I shake the thought from my head and hop up onto my stool next to Luke.
He pauses his conversation with Eoin and turns to face me. “Hey, where’d you go?”
I frown at him. “Uh, to the restroom.”
“I thought you came back already?”
“No.” I draw out the word, confusion lacing my tone.
Luke shrugs. “Weird.” He links his fingers with Eoin’s and smirks at their joined hands. “I guess maybe I was a bit distracted.”
I snort and take a sip of my drink.
Eoin leans across Luke to talk to me. “Freya, would you mind terribly if I stole your friend for the rest of the night?”
Luke’s hand drops to Eoin’s thigh, making him blush again and Luke suppresses a smile while they wait for my answer.
“Sure, at least one of us should have some fun tonight.”
Josh comes over once they’re gone and clears away the glasses. “You want another drink?”
I shake my head. “I’m just going to finish this then I’ll head out.” I pick up the glass and down the rest of my cider. My life may have taken an unexpected turn, but I’m not depressed enough to sit here drinking alone.
The room spins a little as I hop off the stool, and I realize I’ve been up for almost eighteen hours. The cold night air wakes me up a bit when I step outside. I check my phone as I walk to my bike and find messages from all the guys except Eli.
Jude: You were quiet this evening. You over thinking?
Oz: Jude’s trying to convince me to be on Team Jude...
River: Don’t get drunk. And don’t stay at the damn bar all night.
My eyes drop to my right ankle. Apparently, River’s been using my tracker to play babysitter. I tap out a message back to him.
Freya: Stalking is illegal you know.
His response is quick.
River: It’s called controlling my assets.
Well, doesn’t that just give me the warm and fuzzies.
Freya: Your asset is going home now, so you can chill your beans.
River: Chill my beans? How eloquent.
I don’t like this. I don’t like how casual and normal messaging him feels.
Freya: Leave me alone, River. Please.
He doesn’t send a reply and I don’t respond to Jude or Oz. I can’t let myself get close to these guys.
I put my phone under the seat of my bike, so it doesn’t dig in while I ride, then I slide my helmet on.
It’s not far to my house but I’m only halfway there when my head spins again. I blink and the road ahead of me blurs. I use the back of my glove to wipe my visor, but it doesn’t help. The bike swerves to the side and I yank down my hand to get it back on track.
Something’s wrong.
I’m slowing down to pull over when lights from a vehicle behind me flood the road. The engine revs, the car getting too close for comfort. This isn’t right, I should be worried, but I just feel numb. Like I’ve drunk too much or like -
