Unfortunately, Melanie was busy with a table.

“Leah!” Jared shouted out. The obnoxious bastard would keep hollering my name if that was what it took to get my attention.

I sighed and went to them. I tried to keep my eyes glued to Jared, but they moved on their own to Carter. And he was looking back at me, a grin playing at his lips as he lifted his beer and chugged a bit down. I was frowning by the time I stopped at their table, looking down at Jared, wanting nothing more than to strangle him.

“What do you want?” I asked roughly.

“Nothing,” he answered.

What the hell? “Then why call me, Jared?” I huffed out.

“I was just curious to know where you’ve been. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I cut back to part-time.”

“Why?”

“Because of the hours. I need more time studying in the evenings.”

Not being here and listening to drunks and watching Carter fondle the girls.

The truth was he was the major issue. It got to the point he was so distracting at work, I picked up another job as a cashier in a store close to my Uni. That way I was working mid-afternoon to early evenings there, and only here two nights of the week. I juggled between the two on top of being a full time student.

Times were tough.

Even when I found spare time during the weekends, I spent it at the library, pumping out essays and going over chapters in my textbooks. Then I found an excuse to stay behind almost every class and go over my questions with the Profs, otherwise I’d be lost in a sea of confusion.

I was busy.

Drastically busy.

My head ached when it hit the pillow and my body sagged into the mattress like a limp noodle. I usually didn’t have a lot of time to think – which was exactly what I needed – and I ended up falling asleep minutes later. By occupying my brain, my heart couldn’t catch up to me.

Which is why standing at this table was getting on my nerves. It was forcing me to acknowledge the bastard standing two feet away from me, boring his mischievous eyes into me while one of his groupies leaned into him like he was hers.

I scoffed. Good luck with that, darling.

Living with him had been interesting. Despite our somewhat amiable truce, we were anything but amiable. We dodged each other at every opportunity and barely tolerated one another. We spoke, not often, but it was enough, and it was usually about rent and bills with a few snide remarks thrown in. He wasn’t around much either. He was practicing with the band, taking up more gigs on top of promoting themselves. Their popularity was seriously on a rise, especially when they began creating more videos and demos. I only knew this through Rome, but even then I hadn’t bumped into him often for a good hangout.

Because Mel was getting closer to the boys than I was, the last update she filled me in on was they were negotiating over booking agents, and if one was agreed upon, it might mean uprooting their lives elsewhere.

Which was both relieving and depressing at the same time. The thought of him leaving made me nauseous. We’d fallen so far, if he left, we’d never recover. Which is interesting looking back on it. Somewhere very deep inside of me, I’d hoped for some way of mending this.

“Are you sure that’s the real reason you’ve cut back your hours?” Carter suddenly said, his voice thick of scepticism.

I stared daggers at him, challenging him with, “What other reason could there be?”

He shrugged, setting his hand casually on the girl’s thigh, causing her to lean into him even more. “You glare at me an awful lot. It’s almost like you’re avoiding me.”

“If I’m avoiding you, Carter, it’s probably because my brain cells can’t afford to die off more than they already have around your cocky egotism.”

Jared laughed, and to my surprise, so did Carter. He nodded at me. “Maybe. Or you can’t hack wanting what you can’t have.”

Now Jared’s laughter completely died off and his eyes widened. He stared between the two of us. I gazed at Carter for several moments, thinking of a million things I could say to tear that ego to pieces, but then it would make me look petty, and the last thing I needed was for him to win and think he got to me.

I just smiled at him instead and turned back to Jared, asking him sweetly, “Anything else you need, Jare?”

He shook his head. “Nah, Leah.”

“Good night, fellas.”

I was about to turn around when Carter let out sharply, “I’m not done with you.”

I crossed my arms and turned to him. “I thought we had this conversation.”

He chuckled scathingly. “No, Angel, I’m not referring to our talk about you depreciating me into your roommate. I’m talking about the fact I’m thirsty.”

I clenched my teeth and resisted cursing at him. “Right, and what are you thirsty for, Carter?”

His eyes lazily skimmed me. “Something wet.”

“Something wet?”

“Unless that’s hard for you.”

Motherfucker.

“Well, lots of drinks are wet, Carter, is there anything you particularly want?”

He leaned back, staring at me intently as he replied, “How about you tell me what you prefer to wrap your lips around?”

My eye twitched. This guy. He was trying hard to wind me up in the hopes of watching me explode. It wasn’t going to happen. Didn’t he know me by now? How insulting.

“I’ve been trying different drinks lately, Carter,” I sweetly replied with a fake smile, “and my lips have taken a great deal of pleasure wrapped around a variety of them.”

His face fell and his lips parted. He was stunned silent, and it was my turn to smirk at him and add, “How about I get you our new drink? The Dried-Up Pussy cocktail. Maybe it’ll be wet enough for you.”

I turned around and hurried off, hearing Jared burst into laughter as I went. I was shaking in anger, pissed off beyond belief and seriously contemplating quitting this job altogether on my way to Mel. She had watched the exchange, and when I shot her an angry look, she knowingly looked over my shoulder and glared daggers at Carter.

I felt his eyes on me the entire night. Mel had updated me throughout, telling me he’d ditched the girls, or maybe they had ditched him after he’d shut down as soon as I’d left him. He was moody, and when Jared eventually left him, he sat alone, drinking and… staring.