Page 42 of Begin Again
“Didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Allie,” Brix said.
“What?” I almost laughed. “Kaden isn’t my boyfriend.” My tongue suddenly felt heavy, and I could barely stand. “He’s just my roommate. And he has rules. ‘Cause it’s the only way that living together can work.”
“Rules?” repeated Brix, amused, taking a sip from a beer bottle.
“Rule one: Don’t bother me with girly stuff,” I mimicked Kaden’s deep voice. The others laughed again. “Rule two—Hey!”
Kaden had grabbed my arm. “Cut the shit.”
“Cut your own shit.” In my drunken state I was no competition for Kaden.
“I’m sorry I called you,” I heard a small voice next to Kaden. “I was worried about her.”
“Don’t talk about me as if I weren’t here, Dawn,” I hissed and tore my arm away from Kaden. “You asked him to come?”
With a guilty look, Dawn bit her lower lip.Great.
“We should go home,” Kaden whispered. I could feel eyes on us from all around, but Kaden didn’t care. “You had a long day.”
I glared at him. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Dude, I think you should let her decide for herself,” Brix intervened. “If she wants to stay here, let her.”
“Keep out of it, buddy,” Kaden spoke firmly.
Brix raised his hands and took a step back.What a loser.
“You’re not going to push me around.” I turned my back to Kaden and headed for the bar. But before I could lift one of the bottles, I was grabbed by the hips and pulled back against a hard chest.
“You’re coming home with me. Now.” Kaden’s eyes were blazing in anger.
“Or else what?” I demanded. I raised my hands and put them on his chest. When I touched him, he exhaled. Then he grabbed me by the hands. His grip was gentle.
“Don’t do it,” he murmured.
“What shouldn’t I do?” I asked in all innocence.
“Allie.”
Chills ran down my spine. I loved it when he said my name. If his voice alone could trigger this response in me… what else could he do with me?
“I can’t go home, Kaden.”
“We don’t have to go home, if you don’t want to. But what I see going on here,” he gestured toward the table on which I’d just been dancing like a fool, “is not right.”
“How do you presume to know what’s right and wrong for me?” I demanded. By now my good mood had evaporated. Instead, a thick knot had grown in my stomach.
Kaden tipped his head and gave me a crooked smile. “Because I know you. I know how you really are, Bubbles. And the girl who just danced on the table? That’s not you.”
The knot moved up into my throat. “You don’t know me at all.” My voice broke. I sounded as weak as I felt.
“Unfortunately,” he retorted and rubbed his forehead in frustration. He took a deep breath and held out his arm to me. “Now I’d feel very connected with you if you’d cut the shit. Come with me now, or I will haul you out of here. Your choice.”
“Good. My decision,” I said, turning around to grab a random bottle of wine that I’d just spotted.
Kaden growled and made good on his threat without another word. He lifted me as effortlessly as he’d done at the waterfall. I let out a shrill scream and pounded his back, but he just clapped his free hand on my butt.
“Kaden, I swear, when we’re home I’m going to tear you to pieces!”
