the throat. I was her brother’s friend, not the man she was entangled with for days.
He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Brandon.”
I shook bastard Brandon’s hand. “Gabe Wolkowski.”
“I’m aware. I follow the Wild.” He flashed his toothpaste smile, and I wanted to barf.
“Great. So you and Fern are friends?”
He looked down at her as they both did a little laugh thing. “Yeah, friends for sure.”
My heart was beating in my neck. Were they sleeping together? It’d only been a few days since Fern and I were together. No, that couldn’t be. She wasn’t the type. Or were they a thing before the weekend pass and she just neglected to mention it to me? I needed Tylenol and a roll of razor wire to wrap around this guy’s neck.
“I’m parked right outside. Are you ready?”
Then I saw it, the spark in her eye when she smiled at him. That was it. There was no way I could make it through this wedding thing. I wanted the ground beneath me to open up so I could plunge into Hell.
I walked into the high-end Bravo’s Restaurant, with chic décor and candles on each table, and was directed to a large party room at the back of the restaurant.
My eyes sought out Fern who I found at a table with dumbass Brandon sitting too close to her. I went straight to the back of the room to the bar, seeking anything that could stop my fucking hands from shaking. I’d given up the hard stuff, but beer was okay. Was there even enough beer to deal with the situation at the table behind me?
I stood there, trying to wrap my mind around the evening that seemed to be swirling quickly down the drain. What in the hell was I going to do? I glanced over the same time dipshit looked at me so I nodded. Could he see the fuck you in my eyes? Hoped so. I fought the urge to hurdle the bar and beat him with a chair, so one point for me.
After minutes of listening to the voice in my head telling me that although kidnapping is illegal, it’s not punishable by the death, I decided to keep that option in my back pocket. I peered over my shoulder to see Fern walking toward the hall, leaving butt munch at the table alone. I waited a good five seconds before speed walking across the room and down the hall in the direction she was going.
She entered the ladies room so I stood down the hall, pretending to be texting on my phone. A few minutes later, I heard heels, and when I looked up, she was in slow motion coming toward me. My mind clouded as she looked like she was walking in a music video while she flipped her hair.
A knot formed in my throat as she approached. “Fern, I need to say something to you.”
She smiled. “Really you don’t.” Her head tilted, causing her shiny hair to spill over her shoulder. “Why don’t we just stick to that idea for the rest of the weekend? Okay?”
“No, I don’t like that idea.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I don’t really give a flying fuck what you like, Gabe. I heard you loud and clear at the arena, and I now wholly agree with your thoughts on that topic.”
“I see. So everything about us is in the past? And you’ve moved on with your friend?” I used air quotes for friend that I hated but for some reason couldn’t stop myself.
She leaned in, and her perfume swirled around me, instantly bringing the vision of her moving on top of me with her neck just above my face as I kissed and licked.
“That’s none of your business.”
“It sure as hell is my business.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, not quite sure where I was going with this. “I think if you had a boyfriend when you agreed to our weekend pass, well, I should’ve been made aware of that.”
