The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,8

frozen in the doorway, unsure what to do or say.

He turned and saw me and froze with his mouth half open. “Oh,” he said. “I, uh...” I met his eyes and mouthed soundlessly at him. What was I supposed to say?

“Excuse me,” she said as she wiped her wet hands on her pants and edged around me with her hand on Jace’s back, pushing him forward.

I jumped out of the way. “Sorry,” I exclaimed. “I just left my cell in here.” Lunging forward, I grabbed it and rushed to leave. It was mortifying, for some reason, knowing who was in the stall. I didn’t know the woman, but she looked about my age, and actually looked a little like my sister, which was strange. It embarrassed me more. It meant he was into girls that looked like me. He could’ve just asked me out. But then, I wouldn’t have done what that chick did in that stall, so… why did it bother me that the girl he’d been with looked like me?

I hurried back out into the bar totally confused and mostly sober. Why seeing Jace coming out of that stall bothered me, I had no clue. But my face was flushed and hands nearly shaky.

When I sat down, the back of my neck tingled. I turned toward the bar to see Jace there with his gaze on me. “I need more drinks,” I told Bianca and Kaylee as I tore my gaze away from the bar area.

As if like magic, another rum and Coke appeared in front of me. “Damn, I’m so glad you’re a celebrity tonight,” I told Kaylee, and raised my fresh glass for another toast with my girls. “To Kaylee.”

I focused on my friends and tried to go on with my night, but it was damn hard to ignore him at the bar, serving up drinks and talking to customers. My gaze flitted that way more times than I wanted it to, and I just couldn’t get into my drink again. I sipped the same rum and Coke until it was gone, then asked for water.

I still wanted to thank him for coming to my aid the other night, but the thought of talking to him after he’d been in there, doing that… No. Couldn’t do it.

I finally had to call it a night. “Ladies. It’s nearly two. I’ve been up since five. I gotta call it.” They nodded and agreed, all of us getting pretty damn sleepy. “Come on. I’m sober, I’ll drive you both home.” I hadn’t been able to drink after that bathroom scene. Ugh. I checked my watch. That was at least four hours ago. I was good.

Kaylee shook her head. “I can walk!”

She’d had more drinks than I’d been able to count. I hefted her up with one arm. “It’s just down the road, I can drive you that far.”

Again, I felt someone’s gaze at my back and turned to see Jace looking at me. His stare was so intense, like he was about to say something private and intimate. But he was across the bar, so if he’d spoken, I never would’ve been able to hear it. It gave me chills.

I hauled Kaylee to the car, and Bianca followed obediently. She’d drank far less than Kaylee but also had a lower tolerance. She was pretty soused.

“Can you get in?” I asked.

Bianca giggled. “Of course.” She climbed in the back seat while I attempted to get Kaylee in the car without taking her head off. Finally, I had her stuffed in and wondered if it would’ve been easier to walk her home and walk back than get her in this seat.

I turned to walk around the front of the car and nearly slammed right into Jace’s chest. He stood on the curb and I stood on the asphalt, so it made him seem a good four inches taller.

I looked up at him expectantly. “Hello.”

He held out his hand… with my phone in it. I groaned and took it. “Thank you so much. I’m not normally this forgetful. It’s been a long week.”

“You don’t seem to make very good decisions, so I can’t say I’m that surprised.” He arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips like some sort of judgmental granny.

Shock spread through me. I couldn't believe he’d said something so insulting to me. “Excuse me?” I whispered. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

Everything in me wanted to slap his face, but for one, I couldn’t reach it. And two, he’d