There’s unmistakable electricity pulsing between us, drawing us closer together. “No. He’s not.”
With our faces inches apart, I struggle not to grab her by the jaw and force my tongue into her mouth. Maybe then she’d shut the fuck up with the word boyfriend.
I clear my throat and finish the remnants of the whiskey.
She straightens her posture, reaching for the bottle to refill my glass. “I did lose my virginity to him though.” She motions me forward with two fingers. The dimple in the center of her cheek shows. I smirk, refusing. “It wasn’t very good.”
I down the shot immediately, fire pulsing through me, the burn in my throat aching. “Is that so?”
She laughs, and the sound of her laughter sends a rush through me. Her cheeks bloom pink, and she leans in again, her tits pressing into the bar. She smells like rain when the sun hits it. My eyes drift, and then focus on hers when she whispers, “I like—” She pauses, her attention darting around the bar, and then back to me. “—to be owned. Possessed, you know? And he, sadly, couldn’t provide that.”
I swallow, my heart racing in my chest. Possessed? How about worshipped? I don’t make any outright expression she can decipher, but instinctively, I do lean in. Who the fuck is this girl? Where’d the naïve, innocent version who stared doe-eyed at me the night we met? Now the chick is practically crawling on the bar at me, and I’m shaking from trying not to fuck her in front of all these bastards gawking at her.
I breathe in and tap my finger to my glass. “In that case, how about another round?”
She smiles, breathes in with a soft rattle, and pins me with her dark eclipse eyes, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. I’m sinking. A lonely vessel at sea, dusted with saltwater and moonlight. And she’s the anchor pulling me down, drowning the broken fragments of what’s left of me.
I slowly return the smile, knowing if I’m going down salt-stained and restless, she’s going down with me.
Breaker Zone - The zone where ocean surface waves approaching the shore commence breaking, typically in water depths between five and ten meters.
The air stills around me, despite being in a bar teemed to the edges. My palms tingle. It’s one of those moments when your body fights against its reactions. I have no interest in anything, or anyone around me, besides the one pinning me with sea-green eyes. Yes, please. I’ll take one of those. Fueled by antibiotics and a couple shots I snuck, I’m feeling pretty damn good. And feisty.
Lincoln, he’s on his fifth whiskey. There’s a newfound flush to his cheeks and excitement in his eyes. There’s no mistaking the energy he brings to a room. It sucks up your soul and says, “I own you now.” He takes a sip of his drink, staring straight ahead. I glance to my left. Avie’s hunched over the register, his watchful stare passing between us.
Leaning in, I whisper, “Do you want to come back to my place?”
My place? Ha. It’s my parents’ house, and technically, now Avie’s. I’m simply existing there. I lift my eyes to the tables behind him, and then Dylan, who’s watching us intently.
“No,” Lincoln grunts, his voice rough. His eyes sweep across the bar, and he pushes his glass my way. Um, okay. That’s kind of a dick reply, huh? Don’t be that girl, I tell myself. You can’t get attached to him anyway.
A stab of disappointment hits my chest. “Oh.” I slump back, my posture sluggish. I can feel the flush of heat creep up my cheeks.
He chuckles and shifts his weight on the stool. His laugh is rough and sharp like broken glass scraping across my skin. It doesn’t penetrate deep, but leaves a fresh jagged mark, one that stings and reminds of how much power he holds over me. “I said I don’t want to, not that I won’t.”
I swallow, confused. Unprepared for his words, I turn, reach for the whiskey and refill his glass. Have you heard the term “he makes me weak in the knees?”
Lincoln Hardy.
That stealthy, dark, and gritty motherfucker, he makes you forget you have knees. It’s always the ones we fall so easily for. A second later, a tender smile surfaces, the sound of laughter comes from his lips, and he makes me think forever with him wouldn’t be so bad.
I watch him and his every action or reaction to the ones around