Page 45 of Want Me

Eric smiled flawlessly, charmingly. “I wish, but I’m seeing someone.”

I blinked. My jaw might’ve dropped. It definitely twitched. Maybe my eye, too.

“Figures.” Shana lolled her head on my shoulder, and I could feel her gaze settling on me next, the question obvious if silent as she reached up and caressed my cheek. I glanced at Eric, watching his expression shift, his jaw going tight at the passage of Shana’s hand down my face. A shiver of vindication ran through me.

I was tempted to turn my head and kiss her, to give Eric a real dose of jealousy. The other half of me was tripping over the fact that he was clearly jealous in the first place. Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected getting his panties in a wad. Fuck, that was refreshing. I almost laughed out loud but instead squeezed Shana’s fingers gently as I drew them away from my face. “I just got out of something and it’s still a little…uh…fresh.” Hi, my name is Nate and I’m lame. Jesus. What the hell was I talking about? You could easily argue that being newly single was theperfecttime for a random threesome. Except that my fresh wound was sandwiching the intended filling of said proposed threesome.

“Awww, I’m sorry. What happened, did she cheat?” Shana’s voice carried over the music, sharpening at the end.

I flicked another look at Eric, who was staring at me intently now, traces of amusement still in his eyes. I didn’t think it was so amusing. “Nah, nothing like that. We just had a difference of opinion on things.”

“She got nervous about the return on her investment,” Eric said, tilting his head meaningfully.

“She shouldn’t have thrown her chips into the pot to begin with, then.”

“She has a hard time turning down a good hand.”

I snorted, and Shana looked between us curiously before she squinted at me. “I’m kinda getting the impression she’s one of those girls who plays a lot of games? Maybe you’re better off without her.”

I nodded. “That’s exactly how she was. She knew I liked it, though. Knew it kept me right on the edge and drove me batshit fucking crazy. It got pushed too far, though.”

“That part wasn’t solely her fault.” Eric lifted a brow.

“You’re right. But the part where she acted like a bitch about it—” Shana looked confused now, and I waved my hand. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. It’s over.”

“The ones who are the biggest players always end up falling the hardest. She’ll get what’s coming to her, don’t worry,” Shana said sagely, twisting around to pat my chest as Eric rolled his eyes. Then she took our hands. “C’mon, if I’m not getting my threesome fantasy, let’s go get obliterated.”

I didn’t get obliterated,though. I took a shot and had another beer, my mind helicoptering all over the place, thinking about what she’d said, thinking about what Eric had said—both on the dance floor and earlier in the car.

When the bar closed down, we all piled into an Uber van and headed toward Shana’s since she was staying in the garage apartment at her parents’. Whatever sobriety we’d all regained while dancing was washed away with more booze once we got there. Jensen disappeared into Shana’s bedroom with her cousin, and they didn’t even try to be quiet. Mike made out in a corner with the chick he’d been dancing with at the bar, and Shana and Eric were waging a Mario Kart battle against each other while I tried to be interested in whatever the hell Paul was slurring about some upcoming football games. But I wasn’t. We’d probably all hung out like this a ton of times over the years, getting stupid, hooking up, playing drinking games. In my peripheral vision, I was constantly tracking Eric, noticing every time he laughed or Shana nudged his shoulder, and now I was the one who was jealous, though I knew he wouldn’t hook up with her. I knew it, but it didn’t matter—the feeling still came, rolling over me like darkness, setting my teeth on edge, and finally I’d had enough. I stood abruptly, finished off the rest of my beer, and chucked my empty cup on the counter as I held out my fist for Paul to bump. “I’m out.”

“Take it easy, man. Tomorrow night?” he asked, and I shrugged.

“Maybe.”

“Nooooooo,” Shana pouted as Eric dropped his controller and stood.

“You can stay,” I told him. “I’ll leave the back door unlocked. There’s a path from Shana’s that runs behind the houses. Not hard to see. Eight houses down to the right.”

Eric cast a glance down at Shana and gave her a conciliatory smile. “Nah, I’m ready. She’s about to kick my ass anyway.”

“Someone needs to,” I muttered, maybe not as quietly as I thought since Paul gave me a funny look.

“TBC?” Shana batted her lashes at Eric, and I barely managed to check an eye roll.

I didn’t hear Eric’s response because I was already heading down the hall, slinging my coat over my shoulders and opening the door. A half minute later, I heard his footfalls behind me as I hit the grass and stumbled toward the path between the trees. We were having one of those weird warm spells, and with all the alcohol coursing through me, too, I really didn’t need the coat, but I shoved my hands in my pockets as I stalked through the underbrush that had built up on the path just so I wouldn’t fidget or be tempted to…I didn’t know what.

With each step I grew needlessly angrier, and I recognized that as mostly the alcohol’s fault. I thought I’d done a good job earlier detaching from the whole bullshit situation with Eric. Or at least appearing as if I had. But now I was churning in the big red sea of it and struggling to hold myself together. The sound of his footsteps didn’t help. They sounded like a countdown, and I just hoped I could make it into the house and shut myself in my room before I exploded and did something stupid.

“Nate.”

Fuck.

“Not in the mood right now, dude.” I kept walking and didn’t look back. The crunch of leaves underfoot grew louder as he closed in.

“I had zero intention of hooking up with her. Hey, I’m not int—” Eric’s hand closed around my shoulder, and it was like that point of my body became ground zero for the detonation that happened inside of my chest.

“I know!” I grated out, and I didn’t remember my feet moving, or grabbing him, but suddenly my torso was compressed against his, the sound of nylon scratching against rough bark as his back hit the tree I’d shoved him into. His heart hammered against mine. “I don’t give a shit about Shana, you fucker. It’s you, it’s…”