Tag smirks. I hate that jackass smirk.
“You forgot to mention that part,” Corbin says, his eyebrow raising. “Were they—”
“Don’t finish that if you want to keep your balls attached,” I growl, already on the edge of losing my damn mind. Doesn’t he know better than to push me?
Corbin holds his hands up, surrendering, but he’s grinning like he just won a prize. Fucker.
Maverick walks up, and he hands me a drink. “You need this, Pretty Boy. That ugly scowl is going to mess up your reconciliation scheme otherwise.”
It’s hard to plot murder and force a smile for Tria’s sake.
Tria glances down at her phone, and I watch as she types in a message. Whoever has just lit up her screen has also lit up her smile. It’d better not be that beast that was at her place.
“Dude, you’re still scowling. You’re going to freak her out if you look pissed,” Maverick says, grinning like the dick he is.
This is torture. I only came here because Rain sent a text saying that Tria was coming. For some stupid reason, I thought spreading the word that I loved her would do the trick. Should have known I’d done more damage than that could fix.
“Tria doesn’t freak out when I look pissed,” I mumble.
It’s one of the many things I love about her.
“She used to,” Dale says as he joins us, his smile also too fucking big.
“That was before she started trusting me.”
And I shredded that trust with one mistake after another.
Deciding I need to loosen up, I chug the drink in my hand, and Tag goes to grab me another. I think they’re all trying to keep me in place so that I don’t go drop to my knees in front of Tria and beg like a motherfucking baby for her to take me back.
As soon as Tag returns with a new glass full of amber relief, a sight catches my eyes that has me grinding my teeth. That beast is here, and he’s scanning the crowd. That’s who sent her a text. He probably wanted to know where she was.
“Might want to hold him back,” Tag says, laughing. “Before he kills the guy he’s eyeing.”
I start to move, but Corbin really does start holding me back. Then Jamie Burton walks out onto the patio, joining Leo at his side. A few spurts of mocking laughter come in from behind me as I watch the duo slowly make their way toward my girl.
“Dude, you just went postal over a guy who really isn’t looking at Tria in that way,” Tag jokes.
“Narrow-minded dumbass. They’re probably just friends.”
I refuse to hope that Leo is on a date with Jamie. It just seems too good to be true, and with the luck I’ve had lately, I don’t see that happening.
Tria hugs Leo in greeting, and Corbin tightens his hold on me when I try moving again. She backs away to shake Jamie’s hand, and he laughs as they talk. Then Jamie leans over to Leo to say something in his ear, and I almost do a fucking cartwheel when he bites Leo’s earlobe like a lover’s nip. When Leo smiles like a fool with a crush, my anger flees to make room for relief.
“Fuck yes,” I breathe, sagging back into a relaxed state.
Riotous laughter breaches the air when the guys around me watch in fascination. Yeah. I’m fucking crazy.
Leo tugs at Jamie’s arm, and he nods in my direction, apparently noticing the fact I’ve been burning a hole through them for the twenty minutes they’ve been here. His mouth tilts up on one side, as if he knew I hated him for a little while. I almost wonder if that’s why he showed up. At least I can take him off my people-to-kill list.
Tria looks over at me as Leo walks away, and I give her a real smile because I can’t help myself. My feet are moving before I can stop them, and Corbin sidles up to my side as I reduce the distance between myself and Tria.
Her eyes get wide in her head, but it’s as though she’s trapped and unable to look away. I don’t stop walking until I’m right beside her, angling my body so that her side is touching my front.
“Kode Sterling. We thought you had died. Haven’t seen you around in a while,” Courtney Hughes says.
I hadn’t even noticed her over here.
“I’ve been too busy trying to get my girl to talk to me,” I say, watching the blush rise up Tria’s neck. It’s a good color on her.