Page 106 of Your Fault

I saw a group of guys at the next booth over staring at us. No surprises there: we were two girls alone at a club, and Briar wasn’t shy about looking back at them…

“Cut it out. You’re going to make them come over here,” I said when she winked at one of the two or three best-looking ones.

“Damn straight,” she said with a radiant smile. Her teeth were white and perfectly straight. It was obvious she came from a family with money, but she was nothing like the people I’d met in high school. Or like anyone I’d ever met at all, for that matter.

I didn’t want them to come over because they’d be impossible to ignore while Briar was there flirting. Plus, the one who came over to sit with us had brought along a friend.

“Hey, precious,” the blond guy said, the one Briar had been eyeing dreamily.

The other one, darker-haired, reminded me of Nick. That wasn’t good, and I felt immediately uncomfortable.

After ten minutes of chitchat with no depth whatsoever, Briar dove in and started making out with the blond guy while I was stuck repeating to the other one that I had a boyfriend and wanted to be left alone.

“Your boyfriend’s not here, and I know you like me. Admit it, you’re getting nervous,” he said, scooting in closer.

I pursed my lips. “I’m not going to say it again,” I warned him, angrier than I probably should have been. “I don’t want anything with you, nothing whatsoever. I wouldn’t give you the time of day, got it? Now beat it.”

He reached for my knee, and I swatted him away, standing.

“Are you deaf as well as stupid?” I shouted over the loud music.

“Why don’t you do like your friend instead of being so uptight?”

Briar had now separated from the blond and was giving me a suggestive look. “Morgan, no one’s going to know.”

That was ridiculous.

“I’m leaving.”

I walked out of the VIP area in a rage, furious I’d ever set foot in that trashy club. Unsurprisingly, Briar didn’t follow me. She had already made it clear to me that we were both free to do as we wished.

Once outside, I stopped to catch my breath. I was drunker than I’d thought at first. Just sitting there and drinking had been a bad idea. Now the whole world was spinning.

I unlocked my phone and opened a ride-sharing app. When I did, I saw several missed calls from Nick. He had pissed me off with his reaction to my finding a psychologist, and I’d decided not to pick up, but now, all at once, I was tired of being angry with him. I sent him the address of the club with a message.

I’m here. Can you pick me up?

He responded right away.

Be there in five.

Soon afterward, I saw his Range Rover parking next to the sidewalk, and I didn’t really know what to do. I wasn’t sure where we were at just then or how I was supposed to act. It was weird the way we’d just left everything hanging lately. I decided to stand there and wait for him to get out.

As he crossed the street in my direction, someone started shouting my name. It was the guy from the bar.

“You’re not going to come back in? I was just joking before,” he said, reaching me before Nicholas did. As I turned to Nick, hewrapped one arm around my waist and with the other pushed the guy away.

“Go.” His voice was as frozen as the weather that night. I shivered. The guy looked up at Nick.

“Who are you?”

“The guy who’s about to split your face open if you don’t get away from my girlfriend.”

I felt worried, seeing how angry he was.

The dark-haired kid stepped back reluctantly. “She didn’t say shit about you when she was flirting with me back inside.”

My eyes opened wide…the jerk.