Page 23 of Academically Yours

She shook her head again before downing her next shot. “God, doesn’t anyone have a brother I could date? It’s gotta be easier than this.”

“Sorry, Gabs, I’m afraid mine is already spoken for,” Angelina said, sipping her water and glancing at Charlotte.

Char rolled her eyes, but she didn’t comment further. I on the other hand, couldn’t stop giggling.

Sometime after our third shot, a guy sat on the empty stool next to me and started chatting me up. I was only half paying attention because there was a part of me who couldn’t help but wish he was someone else.

Which was weird because I had always loved flirting before. It was fun. It made me feel special.

And sure, this guy was attractive, in a subjective way, but he didn’t do it for me. None of it did. I couldn’t get a certain blond man and his grumpy expression out of my mind. I frowned as I picked up the glass in front of me, taking a swig of whatever alcohol the girls had ordered last.

Despite the constant chatter around me, I looked up to realize my friends were no longer sitting at the bar. Fuck. Where had they gone? I knew I hadn’t seen them sliding into a booth, but I didn’t think I had spaced out so much as to not hear them say they were leaving. Huh.

“Did you see where my friends went?” I asked the bartender, but he just shook his head.

Maybe they had gone to the bathroom. Goodness knows we had drunk enough liquid to warrant it. I moved to go find them, planning on making my way there myself. I was feeling a little dizzy, and when I stood up, I found the guy from the bar right there next to me. Like, just a few inches from my face. Had I said anything to make him think I might be interested? I didn’t think so.

“Um, excuse me.” I tried to push away from him, only teetering a little bit in my heeled boots.

Was I that drunk? I unlocked my phone to text my friends and look at the time. How long had we been here, anyway? I was still trying to figure out how this guy had gotten so close to me without me noticing.

There was one thing I was sure of: my alcohol tolerance had definitely gone down since college. Fuck. I lost count of how many shots I had done—it had just seemed like a good idea at the time. But I had been drinking water, hadn’t I? Normally us all being together, we kept count and kept each other from drinking too much, but…

The guy caught my wrist with his hand, and I was pretty sure I was looking at him like he was insane. “I thought we were having a good time, princess,” he drawled, pulling me in closer. I squirmed, trying to get my wrist out of his hand, but it was no use.

“Let me go,” I said. “I need to find my friends.”

Fuck, I thought again, still surveying the bar for my friends. I couldn’t see them, and all I wanted was to leave, to slip my arm in Gabbi’s and Charlotte’s and have them help me walk out of here with my dignity intact. And I wanted this asshole to leave me alone. I hadn’t even given him any indication that I was interested, anyway. He had been talking to me, but I had barely acknowledged him.

So what the hell was wrong with him?

“Please,” I said again, using my other hand to try to free my wrist.

I was starting to panic when I looked up for help and saw the other man who had walked to the other side of me. Even through my drunken haze, I could tell who it was. Jake. The asshole who left me. Why was he here? My blood boiled in my veins as I gaped at him, trying to wish him away with my brain.

Maybe I was hallucinating. But I couldn’t be that lucky, could I? And I was sure I had never been that drunk, but it sounded much more preferable to reality. Which consisted of him standing in front of me, saying things to me that sounded a lot like, “I missed you.”

I couldn’t even process the words, just watching his lips move as I stared at him in shock.

Asshole number one dropped my hand, though he looked increasingly pissed, and I thought for a moment I was free—until he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side.

“What the hell are you doing?” I cried, trying to push away from him.

That was when I heard a familiar voice—loud and growling— say, “Everything okay over here, gentlemen?”

And I was pretty sure I swayed on my feet at the sight of him standing there.