Page 18 of Hyde and Seek
I’m obviously not the only one that finds him imposing and scary as fuck.
The lights started to go down as they did a quick sound check. When Harington appeared, the small venue roared to life like a packed arena. They jumped into the music and did it hard. Everyone got lost in the sounds. The energy. The whole vibe.
It was amazing.
I danced with all of the guys except Jake. This, surprisingly, included Z. He was stiff and seemed a bit uncomfortable, but he tried.
When I took a break, Jake came up behind me. “Babe, wanna beer or something?”
“No, thanks. I’m gonna grab a water.”
“Don’t drink?”
“Not here.”
“Why, you a mean drunk? Gettin’ wild and startin’ fights?” Jake teased, a smirk changing his face from badass hot tounbelievablybadass hot.
“You caught me.” I raised my fists. “I’ve got a crazy right hook.”
“I’m thinkin’ that’s not how you do your damage. So, why?”
“I’m only twenty. I shouldn’t be here at all, let alone drinking.”
“Christ. Seriously?”
I nodded.
Jake looked towards the bar then back at me. “Rhys know your real age?”
“Kase told him when he asked if I could come tonight. Why?”
Jake, of course, ignored my question. “And he said he wanted the chance to spend time with you?”
“Yeah. Why’s that so hard to believe?”
“You know he’s pushin’ forty, yeah?”
“Okay… and?”
Jake shook his head, all traces of his sexy smirk gone as he looked ahead at the band. He didn’t say anything further, and I wasn’t going to waste my time trying to read between his hot and cold lines.
There were times, like when he’d held my hand earlier or was being playful, that I thought maybe he was into me. Or at the very least, that we were cool with each other. However, the majority of his responses ran along the lines of disapproval or indifference.
I was way over it.
Without a word, I turned and headed to the bar. I gulped down the water the bartender gave me, happy to break away from the crush of people for a minute.
When I got back to the group, Kase grabbed my hand pulled me next to him. Using his empty cup as a mic, he lip-synced along with the song, his dreads moving wildly.
“I’m gonna get a beer, need anything?” he asked, pretty much yelling in my ear to be heard.
I looked up at him and shook my head, knowing there was no way he’d be able to hear me.
Xavier waved me over to introduce me to some women. I couldn’t hear one thing he said, so I just nodded and smiled.
Their response was similar.
The girls moved away from the men to dance, pulling me with.
