“Okay, Gray,” I whispered. “I’ll go with you to California.”
Cautious hope filled his eyes. “R
eally?”
“Yes, really.” I was going to regret it, but maybe this was what I really needed. It was going to hurt like a bitch to see Gray with all those chicks, but maybe it would be good for me. Maybe it would even make it easier to move on.
Maybe you’re just a glutton for punishment, that bitchy inner voice mocked me.
NINETEEN
Kassa
The music in the club was making my eardrums pound to the beat, but I was enjoying the ability to not hear myself think. Beside me, Kin was laughing with her stepsisters, Carolina and Angie, who had both made me feel welcome since I had arrived the week before. It was just us girls out, and as long as we were at First Bass, Jace didn’t seem to mind that I was out without him or Gray.
Gray, on the other hand, seemed to freak out if I even left the apartment by myself. His overprotectiveness had only increased since I had given in and moved to live with him and Jace. It was beginning to get on my nerves when, before, it wouldn’t have bothered me at all. The difference was us. We weren’t the same anymore. As much as I hadn’t wanted things to change, I couldn’t help it. Not when I was still so stupidly in love with him.
“I’m thirsty,” Kin called over the music. “Let’s go get a drink.”
“I have to leave soon,” Carolina grumbled as we moved off the dance floor and headed for the stairs that would take us up to the VIP floor. It was quieter back there, and when we stopped long enough for the big, delicious, dark man whose name was ironically Tiny, I couldn’t help but eat up the sight of him. “My mother said I have to be home by eleven.”
Kin made a noise in the back of her throat. “Don’t get me started on your mother, Caro. She makes me mental.”
“I’m counting the days until I can move out,” the younger girl assured her. “And then I’m never looking back.”
“And you’re sure you want to go to an East Coast school?” Angie asked as we reached the top of the stairs and moved easily through the crowd of other VIPs to the bar. “We’ll miss you if you leave us.”
“I’ll miss you more,” she said with a smile. “But yes, I’m sure. If I stay here, my mother will only try to run my life, and after what she’s been doing with Georgia’s life, I’m not going to give her the chance to do the same with mine.”
“To be fair, she’s not doing anything to Georgia that Georgia doesn’t object to.” Kin waved at the bartender who grinned when he saw her and moved to our end of the bar. “I mean, Georgia has been in all the tabloids, so I’m pretty sure they are both living on cloud nine from all that shit.”
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite redhead,” the guy murmured as he stopped in front of Kin. Putting his hands on the bar top, he leaned forward. “What’s your poison, beautiful?”
“Ginger ale all around, handsome.”
I took all of him in slowly. The faux-hawk he had going on was messily styled, his long lashes shielding his eyes, which were a startling bluish green. He had a body that would make anyone stop and drink in their fill of him. As he set the drinks in front of Kin, he scanned our small group, but when he spotted me, he stopped and leaned forward.
“Who’s your new friend?”
Kin glanced at me and smirked. “This is Jace’s baby sister, Kassa. She just moved here. Kas, this is Nate. Sexy bartender and the new assistant manager here.”
“Hi.” I gave him a little wave as I took a sip of my drink.
“Kassa. I like that.” His lashes lowered, his look turning flirty and seductive. “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”
I nearly sucked the drink of soda in my mouth up my nose at that line. Laughing, I wiped my nose with a napkin Carolina had offered me. Part of me almost wanted to take him seriously, but I didn’t think that was possible. This guy was hot—with a capital H—but every chick in the club had their eyes on him. He was probably just as much a player as Gray was.
“Wow,” I said. “How many girls do you pick up with that line?”
Nate placed a hand over his heart, a mock wounded look on his face. “Ah, babe. Straight to the heart.”
“Actually,” Angie spoke up a she moved in between me and Kin. “Nate here is a pretty good guy. He doesn’t fuck everyone who bats their eyes at him, unlike some douchebags that I know. You should give him a chance, Kassa.”
“Listen to your friend,” he urged with a wink before moving down the bar to get some guy a beer.
When he was out of hearing range, I frowned from Angie to Kin and then Carolina. “Are you three trying to set me up?”
Kin shrugged. “Maybe.”