Not So Far Away (Worlds Collide The Duets #1) - LL Meyer Page 0,92

has now been replaced by a dull sense of horror and resignation. “Pass me my phone,” I say half-heartedly to Scott. ”I’ll get the water while you talk to him.”

Scott wavers, but then he digs my phone out of his pocket. “All right. I gotta make a bathroom run anyway. You’ll be okay for a minute?”

“Yeah, of course,” I say with false cheer. “I’m a big girl.”

Still not picking up on the tension, he laughs and leans in to kiss me before he and Jorgie go down the hall towards the restrooms. Alone, I stand there and wonder if Jorgie knows something about me that Scott doesn’t? I cringe. Scott only knows about Piper in the general sense, and the quickly growing ball of lead gathering in my stomach tells me that Jorgie knows something specific. Something with details.

I take in the crush around the bar. The wait is at least two people deep.

“Piper! Where have you been hiding yourself?”

The unwanted greeting of yet another person from my past has my feet carrying me toward the freedom on the other side of the main doors.

Outside, I attempt to take deep breaths of the cool, night air, but it feels like there’s a noose wrapped around my neck. Leaning against the brick wall, I brace my hands against my knees, barely aware of the line full of people gawping at the girl who’s coming close to having a panic attack.

“Hey, hey, hey, mami. Tranquila. ?Qué pasa?”

Chico’s grip on my arm gives me enough of a shot of reality that my throat decompresses slightly and I get a decent breath into myself. From there, things improve and then I feel like a fool with Chico hovering over me.

I wave him off. “Sorry,” I whisper. “I’m fine. I needed some air, that’s all.”

“Do I need to go in there and haul Scotty’s ass out here?” Chico demands, straightening up and folding his massive arms across his chest.

Glancing up, I give him a shake of my head. “No.”

“Someone else then?” That seems to piss him off even more.

My chuckle, feeble and bleak, mirrors my inner turmoil perfectly. “The only ass that needs to be kicked is mine. But it needed to be done around this time last year.”

Chico takes hold of my elbow and gently guides me to sit on his stool. “Take a load off, mami. You’re not making much sense.” He pulls a bottle of water from the podium beside us and cracks it open for me. “Drink this.”

“Thanks,” I say, taking a much appreciated sip.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on. Just my past catching up with me, that’s all.”

Chico grunts, which I take to mean something like I see. “Scotty doesn’t know anything about it?”

I sigh. “He knows some. Enough, I hope.”

Looking me over with concern, he says, “You know how I know him? Well, aside from his occasional appearances around here?”

I shake my head as I tug my dress down lower on my thighs.

“Parent/teacher night. Our kids go to the same school. He seems like a stand-up guy.”

“He is,” I say sadly. “He’s way too good for me.”

“What? No, mami! The opposite. I want you to hold on to him. You were never –”

“Yo, boss! I need you over here.”

At the head of the line, one of the other bouncers is getting into it with someone. As he walks away, Chico finishes his sentence, “You were never meant for this life long-term.”

I pull in a deep, shaky breath. Chico is right. If Scott is what I want, then I need to fight for him. I wake the screen on my phone and see . . . nothing. No messages, no missed calls. Either he’s not looking for me yet or Jorgie has convinced him to throw me over.

With a heavy heart, I text him.

Ellie: I’m outside with Chico if you’re looking for me.

Scott

Fucking Jorgie.

The thought makes me laugh and I almost piss on my shoe. I should concentrate on the task at hand, but come on, how many times have I thought the phrase Fucking Jorgie in my life. A hundred? A thousand? More likely, tens of thousands. I don’t care how much he gets on my nerves, I love my best friend.

I zip up, hit the lever and then move to the sinks to wash my hands, trying not to grin at myself in the mirror like an asshole. I don’t remember the last time I had such a good night. Ellie is just . .