“What’s wrong?” I ask as soon as I’m close enough for him to hear me.

“Do you really have to f**king ask?” he snaps. The tone of his voice sends me back a couple steps. He’s pissed.

“Just say it,” I whisper, looking around to make sure no one else can hear us.

“Go home, Alex. We’ll talk about this later,” he spits, turning to help another customer at the bar.

I’m dumbfounded. Speechless. I want to talk about this now, but he already left me standing alone and my sick friend is outside somewhere, waiting for me. I watch him for several seconds, willing him to look my way, but he doesn’t.

I feel my chest tighten as I step outside to find Jade. She’s sitting against the building with her head in her hands. “Hey, are you ready to go?” I ask, kneeling down next to her.

She stands up, pushing herself away from the wall. “Yeah, I need to lie down.”

I wrap my arm around her waist to help hold her up as we head back to the apartment. She looks awful, and her skin feels cool and clammy. “Hey, do you need to go to the doctor?”

She quickly turns her head to face me. “No,” she snaps.

“Okay, then, do you need something to eat?” I ask.

“Maybe just some crackers.” I raise my eyebrows at the strange request, but nod my head.

As soon as we’re in the apartment I start the shower, hoping it will make her feel better, and help her into it. When I step out to give her some privacy, my mind goes back to Dane and the way he acted before I left the bar. Reid pops into my head and I feel guilt building inside me, making me sick to my stomach. If I found out Dane was dancing with another woman, I would be seeing red. If I saw Dane dancing with another woman, I know I would completely lose it and do something I would regret. We trust each other, but I don’t think either of us likes anyone touching what’s ours.

I change into the pink cotton shorts and white top from earlier, waiting for Jade to come out of the shower. When she does, some of her color has returned, but she looks exhausted. “Do you want to take the bed tonight? Dane and I can sleep out here.”

She sits on the edge of the couch, wrapping a blanket around her body. “No, I just need sleep. Can you wake me up in the morning? I have to get back to The Hamptons before noon for a meeting.”

I nod, hesitantly. I know something isn’t right, but everything about the way she’s acting tells me she doesn’t want to talk about it. The night that was supposed to be so much fun is turning into a complete dud. I would do anything to crawl under the covers and pretend it never happened. Next time, I think we need to stick to the movies, or dinner.

I crawl into my bed and lay my head on the pillow, waiting for Dane to come home so I can make everything okay. I feel like I keep messing things up with him lately, whether I mean to or not. I hate fighting with him, and I hate falling asleep knowing that we have unresolved issues. I just want him to come home.

Chapter Fourteen

When I open the door to the apartment, I see Jade passed out on the couch. I almost forgot she was staying here tonight with all the other things I had going on in my head after they left the club.

I head to the bedroom to find Alex sprawled out on the center of the bed. I’m still pissed at her for dancing with Reid. I don’t know what she was thinking. I hate that fucker, and seeing him with his hands on my girl was enough to send me over the edge. I immediately wanted to walk over to them, but I stopped, telling myself over and over that there would be no way I could control my temper if I went anywhere near him.

I kept my eyes on them, ready to pounce if he took it any further. I started to cool down a little, but deep shades of red clouded by vision when I saw him press his body closer to her. My mind was made up; I was heading over to punch that idiot in the face if I got through the packed crowd. I was still about ten feet away when I saw him press his lips to her cheek, and it halted me in place; she let him do it. She didn’t push him away, or tell him to stop. It took everything I had not to break his neck, but I was even more pissed at Alex for letting him do it.

I hate feeling this way.

“Dane,” she whispers, lifting her head from the pillow. She glances at the clock. “You’re late getting home.”

Yeah, I had a couple drinks after work. I needed them. “It was busy,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed to remove my shoes.

She sits up and walks toward me on her knees. “Is this about Reid? I swear it was nothing. He asked me to dance and I should have said no, but I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“He kissed you,” I snap, running my hands through my hair. After Alex left, I wanted to march into Reid’s office and show him exactly what I thought of his little act tonight. I wanted to teach him a lesson; he shouldn’t touch things that don’t belong to him…especially things that belong to me.

“It’s not like I asked him to. Jade came over, and she wasn’t feeling well, and I wasn’t even paying attention to him. It happened so quickly that I couldn’t stop it,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head. Deep down inside I know she’s mine….all of her. “Let’s just go to sleep, okay?”

