Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home #2)- Nikita Parmenter Page 0,117
they’re all subtly doing the same, clearly as confused as I am.
Which makes me infinitely more curious.
“Atlas” the bartender nods respectfully reaching across the bar to shake Atlas’s hand.
“Quinn, nice to see you man” Atlas grins at him.
“You too. So these must be the guys?” he asks running a critical eye over them. He gives Atlas a questioning look and Atlas shakes his head no.
“Guy’s this is Quinn, Quinn this is, Trick, Riot, Rafe, Jensen, Cash, Luc and Ever” Atlas introduces quickly.
We all say polite hello’s but I can tell the guy’s are just as curious as I am about how Atlas knows him.
“Drinks are on the house” Quinn says.
We thank him and the guys all ask for beers, I opt for whiskey.
Quinn smirks as he hands me the glass, clearly expecting me to cough or choke when I take a sip, since I ordered it straight. I take a sip and raise my eyebrow at him, he tilts his head as his grin turns genuine and I chuckle. We spend a few minutes at the bar getting to know Quinn, turns out he’s actually a really decent guy and took over when the previous owner got too sick to run it. From the look that him and Atlas share I get a sense that there’s more to the story than he’s telling us and that the mystery surrounding Atlas is even more complicated than we thought.
“Come on, Firecracker. It’s my birthday, I get to dance with you first” Luc says distracting me from my thoughts by grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the dance floor.
It’s a lot easier to relax and enjoy myself here than it was at the Winter Formal but then again, I have no stalker after me and I’m finally feeling like myself again. Me and Luc dance for a few songs, I’d feel self-conscious about how close we’re dancing but we aren’t the only ones and honestly I just couldn’t give a fuck.
I glance over at the door when it opens, letting in a blast of cold air. Fan-fucking-tastic it’s the assholes that we ran into after we went to see Luc’s aunt. I keep my eye on them as I dance with Luc just in case but I’m seriously hoping that after Luc knocked the fucker out he’ll be smart and just stay away, but when it comes to men, pride is always their downfall.
Him and his little group of friends end up stood at the bar just a bit further down from my guys. From the surly look Quinn gives them as he serves them I’m guessing they’ve caused trouble here before. They take their drinks and turn to look out at the room.
My earlier point is proven when as soon as the mouthy dickhead from before spots me, he smirks, says something to the guys he’s with and then saunters over to me. Rudely pushing past people like he owns the fucking place and making my rage simmer, well hello old friend, I’ve missed you.
I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt before I react though just in case he’s he’s about to do the highly unlikely thing and apologise. I stop dancing and Luc is so into the song that it takes him a second notice, when he does he raises his eyebrow in question and starts to open his mouth.
“Oh look guys it’s scar face and her abusive boyfriend” the dickhead from earlier calls out loud enough for the surrounding people to stop and stare.
Luc tenses and steps to the side turning around to face them his anger clear to read on his face. I take a second to reign in my own anger as Luc tries to control his. My eyes land on Jensen and I let a savage grin cover my features his eyes widen as he nudges Atlas and says something to the others that makes them all start to make their way over to us. I turn my attention back to the dickhead’s in front of me, my grin still in place and my stance casual. They bulk at my lack of reaction to their leaders words obviously expecting me to be a blubbering mess.
“Say that again” I goad as I let my darkness come out to play in my eyes, turning them from warm navy blue to hard, cold and almost black.
They exchange a wary look but as predicted, are stupid as fuck because the leader steps forward, Luc goes to move