I try to ignore the tiny voice in my subconscious, but it’s louder than even the music. I can’t shake it from my head.
"Well, what am I supposed to call you when you're grinding so sweetly on my cock?" he purrs in my ear. And when he tries to push his hand down again, I finally decide to fully pull away.
I yank his hands off my body and spin out of his arms to face him. "I said no," I say in what I hope is a firm voice. Except it seems to come offtoofirm because his face crinkles in disgust.
"Jesus, you don't have to be such a bitch about it," he sneers. "You could've just said you weren't interested. You didn't have to freak the fuck out."
My face pales when I realize I've offended him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude, I just—"
"She might not want to be rude, but I don't have that problem," a voice says from behind me.
Remy steps around me and gets right in the guy's face, looking almost as intimidating as any bouncer in this place, despite the fact that she's barely taller than five feet.
"She said no, jackass, so get the fuck out of here," she spits. "How you choose to accept theLis nobody's problem but your own. Get lost before I rearrange your face."
His eyes widen in surprise. He almost seems too shocked by Remy's aggression to actually react to her words, which is why he falls back a step and subconsciously admits defeat. Remy smirks in victory and turns to grab my hand.
"Lucy?" she asks me, looking around for her friend.
"Preoccupied," I answer on autopilot. When Remy finds Lucy making out with the Asian girl on the edge of the dancefloor, she just shakes her head with a sigh and tugs me out of the room.
"Home?" she asks me.
I nod mutely. I'm still in shock from the encounter, still embarrassed and confused about how it ended.
Remy nods her agreement and leads us downstairs toward the exit.
"I'm glad you said no to the bastard," she muses simply.
And when I’m lying on my makeshift bed in Remy’s apartment later that night, trying to figure out what I did wrong, I don’t come any closer to an answer.
I just continue wishing I could be as strong as Remy is—as strong as I want to be. As strong as I was before a man came along and eroded my confidence and ability to speak my mind.
When I close my eyes and finally drift off to sleep, I do it with the promise to search harder for that old-Hailey tomorrow.
11
JAX
"When was the last time the three of us hung out just us?" Remy asks as we grab our drinks and walk over to one of the high-tops in our favorite dive bar.
"I think it was that night that Max fought," Hailey muses. "That night he won by knockout and we went to Frankie's afterwards. When Jax ended it by attempting to shotgun a beer bottle?"
Remy glares at me, even as I grin at the memory. "I swear, you're the worst drunk," she grumbles.
"Bullshit, you love babysitting me." I wave her off. "God knows I've done it for you enough times."
She glares at me. "When have you ever had to stop me from doing something idiotic when I'm drunk?"
I give her a pointed look. "How about last month when you wanted to get in a fight with the 6'5” Olympic weightlifter because he didn't know the words toBenny and the Jets?"
For a moment, she only blinks at me. Then she breaks my stare and turns away, mumbling, "Okay, fair enough."
Hailey chuckles from beside me, so I turn to wink at her.
"What about you, baby girl? Ever do anything really stupid when drunk?"
Too late, I realize my poor choice of words. She just told me not long ago about how she's been judged every time she's had a drink in her hands, so the last thing I need to do right now is be another person that sounds like they're judging her for doing something reckless under the influence.