“Dane, please don’t be mad. I’m sorry,” she pleads, wrapping her arms around my neck and rubbing her lips on the side of my neck. Her touch is almost enough to make the anger completely melt away. She’s so close I can smell the sweet scent in her hair and the light fragrance on her skin. It’s so hard to stay mad at this girl when she’s playing with all of my senses.

I turn toward her and kiss her cheek, trying to erase anything Reid Murphy left on her. I don’t stop there as I work my way down her jaw and neck, running the tip of my tongue along the sensitive skin right below her ear.

No one else gets to do this. Ever.

I pull away, resting the side of my head against hers. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”

“Are we okay? I can’t go to bed if you’re still mad. I need you to know that you’re the only one I’ll be thinking about when I close my eyes tonight, or any night.”

I wrap my hands around hers. “Just make sure Reid Murphy keeps his hands to himself. I’m serious, Alex. Something is off with that guy and his eyes are set on you.” For me, he’s not competition, but to him, I’m competition. I can see it in his eyes.

“Trust me,” she whispers, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

“It’s not you I’m worried about.”

She presses her lips to my temple before lying back on her pillow, watching as I remove everything but my boxers, and walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth. She makes me lose control. In fact, I haven’t just lost it; she’s taken it. She controls my body and my emotions. Some days I f**king love it, especially the body part, but I’m still getting used to this whole crazy jealousy thing she brings out of me. I know it’s not my best side, but most of the time I can’t do anything about it.

The smell of pancakes fills my nose as soon as I wake up the next morning. I’m confused at first, and then I remember it’s my birthday. Alex must be making me breakfast. I smile as I turn to steal her cool pillow from her side of the bed. I wrap my arms around it, holding it to my chest and take in her scent.

“Hey, you. Why don’t you get dressed and come eat your breakfast? I made you a little bit of everything,” she smiles making her way toward me. She’s in a sexy little blue sundress that hits right above the knees and hugs tightly around her waist and chest. All I want to do is reach out and touch her. I want to run my hands up her smooth tan legs and stay under the sheets with her all day long.

“Where’s Jade?” I ask, realizing I haven’t heard her at all this morning.

“She had to leave early this morning for a meeting in the Hamptons. I’m not sure what’s going on with her,” she shrugs, biting on her lower lip.

“Can I get a birthday kiss?” I ask, patting the side of the bed.

“Does that get me off the hook for the rest of the day?” she teases, cocking her head to the side.

I grab her hand and pull her down next to me. “If you don’t stop teasing me like that, I’m going to keep you on the hook all day long,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

“You wouldn’t be able to keep up with me all day,” she says. It’s hard to believe the girl sitting next to me now is the same girl who sat next to me in Art class a few months ago. She’s so different now; she’s free and full of life. I like her flirty side too. That can definitely stay.

“Don’t challenge me.” Her lips part the second I start closing in on them. She tastes like maple and bacon, and I’m about to tempt her into more than a kiss when the buzzer rings.

“I’ll get it,” she says, fidgeting with the bottom of her dress. “You better get dressed. I invited someone over for breakfast.”

My mind is blank as I watch her leave the room and pull the door shut behind her. I can’t think of anyone she would invite over for breakfast. Tyler is still out of town, and Nolan is in rehab. I quickly throw on a pair of khaki shorts and a white t-shirt before brushing my teeth.

As I place my hand on the doorknob, I can hear whispering in the other room. My curiosity is peaked when I hear Alex; she sounds panicked and angry. I quickly open the door and see my mom and Nolan standing in the entryway with Alex who looks upset, her hands resting no her hips. “What’s going on here?” I ask. I turn my attention to Nolan. “Why aren’t you in rehab?”

“I was just asking him the same thing,” Alex says, coming to stand by my side. “I invited your mom for breakfast, but didn’t know that Nolan was coming, I swear.”

I look over at my mom who won’t make eye contact with me. She’s rubbing her collarbone like she always does when she’s nervous. “Mom?”

“He wanted to come home. He called me a few days ago because he couldn’t handle it anymore, so I went and got him. You can’t make him stay there,” she says, throwing her hands in the air.