Lock brought his hands up like he was going to put them on me, then dropped them to his sides, balling them into fists.
“You’re pissed at me, I get it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and let you do something dangerous.”
I rolled my eyes even though his concern was a sharp knife to the gut. “I’m going to Sera’s house. Remember her? Leaky sink? I won’t be alone, so you can stop worrying your pretty little head about me and disappear again.”
His eyes were darker, harder. As they swept over me, I had to suppress a shiver. They still affected me the same.
“I’ll drive you,” he said.
I turned my attention to Julien. “Babe, get your bear under control. He’s saying crazy things that don’t make sense. I think he might be rabid.”
Julien tipped his chin at me and subtly shifted his body in front of Lock’s. It was a joke. If Lock wanted to, he could knock Julien over as easy as a bowling pin.
“Go. Have fun but be safe. Call me if you need a ride home,” Julien said.
I winked at him, but it was all show. This was gutting me. All of it. If I didn’t fill myself up with bad decisions, I’d be a dried-up husk.
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll need a ride.” I shimmed my hips, and the obscene hem of my dress kicked up to the tops of my thighs. “I’ll be just fine.”
Lock’s chest cracked like thunder. He reached for me, but Julien was there, keeping him at bay while I made my escape. I couldn’t fool myself into believing Lock was jealous I might catch the attention of another man. After all, he’d gotten what he’d wanted from me. No, that show he’d put on was some possessive, knuckle-dragging shit. He may have discarded me, but that didn’t mean he wanted another man to have a go at me.
The only thing that kept my chin up on my way to Sera’s house was the knowledge that Lock would never find out the very idea of someone else’s hands on me made me want to rip my skin off.
My first thought when I woke up was that the chest my head was resting on was all wrong. It wasn’t even close to broad enough. The arm resting loosely on my back was nice, but it was no tree trunk. It didn’t anchor me to the mattress like it was supposed to.
Eyes flying open in panic, it took me far too long to focus on the man sleeping beside me. I almost sighed with relief when I realized he wasn’t a stranger, then another wave of panic flattened me to my back at being in bed with Julien.
I racked my brain to remember the night before, but it was spotty. I’d taken shots with Sera and her band geek friends. By the time we got to the bar, I’d been more than tipsy. Flashes of me dancing on the bar, throwing darts at boys instead of the target, taking body shots off random girls, and flirting with ugly boys hit me like a nauseating brick.
My phone was on the table beside the bed with five percent left in the battery. It was only six. I couldn’t have slept more than a few hours. No wonder I was dizzy. My messy ass was still a little drunk.
There was a series of texts from Sera. I clicked on her name to read them through bleary eyes.
Sera:I’m sorry. You told me to leave you there.
Sera:An angry guy with a hood over his head answered the door. He yelled at me for letting you get so drunk.
Sera:I cried a little. I cry when I'm drunk. I’m sorry!
Sera:You seemed to know him and were happy to be with him, so I left. Well, he slammed the door in my face, so I didn’t have a choice.
Sera:Please text me that you’re okay! I feel awful.
I had no memory of any of that, but I shot her off a quick text before my phone died so she wouldn’t call the police on Julien for kidnapping me or something.
“I’m surprised you’re awake.”
Julien’s low voice startled me into dropping my phone on my face. It hit my forehead with a clunk. Nice. Why not have yet another injury on my face?
“Did we have sex?” I asked, though I was almost certain we didn’t.
He burst out laughing, which was pretty fucking rude. “You could barely stand when your friend dumped you on me. You’re hot, but I’m not into that. Plus, you were snoring on my pillow before I could even get into bed.”
“I don’t snore.” I sighed in relief. “We were snuggled up when I woke up, so I got concerned.”
“That was all you. You’re like an octopus when you sleep.” He pushed himself up on his pillows. “You feel like shit?”
“Still a little drunk. I’ll feel like shit soon, I’m sure.”